Review on Gauntlets by Leoric1958

aidanhroarsson · Post by **aidanhroarsson** » Wed Jul 14, 2010 8:43 pm

Back in June of this year, I saw a post advertising SS gauntlets for an incredible price of $350! I contacted Leoric after doing some research and receiving nothing but praise on this individual and now I know first hand as to why... He has been a real pleasure to deal with, very attentive to my questions and also asks plenty of his own to insure of fit and personal likes. He even asked me what kind of glove I normally wear and went as far as to suggest I send them to him so he can save me the trouble of mounting them to the gauntlets! In a week I will be receiving my new gauntlets, but I had to share the pleasure I had in my experience with Leoric. I must add that when I told him that these were a present to myself for my birthday, he made sure that I would get them in time. BTW, he started to make them on June 26th and my b-day is July 29th! I want to attach the pics I have, but don't how....

metalmasher · Post by **metalmasher** » Wed Jul 14, 2010 8:53 pm

Pics please

aidanhroarsson · Post by **aidanhroarsson** » Wed Jul 14, 2010 9:05 pm

I don't know how... I can't figure it out...

owen matthew · Post by **owen matthew** » Wed Jul 14, 2010 9:06 pm

Can you pass on his contact info, please?

aidanhroarsson · Post by **aidanhroarsson** » Wed Jul 14, 2010 9:08 pm

this is his e-mail that I used to contact him leoric1958@gmail.com.....
I would post pics if someone could give me a hand....

Nickenor · Post by **Nickenor** » Wed Jul 14, 2010 10:00 pm

Does he have pics of some of his work online? I would like to see his workmanship, and style.

Amanda M · Post by **Amanda M** » Wed Jul 14, 2010 10:04 pm

I have a pair of his gauntlets. They're very sturdy and well made. Here's some pictures:

aidanhroarsson · Post by **aidanhroarsson** » Wed Jul 14, 2010 10:07 pm

I've got pics of the ones he made for me if someone can show me how to post them... otherwise you can do a search on the Archive under leoric1958 and his passed posts will come up

Amanda M · Post by **Amanda M** » Wed Jul 14, 2010 10:17 pm

You need to upload them to a photo hosting site, then use the Img tag right under where you post your subject in a massage post, or you can use the attachment posting control panel at the bottom of the page when you go to post a reply. It's just like attaching a file to an email.

aidanhroarsson · Post by **aidanhroarsson** » Wed Jul 14, 2010 10:35 pm

let's try this:

http://picasaweb.google.com/11810191095 ... tledAlbum#

these are 16ga SS, Blackened, with Wisby cuffs, and he added an inscription that is suppose to be as a surprise when I get them!

Nuada · Post by **Nuada** » Thu Jul 15, 2010 5:20 am

I digg those gaunts :lol:

Malcolm MacLachlan · Post by **Malcolm MacLachlan** » Thu Jul 15, 2010 5:27 am

I've got a pair just like those on the way, as well. I'll agree that he's been a pleasure to work with. He goes out of his way to make sure he's sending you a product you'll be happy with. And for custom gauntlets you can't beat the price.

aidanhroarsson · Post by **aidanhroarsson** » Thu Jul 15, 2010 6:01 am

Malcolm MacLachlan wrote:I've got a pair just like those on the way, as well. I'll agree that he's been a pleasure to work with. He goes out of his way to make sure he's sending you a product you'll be happy with. And for custom gauntlets you can't beat the price.

My Knight is next in his queue. After seeing the experience I was having with Leoric and what I was getting for the price, He had to get a pair also!

SyrTheo · Post by **SyrTheo** » Thu Jul 15, 2010 9:33 am

Are these finger gaunts legal and "safe" for spear work?

Midrealm specifically??

Thx, EikBrandr

Malcolm MacLachlan · Post by **Malcolm MacLachlan** » Thu Jul 15, 2010 10:14 am

They'll require some padding but he specifically made the knuckles and tips deeper to ground out on mine. He knows and can build to SCA specs.

Amanda M · Post by **Amanda M** » Thu Jul 15, 2010 10:22 am

SyrTheo wrote:Are these finger gaunts legal and "safe" for spear work?

Midrealm specifically??

Thx, EikBrandr

I also asked him about that and he made the fingertips and plates a little deeper for me on request. Mine are padded with 2 layers of thick wool. I was running spear at Estrella this year and got whacked in the hands a bit and didn't feel a whole lot. I am going to get some finger bucklers for other mass weapons though just to be on the safe side.

aidanhroarsson · Post by **aidanhroarsson** » Thu Jul 15, 2010 12:59 pm

on mine, I chose not to have the fingers ground out for fear of loss of dexterity. I sent him street hockey gloves, like the ones Duke Andreas offers on his web-site, and Leoric mounted them to the gauntlet for me. Thus meeting SCA requirements... I haven't fought in them yet, so I don't know if I'm going to need finger bucklers or not...

aidanhroarsson · Post by **aidanhroarsson** » Mon Jul 19, 2010 12:03 am

to extend the life of the gloves the gauntlets are sewn to, would it benefit me to use "glove liners" to prevent sweat and oils from deteriorating the leather?

thaddeusmoore · Post by **thaddeusmoore** » Mon Jul 19, 2010 11:57 am

aidanhroarsson wrote:to extend the life of the gloves the gauntlets are sewn to, would it benefit me to use "glove liners" to prevent sweat and oils from deteriorating the leather?

The oil in your skin isn't going to hurt leather. The salt in your sweat will.

Treating the leather and then periodically (monthly) cleaning the leather would probably be more effective.

All leather on my harness is treated with neatsfoot oil and then cleaned with Lexol. You can find it at tractor supply, feed stores, and other places that cater to equestrians. It is used to clean and preserve saddle leather.

http://www.lexol.com/lexol.html

aidanhroarsson · Post by **aidanhroarsson** » Mon Jul 19, 2010 12:21 pm

thaddeusmoore wrote:
aidanhroarsson wrote:to extend the life of the gloves the gauntlets are sewn to, would it benefit me to use "glove liners" to prevent sweat and oils from deteriorating the leather?

The oil in your skin isn't going to hurt leather. The salt in your sweat will.

Treating the leather and then periodically (monthly) cleaning the leather would probably be more effective.

All leather on my harness is treated with neatsfoot oil and then cleaned with Lexol. You can find it at tractor supply, feed stores, and other places that cater to equestrians. It is used to clean and preserve saddle leather.

http://www.lexol.com/lexol.html

my wife used to ride and mentioned the very same to me... she said that she would use it on her saddles... I'll do both, use the liner and use neatsfoot oil... can't go wrong there...

aidanhroarsson · Post by **aidanhroarsson** » Wed Jul 28, 2010 9:57 pm

They FINALLY came in! No fault of Leoric's... The USPS didn't know where my parcel was since leaving customs on the 24th and it appearing out of no where this morning! On to the review....

-I mentioned before on his customer service... I only hope that all my future endeavors in gaining superior custom armour can come close to Leoric's quick response to ALL of my e-mails and questions! In m opinion, he went above and beyond my expectations with these gauntlets!
-I used to wearing aluminum clamshell gauntlets, so I'm not used to the weight of these, BUT they are solid! I had a couple of guys hit me a couple of times around the fingers while holding a weapon and though I wouldn't want to sit there and take direct shots all day, I can say that they protected 100%. Between the finger plates and the padded gloves I wore I can say that I own a superior piece of armour!
-All I had to do was remove the padding around the wrist and sew the tips of the gauntlet fingers to the glove and I was ready to go!

Going of the scale that I've seen used here on AA, I give 5's across the board! I have recommended him to my Knight and my friends... I would recommend him to anyone HIGHLY!

aidanhroarsson · Post by **aidanhroarsson** » Thu Jul 29, 2010 10:34 am

Malcolm MacLachlan · Post by **Malcolm MacLachlan** » Thu Jul 29, 2010 10:52 am

I also got mine in yesterday. I'm padding up my gloved and stitching them down tonight. I'll let a few of my heavy hitting buddies wack on my hands Friday and post results. Right now I'm super pleased. They look fantastic. The weight is going to take some getting used to since I'm going from 9 years of wearing plastic egg gauntlets but I think the extra control and finger mobility is going to be huge for spear and glaive.

aidanhroarsson · Post by **aidanhroarsson** » Fri Jul 30, 2010 12:06 am

Oscad · Post by **Oscad** » Sun Aug 01, 2010 1:00 am

Aiden, can you post a pic. I am interested in seeing how they look with the hockey gloves sewn in.

For either of you.... how do these hold up for polearm or GS fighting?? How well do they take a hit on the fingers?

Thanks

aidanhroarsson · Post by **aidanhroarsson** » Sun Aug 01, 2010 1:42 am

I just uploaded some pics of the gauntlets here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/11810191095 ... tledAlbum#
they look a little bulky, BUT protect GREAT and the dexterity is superior! I fight Katana, which is a very agressive style and found to have no problems with protection and got hit in the back of the hand and fingers a few times... I, like no one else, would want to take repeated blows to the fingers! He does offer fingers for his gauntlets that ground out onto the rattan also... For the quality of service and product, most would have to pay twice as much... I found myself VERY fortunate to have received a CUSTOM pair of finger gauntlets, to my specs for $360! HELL! He offered not long ago a set of hourglass gauntlets decked out with brass and a high polish and the price still didn't break $400! Here's the link:
http://forums.armourarchive.org/phpBB2/ ... highlight=
I'm thinking about a set of these in my future for a later period kit!
What say you, Archivers?

Hrolfr · Post by **Hrolfr** » Sun Aug 01, 2010 8:13 am

Oscad wrote:Aiden, can you post a pic. I am interested in seeing how they look with the hockey gloves sewn in.

For either of you.... how do these hold up for polearm or GS fighting?? How well do they take a hit on the fingers?

Thanks

Oscad, do you meaqn street hockey gloves?

I am leaning to padding the gaunts and using 'football' gloves (reciever's gloves) inside the gaunts, when I get around to it