New guy armor ??? Try to look nice or just get on the field?

goon · Post by **goon** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 6:27 pm

I've been thinking this over lately and after talking a little with my nearest SCA contact, I'm rethinking my original plan of making a gambeson as my first peice of armor.
My logic behind the gambeson was that it would add some protection and padding and it would also help hide whatever ugly home-made armor I might wind up wearing underneath. But it would also be a bit of work to make (no sewing machine) and in the end, I'm not sure that it would add much other than authenticity (assuming that I don't screw my first one up too badly).
I'm now thinking that I might just go with some hideous plastic barrel armor, pad it with something that isn't too uncomfortable, and cover it up with some kind of surcoat type garment. I'm thinking about this route because it seems like it might be the cheapest and easiest way to get myself on the field. I figure that after a year or so, after I know combat is going to be "my thing" I can start working on assembling/making some stuff that looks more authentic and less hideous.
Just looking for some advice / more experienced guys to use as a sounding board.

Urban · Post by **Urban** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 6:30 pm

Not sure what time period youÂ´re shooting for, if any, but you could do a coat of plates or brigandine with heavy fabric and plastic plates underneath. Cheap to make, good protection, and good looking too.

Violen · Post by **Violen** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 6:37 pm

My buddy Rory says a tabbard can cover a lot of really ugly armor.

That being said; I did kind of both. I got a Stonekeep starter kit. It dosent look bad and it doesnt hurt much when i get hit. (Except when he swipes me across the belly. Wow. Must get belly protection of some sort.)

But seriously, you need to restart this thread.

Before anyone else responds tell us three things.

1. What is your budget?

2. What are one to three basic personas you are interested in researching

3. Have you been to a fighter practice and used loaner gear yet?

Blaine de Navarre · Post by **Blaine de Navarre** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 7:00 pm

1. Absitively, posolutely, NO visible plastic. Period. There is no excuse. At the very least get an oversized tunic and throw it over. Even for practice.

2. I'm a believer in the generic starter kit, preferably without too much $$ invested, and then getting the kit you really want dialed in over a couple years or so. The reason is, you won't really know what you really want until you have some experience.

3. A generic starter kit doesn't need to look like ass, and shouldn't.

mattmaus · Post by **mattmaus** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 7:15 pm

Pick out your helmet first.

Don't settle on this no matter what.

It will likely be the single most expensive part of your kit.

You have a goal to work for, while collecting the odd bit and pice here or there.

It will probably be the centerpiece of your kit.

They look cool as hell sitting on a shelf.

The better your helmet, the better it's resale value will be. A shitty helmet will be hard to give away. I know of at least one instance in which a helmet did not depreciate, and infact was sold by the original owner for more than he paid. :shock:

Others have compared bad armor to radioactive waste. Once unleashed into the environment, it never goes away.

The problem with most "get em on the field quick" kits is that they end up being the stuff you wear for your first year, and the new kit never gets done, and then 5 years, and you're working on it but something came up, and then 10 years and you still have the same old stuff.

Saving your pennies and dropping the big bucks on a good helmet will help fight that. Great hat, will embarrass the hell out of the rest of your kit and motivate you to get it 'right'.

As far as the gambi goes... yeah... it will be a huge pain without a sewing machine. But there is a value inherent to that. There are a good number of folks willing to pay for hand stitched stuff. If you end up not wanting it... you can sell gently used arming cotes too.

One of the best things I ever learned about armor is that it is basicly a liquid asset. In the modern market, it moves back and forth and changes hands a lot. To be built to withstand SCA combat, the stuff really is built to last, and last, and last. Again, the better you start with, the more it will hold it's value if you decide to part with it.

Murdock · Post by **Murdock** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 7:44 pm

Get a good helmet and guantlets

you need to spend money on what protects your head and hands.

I can't believe what some people trust to protect thier skull.

There are lots of ways to be cheap and easy that look decent.

IF your gonna start putting real money out there fugure out what you wanna do first, or else you end up with a halfg dozen helmets when you could have saved money and bought 1 good one for less money. (like half the guys on the board.)

mattmaus · Post by **mattmaus** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 7:56 pm

Murdock wrote:Get a good helmet and guantlets

you need to spend money on what protects your head and hands.

Good point with the gauntlets.

They are hell to make too, I would say probably the single hardest part of a kit.

Both worth spending the big bucks on though, or getting really good help, or something.

Your head is the primary center of your perception. You see, hear, taste and smell out of your head (though taste and smell probably factor into fighting a lot less).

Your hands are, and will always be a big part of what you DO. Shield is in one, sword in the other.

If your helmet sucks, you will probably not enjoy fighting.

If your hand protection sucks, you will probably not enjoy fighting.

Kilkenny · Post by **Kilkenny** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 8:50 pm

I'll add what may be a bit different perspective to what others have said. I started in 1975, a college kid with a budget of $45 per month to cover all of my incidental costs associated with going to school. Out of that near non-existent supply of funds, I managed to put together list legal armour and get started fighting.

I wasn't worried about how it looked, although the puzzles of how to make it work intrigued me right from the beginning. I *needed* to get out there and start doing this fighting thing. How the armour looked was absolutely secondary to whether it worked well enough to let me get out there and start fighting.

It's ok to approach the game from the perspective of needing to fight and not being that concerned about the armour.

This board, of course, selects for the people who have a major interest in the armour part, so that's what you tend to hear.

It is ok to throw something together and get into the mix, then figure out how to make it better as you learn what you need and how you need it to work.

It's also a good idea to go ahead and get a good quality helm now, not a stopgap. After all - most of us don't have stop gap heads
:lol:

Bleddyn De Caldicot · Post by **Bleddyn De Caldicot** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 9:33 pm

Kilkenny wrote:I'll add what may be a bit different perspective to what others have said. I started in 1975, a college kid with a budget of $45 per month to cover all of my incidental costs associated with going to school. Out of that near non-existent supply of funds, I managed to put together list legal armour and get started fighting.

I wasn't worried about how it looked, although the puzzles of how to make it work intrigued me right from the beginning. I *needed* to get out there and start doing this fighting thing. How the armour looked was absolutely secondary to whether it worked well enough to let me get out there and start fighting.

It's ok to approach the game from the perspective of needing to fight and not being that concerned about the armour.

This board, of course, selects for the people who have a major interest in the armour part, so that's what you tend to hear.

It is ok to throw something together and get into the mix, then figure out how to make it better as you learn what you need and how you need it to work.

It's also a good idea to go ahead and get a good quality helm now, not a stopgap. After all - most of us don't have stop gap heads

Kilkenny is right, get out there and fight and you will find what you want. That being said you can do it and still look decent by hiding any ugly armour. A simple oversied T tunic to wear over your armour is not hard to make, and your local people may be willing to let you use their sewing machines, or even as a gift (either for you or their eyes) make you a tunic to hide any ugly amrour.

losthelm · Post by **losthelm** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 9:34 pm

demi gaunts and basket or cup hilts are usualy a cheaper to purchase or make.
edit your profile to include your general location there may be some person local making armour in the garage or basement that can help.

well made armour takes some time and skill.
using plastic is a cheaper alternative but most barrels have all kinds of markins and variations in thickness that you need to work around
just one more thing to be aware of.
pick black plastic if you can find it and start a cookie jar fund for armour and other bits to improve you kit.

as far as helms go all you realy need is something save and dependable.
but its also the one piece of armour that you will be associated with and probibly the last piece to be upgraded.

your best bet is the classifieds/wantads regularly that will get you on the field.

Johann Lederer · Post by **Johann Lederer** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 10:09 pm

What I did when I started was buy a cheap spun top, it of course did not fit well, but I ended up trading with another spun top new person who's was too big. I lucked out there. I put together a usable kit and started fighting and learned the basics.
THEN found this board.
WAKE UP CALL!
So after seeing all the nice kits, I started to define what my interests were and even though I have a really good job, fun is a lesser priority on my list so I had to save what I call my "allowance". I bought a bascinet, arms and legs from Armourer Eric and built the rest around the bascinet.
I then got to use a friend's Roman Cav helm, and decided I wanted a custom one made....Mattmaus supplied that one. So then I started to build a kit around that helm also.... (see the focal point?) Anyway, I switch back and forth as it strikes me, but I am saving up to be like Murdoch someday... :lol:

What I did for the last new guy I helped, was loan him my spun top, help him make a St. Maurice coat, a cheap set of arms and legs, demis and a cup hilt. I also gave him some rattan and a set of leather gloves to get started. He saved up his money and bought stonekeep arms and legs, and a Mad Matt Sugarloaf...He learned, authorized and got transferred... so the loaner stuff goes to the next new guy...

If you were in my area, you would be more than welcome to use my shop, sewing machines get some free help and get to play. We can never have enough people to play, least in my area of the world...

Pitbull Armory · Post by **Pitbull Armory** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 10:24 pm

Hi there, Plastic armor is cheap to make and does have a few nice qualities like no rusting or denting. It dosent weigh much which is nice also. Granted its not as cool as steel armor but you can buy a barrel for 5-10 dollars and build almost a whole suit out of it. I can help you make some of it that looks decent if you want just PM me about patterns and building info if your interested. You can see some of the plastic items I can help you make at www.pitbullarmory.com.

Thank you

Pitbull

Blaine de Navarre · Post by **Blaine de Navarre** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 10:48 pm

For reference, here is one of the most well-known and respected fighters in the SCA...when he was still a lot newer...

Bleddyn De Caldicot · Tue Jan 20, 2009 11:47 pm

Forgive my naivety, but who is he?

Blaine de Navarre · Post by **Blaine de Navarre** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 12:00 am

Duke Paul of Bellatrix, same guy who has his own forum here on the Archive

Wulfgar · Post by **Wulfgar** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 12:02 am

When I started I just got out there and did it. I came in to the group as a fighter and that was my focus. I built what I could get help doing a could make quickly. I was on the field in about 3 months with a tabard over my average kit.

it took me a while to upgrade but now I have some very nice pieces. If I couldn't have just gotten out their and fight I probably would have left the SCA. Armour is a hell of a lot more available now than when I started, if only there had been people like stonekeep etc when I first started playing.

You can get a reasonable looking starter kit for not much $ these days. Alternatively if money is a huge issue see if you can hook up with a local that makes armour and see if he can help you to construct some kit.

Giles de Bois Guilbert · Wed Jan 21, 2009 12:34 am

I have to chime in with the majority of folks on this thread. Buy the best helm you can afford (not necessarily the most expensive). Generally, it is the single most expensive item of your kit and if properly constructed will outlive most items in your kit. Good construction will ensure that it will maintain it's looks and resale value over a lifetime of abuse that is inherent in SCA combat.

On the other hand:

Plastic is not evil :shock:

and is an excellent way to get on the field inexpensively. and is relatively easy for a novice to work. As already stated you can obtain the much-maligned blue "pickle" barrel for 5 to 10 dollars and in some instances "free" as long as you don't mind smelling faintly of soy sauce whilst battling the day away. Add to that a quart of contact cement or a can or two of Super 77 adhesive. Some time and effort scouring the bargain tables for upholstery fabric of a pleasing design and for less than $10 you can have enough fabric to cover 1 or more suits of basic field armour that isn't glaringly abusive to the senses and to go the extra mile you can add a strip of leather or heavyweight fabric on the edge to finish each piece off.

All in all, with the exception of the helmet, for $50.00 you can be on the field and still look good.

GvR · Post by **GvR** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 12:36 am

I started out in Atlantia back in the 80's when the Corps had me there. The normal for newbs, especially cash poor PFC newbs, was carpet armor and hockey gear. Now, the Corps kept me mooving and out of the game for a log time and I'm now a 40 year old newb with a little more cash. Fortunately I have some leatherworking skills and don't have to do the carpet trick again.

The point of this ramble is that where there is a will, there is a way. Here in my local Shire, we armor via socialism. If you can build it, build it. If you cant, put in the sweat for those who can and help them build it for you.
TANSTAAFL

Murdock · Post by **Murdock** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 2:36 am

"but I am saving up to be like Murdoch someday... Laughing"

You don't really wanna be like me

most of the time i don't even wanna be like me

Just SCA speaking it's been an expensive gut checking decade and a half of mistakes and screwups.

Mostly of my own doing, if i didn't love what we do so much i'd have quit.

I'd save anyone those stumbles and falls.

Violen · Post by **Violen** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 3:06 am

I guess more on my kit.

Hi! I joined the SCA a year ago. I technically finished my first kit last Saturday night for fighter practice on Sunday.

I bought my helm and shield first.

I got both from Windrose. I was lucky enough to have a chunk of change and i got a pretty expensive helm, and an aluminum shield. I also was given some rattan, i made a sword with a basket from ebay (jewled rose, ten bucks for any kind of basket) and a Windrose tip.

For my Armour i went with stonekeep. I got the sca starter kit. I have not been disappointed. I used all of it for the first time on sunday and besides on my bum and belly, not a bruise!

I do think i need a diff midrif/kidney protector.

I dont think my stuff looks bad.
No pictures till i lose more weight though.

Im pretty fat and ugly

Seriously, there are people on here that can help you get a decent helm. If you have to get a cheap warboard shield, do it. If you can afford a decent shield, do it!

Dont skimp on the parts of the armor that protect your most important parts.

Like i said.

Tell us your budget!

Konstantin the Red · Post by **Konstantin the Red** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 3:17 am

Meanwhile, goon, there is someone in your Shire or Canton with a sewing machine. And she's probably better at sewing than you are and can help you make that kneelength gambeson look nice. Kidney plates inside, helmet on head, suitable gaunts on and karate cup in place, and except for the gamboised-cuisse leg armor beneath and the knee and elbow cops, you're all ready to rock. You can build your own safety gorget.

As said above, "armor by socialism." Trade favors if someone insists upon exchanges; most won't.

Glaukos the Athenian · Wed Jan 21, 2009 7:09 am

Some REALLY sound advise was given here. Please let me summarize some of the best

1) Giles : Buy the best helmet you can. Safety is paramount and a good quality helmet can always be resold with little loss. Good helmets can be had for reasonably short money by asking here in the Archive.

2) Blaine de Navarre: "you won't really know what you really want until you have some experience." So hold off on expensive armour to avoid costly mistakes.

3) I add my own to something mentinoed by Matt also. When you are ready do invest in good gauntlets from a reputable seller. Having handled a couple convinced me it has little to do with looks and much with grip confort.

As Matt said, if your equipment is uncomfortable or not fun to use, you will not have fun fighting in it.

Lastly, Plastic seems like a good, cheap, hard material. Just hide it if you insist on using it. While there is excuse for using plastic (though I'd use leather instead) there is no real excuse for showing the plastic.

But besides any silly rantings from myself, take the time to read carefully the replies that people have posted in this thread.

He who learns from his own mistakes is smart, he who learns from the mistakes of others is wise....

Rowan of Needwood
(soon to vanish and be reborn as someone else...)

Norman · Post by **Norman** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 10:10 am

goon,

Others have already well advised you on the helmet and gauntlets - and gave a ton of other good advice.
I just want to touch on some details that may have gotten sidetracked.

Tabard doesn't hide anything!!
For the first three years or so of my "medievalist hobby" I stayed away from SCA because of its earned reputation among medievalists as "the ducttape warriors" based on all the horrors of so-called "first armours" that actualy stay on the field well past when the fellow is a duke or some such.
I suppose my situation is different than most as I had most of a set of plate before I bothered to get out on the field (those pieces I didn't have, people were happy to loan during practices ...because I lacked a helmet, I was given a loaner from Iron Key - which I improved before giving back to another newbie)
-- It was rather shocking though when the Duke who authorized me advised that I "ditch all this pretty stuff for some plastic gear" instead of encouraging practice, advising ...something

Anyway - while it is certainly understandable when a person comes to SCA from no background or knowledge and cuts up some barrel to get on the field,
there is no reason for you to do so (what with you being on this board).
Aside from knees, elbows, and a helmet, you can build a full set of lamellar with little effort http://www.redkaganate.org/martial/armo ... amlr.shtml
Or likewise, a set of Brigandine or "inside-out scale" (Brigandine of simple overlapped rectangular plates)
Either of which can be made to cover your whole body if you so wished.

Even if your local SCA folks don't realise it --
Don't aid the SCA reputation for playing at duels in the mode of Twiddle Dee and Twidle Dumb.

PS: To your original plan of doing a Gambeson.
A nice gambosed coat is great on a chilly evening -- and realy aids to everyone's illusion of a weary night in a medieval camp !!!

You may also find that you enjoy "fencing" and/or "cut and thrust" with steel weapons at least as much or more than you do Rattan. In which case, if you have a nice, period gambosed coat -- you're pretty well set for armour.

(my first coat of fencing armour was also my court costume)

Pitbull Armory · Post by **Pitbull Armory** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 11:31 am

Hi there, I also started in the SCA with a full steel suit I paid 1000 dollars for, and got tired of people denting it up and cleaning the rust off it after every event. Thats why I made myself a full plastic suit to practice in at first. Then It evolved into some decent armor over a few years as I fought in it so I used it all the time. It got popular so I started building it for a living, that was 6 years ago. Granted Plastic will never be as cool as Steel I have no argument for that, but it is definately a good place to start.

Take care

Pitbull

Norman · Post by **Norman** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 12:19 pm

Just to clarify what seems to be resurecting a recurring dispute in this sort of discussion --

Its not "Plastic vs Steel"

It is Visible_Plastic vs Steel or Leather or Well_Hidden_Plastic

goon · Post by **goon** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 1:15 pm

Wow!
I'm surprised to have gotten so many responses since posting this last night.

For starters, I kind of came to the same conclusion on the armor. My local SCA guru also gave me the same excellent advice as you guys about armoring my head and hands in the best stuff I can afford. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with hands yet - I'd like to do combat archery eventually so it will probably be demi-gaunts and a basket hilt.
For a helm, I'm planning to put as much of the tax return as I can toward something from Ironmonger... but I also haven't ruled out something from Mad Matt or Hjalmr.
I'm kind of trying to go for an English archer ca. 1410 so I'll probably go with a bascinet or sallet.
I've also been eyeing up knees and elbows from several makers but since the helm is going to cost the most it has to come first.

FWIW, if I go the plastic route I'm going to make every effort to cover it up or otherwise hide it. I'm thinking I'll probably also spray paint it black, grey, or silver to it won't be as obvious if it somehow peeks out somewhere.
I've been thinking of a brigandine in plastic just to help get me on the field. Somewhat "accurate" and it shouldn't be too hard to make.
The "local" (who's actually about two hours away right now) guy has been very helpful so far in advising me and even invited me over to his garage to try building some stuff but I just haven't been able to make it over yet.

BTW - for budget I'm looking at spending however much I can/need to for the helm (bascinet or sallet with a fixed grill).
For the rest I'd like to try to stay around $100 - maybe a little over if necessary.

GvR · Post by **GvR** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 1:43 pm

Goon, you MAY also find that armor gets addictive. "Oohh, now I need this awesome gorget.......hey, I want these great knees......man I really love that helmet, Etc" I put a little cash aside monthly to occasionally indulge my thirst for gear. Get your starter kit and get on the field, but then keep putting a little aside each month and treat yourself to the good pieces you desire from time to time.

losthelm · Post by **losthelm** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 1:51 pm

There should be some black plasic barrels are a bit harder to come by but worth the effort to hunt.
failing that paint and plastic don't work well a better option is spray adhesive and cloth.

Lately there have been a number of new people asking simalar questions you got lucky and have a few more responces due inpart to a well writen question.
At some point you will want to up grad your kit or tools for your shop.
and as quality is not cheap start puting money aside to upgrade your gear.

Bleddyn De Caldicot · Post by **Bleddyn De Caldicot** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 5:33 pm

goon wrote:Wow!
I'm surprised to have gotten so many responses since posting this last night.

For starters, I kind of came to the same conclusion on the armor. My local SCA guru also gave me the same excellent advice as you guys about armoring my head and hands in the best stuff I can afford. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with hands yet - I'd like to do combat archery eventually so it will probably be demi-gaunts and a basket hilt.
For a helm, I'm planning to put as much of the tax return as I can toward something from Ironmonger... but I also haven't ruled out something from Mad Matt or Hjalmr.
I'm kind of trying to go for an English archer ca. 1410 so I'll probably go with a bascinet or sallet.
I've also been eyeing up knees and elbows from several makers but since the helm is going to cost the most it has to come first.

FWIW, if I go the plastic route I'm going to make every effort to cover it up or otherwise hide it. I'm thinking I'll probably also spray paint it black, grey, or silver to it won't be as obvious if it somehow peeks out somewhere.
I've been thinking of a brigandine in plastic just to help get me on the field. Somewhat "accurate" and it shouldn't be too hard to make.
The "local" (who's actually about two hours away right now) guy has been very helpful so far in advising me and even invited me over to his garage to try building some stuff but I just haven't been able to make it over yet.

BTW - for budget I'm looking at spending however much I can/need to for the helm (bascinet or sallet with a fixed grill).
For the rest I'd like to try to stay around $100 - maybe a little over if necessary.

an excellent looking 1410 archers kit could be;
-Bascinet or kettle (likelier than sallet) with or without an aventail (cloth or mail)
-gambeson with arms hidden under it
-if you find a way to hide a pair of knees and maybe some sort of cuisse under a pair of hosen you would look great. If not maybe some sort of splinted legs
-sword
-buckler
-longbow

Konstantin the Red · Post by **Konstantin the Red** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 12:28 am

goon wrote:. . . I'm rethinking my original plan of making a gambeson as my first piece of armor.
My logic behind the gambeson was that it would add some protection and padding and it would also help hide whatever ugly home-made armor I might wind up wearing underneath. But it would also be a bit of work to make (no sewing machine) and in the end, I'm not sure that it would add much other than authenticity (assuming that I don't screw my first one up too badly).

Another bit of "don't give up the gambeson:" it's really pretty hard to screw it up to where you can't operate in it. An authentic Middle Ages look is basically easy to achieve -- a lot of their outerwear was built in the same not-modern way. It was, as the parlance had it, "made in quarters." From the front, right torso, left torso, each down to the natural waistline about the navel, then right hip and thigh, left hip and thigh: four quarters. Similarly on the back of the garment, though these might be in two parts, upper and lower, seaming together at the waistline. Either way, it works. It lends itself to particolor if you like color-blocking. Even a standing collar atop it all may be counterchanged. Stand-and-fall collars like a modern shirt's or some coats weren't a feature for this kind of garment, so no trouble with that.

The seams for the torso are all slightly curved (and the armscyes curved more tightly of course, as set-in sleeves were emerging by the fourteenth century if not before). Set-in sleeves are literally set in, within a curved-cut armhole; set-on sleeves, the other way, are just stuck onto the edge of the fabric wherever it is, which leaves surplus fabric at the front of your shoulder and makes for wrinkles at each shoulder and shoulder seams that drop onto your deltoid. Less tidy looking, not so suave.

But the quarters about your torso will all be shallow curves; just bulge 'em some. Bulge any center-back seam the least, just an eentsy bit, no more than an inch, likely half that. The hip quarters' side seams should be straight, though. Center front and center back seams might, repeat might, call for a slight curvature, essentially to fit the rear quarters over your rear end. The seam at the waist that joins the upper quarters to the lower quarters should be straight, until and unless you get into later, more extreme styles like peascod and other doublet-like layouts.

I can say much less about sleeve construction than other contributors could, but the old advice about the fit about the shoulders being easier than the waist still holds: the upper arm should be a bit loose and the forearm should be more closely fitted. Some of it may button.

goon · Post by **goon** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 7:09 pm

Konstantin the Red wrote:
Another bit of "don't give up the gambeson:" it's really pretty hard to screw it up to where you can't operate in it.

I had kind of considered that as well - I even sort of plan on screwing up the first one I make (because whether I make one for this now or one later, I'm going to make one).
The nearest JoAnn fabric has outdoor heavy cotton canvas on sale for $3.99 a yard right now. I'd like to use linen but it's more expensive and I'll have to buy it online from somewhere. Since it's going to get screwed up anyway (most likely) and since it will certainly get beaten around a lot, might as well make the first one from the cheaper, more available stuff.
And in looking at illustrations and pics online, it doesn't look like it would be too difficult to kind of make my own pattern to get started with. IIRC, there are even a couple patterns around for them.

Another reason I'm on the fence: I'm in PA and in the summer it can get fairly hot here. I'm thinking a quilted garment might not be the best thing to wear around in that situation if you plan on running around, screaming, hacking people, and pretending to die (but according to my research on here, apparently natural fibers/stuffing aren't that bad in the summer).

Bleddyn De Caldicot: If it meant keeping the sallet I might even bump my period forward a couple decades. I have no experience but it just looks like the sallet style helmet might offer a little better neck protection and I like the way they look better. I figure that's as good of a reason as any to choose my armor. I like the looks of the kettle hats but I don't know how they'd work out with a bow string when I make the transition to combat archery.

Giles de Bois Guilbert · Thu Jan 22, 2009 7:51 pm

WvK wrote:Goon, you MAY also find that armor gets addictive. "Oohh, now I need this awesome gorget.......hey, I want these great knees......man I really love that helmet, Etc".

That sounds like Murdoch :wink:

Johann Lederer · Post by **Johann Lederer** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 8:56 pm

Giles de Bois Guilbert wrote:
WvK wrote:Goon, you MAY also find that armor gets addictive. "Oohh, now I need this awesome gorget.......hey, I want these great knees......man I really love that helmet, Etc".

That sounds like Murdoch

That is what I was getting at when I said I want to be like him! Great collection...evil addiction! LOL

Bleddyn De Caldicot · Post by **Bleddyn De Caldicot** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 9:36 pm

If it is for sca combat both kinds of helms need to have proper neck protection. Choose which ever you like best though remember that garments get shorter the further into the 15th century you go.

Blackoak · Post by **Blackoak** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 9:39 pm

I would echo the helmet first ideas. You can get a simple stater helm for relatively cheap. Getting a crap spuntop will not fit you well and you are more prone to injury as a new fighter in a crap help.

Look through some history pics or go to the "I want to be a ----" forum. Get some ideas. Hide your plastic under a surcout or tunic. You can get sewing experience making the less invasive tunic before you try a gambeson.

Protect your nugget and built your kit around your helm.

Uric

New guy armor ??? Try to look nice or just get on the field?

New guy armor ??? Try to look nice or just get on the field?

Hi there

Hi there

Re: New guy armor ??? Try to look nice or just get on the fi

Re: New guy armor ??? Try to look nice or just get on the fi