The Armour Archive

Keegan Ingrassia

Small delay, as the buckles I had on hand were too narrow for the strapping I had intended for this piece. So today was spent making the buckle and d-rings, instead.

Keegan Ingrassia

5 minutes here, 30 minutes there, a few rounds of resurfacing and rewaxing over the wet winter...everything is done on this piece now, except for the strapping, which should happen tomorrow. Tried to remind myself this was a munitions piece, and the important thing is to get it wearable while it sti...

Keegan Ingrassia

Different kind of project, but a good visual example of the kind of arc you can achieve from a straight rectangle of material.

https://forums.armourarchive.org/phpBB3 ... 1#p2852551

Keegan Ingrassia

16ga is a reasonable thickness in mild for both a light helmet, and spaulders, certainly for your first tries. It's thick enough that it's difficult to wrinkle, but thin enough to shape cold. If you plan to use this for something like the SCA (where friends try to gently concuss you with sticks) the...

Keegan Ingrassia

People recommend a spangenhelm because it is compiled from multiple smaller pieces that are then riveted together to form the whole. The smaller quarter-panels are easier to dish and shape than a full helm. A riveted sugarloaf or great-helm could be two other alternatives, by the same virtue. Spauld...

Keegan Ingrassia

First off, welcome to the Archive! :D The two pieces most people start with, and recommend, are the spangenhelm and a set of spaulders. The individual pieces are of manageable size, do not require a great deal of materials or tooling, and can be done entirely without hot work. After you've done both...

Keegan Ingrassia

Crossposting for those who do not patronize the Book of Faces. Last month, our website and the culmination of 20 years of effort was deleted eviscerated, disintegrated, atomized and completely erased from the Matrix by our hosting service. Because many have asked - you can the whole story on our fun...

Keegan Ingrassia

Thanks Mac! He's excited and ready to commission a full suit. :lol: The deep hammer marks are from a litany of issues: I haven't raised in a few years, so my angles in relation to the stake were off Since I haven't raised in a few years, arm fatigue created sloppy strikes, and I struck with the corn...

Keegan Ingrassia

Glad to hear you're on the mend!

Keegan Ingrassia

Bit more progress. I have the rolls curled over, and have them sanded and surface finished in preparation for closing. I also deepened and refined the central medial ridge. Put in a coat of black paint on the interior. Also spent several hours today getting the majority of the surface finish done. ...

Keegan Ingrassia

Keegan Ingrassia wrote: ↑Wed Sep 20, 2023 12:43 pm Putting in the initial step for the rolls flattened out the profile a little, especially on the left side, but I can correct that as I go.

Keegan Ingrassia

Been enjoying the cooler weather, and stealing 5–30 minutes here and there to get out in the shop. Refining the curves on Quinn's breastplate and boughing out the low spots have given the piece a profile I'm much happier with, and more in line with the extant examples I've seen. I hope to get a rou...

Keegan Ingrassia

It's been hot, friends. Most of July and August was in the 105–108° range, with the interior of the shop a good 20° hotter, so that slowed things down. We had to try and get as much progress as we could in the first 2–3 hours of the morning, then cut off and get back inside. But thanks to the tropi...

Keegan Ingrassia

Keegan Ingrassia wrote: ↑Sun Apr 30, 2023 6:20 pm Obligatory bag o' marbles stage.

Keegan Ingrassia

I realized that a project I'd started as a quick one-off has grown more involved, so I wanted to move the progress over here—originally from Off Topics—for posterity and continuity. I'll quote the original progress to date, then move forward with updates here. In armour-related news, Quinn is six se...

Keegan Ingrassia

Posting here for those of you who do not haunt Facebook ------------------------------- Beaten Black and Blue The Myth of the Medieval Knight in Shining Armour This is a great book that should be on the bookshelf of all historical weapon enthusiasts! It has been written by Chris Dobson and was previ...

Keegan Ingrassia

You work never fails to inspire!

There is an economy of line and material in your work that I find immensely appealing. They are beautiful and efficient, and truly capture the spirit of the era.

Keegan Ingrassia

First of all, welcome! Glad to have you here. :) Template Material Choice Your instinct to mock up a prototype out of inexpensive material is a good one; it's much faster and easier to iterate, and mistakes don't set you back in time or money. I've found, for pieces that need relatively simple shapi...

Keegan Ingrassia

About a 28-hour drive for me, one way.

Best of luck with the sale! Someone's gonna be really happy with that.

Keegan Ingrassia

A handsome conclusion to a breathtaking project. Many thanks for sharing the pattern here and explaining its finer points over on FB. I've definitely saved all of it for future use!

Keegan Ingrassia

It's a term from tailoring fabric. It means to remove a triangle of material, then close up the gap.

Since most breastplates have a central ridge, putting a single, taller dart in the middle would work towards that shape pretty conveniently.

Keegan Ingrassia

They stay up by virtue of their shape, specifically the top third, supporting itself upon your calf muscle. Absolutely fabric underneath, yes. Helps keep things in place. They stay up on their own, and the weight should never rest on your ankle or instep. They feel like a slim pair of slacks, I sup...

Keegan Ingrassia

Take out the chunk after the width, and leave the user authentication modifier. So instead of this: =w850-h873-s-no?authuser=0 Just have this: =w850?authuser=0 https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AJFCJaX8fvkNpvAcgwRZh58MDpxTFNN4KrFIBRvhm0bWzjLNbiasna46nZzflT7PXR-mRi_h3BLQgAcj5TS8ppNqqekP6dtsGcAfADo...

Keegan Ingrassia

Looking at your suspension points, the black laces on your cuisses will do the majority of the heavy lifting. The distance there from your hip to your waist does not change as drastically when walking forward, so it will minimize the fall/jerk sensation. Conversely, the white laces keep the top demi...

Keegan Ingrassia

Interesting to see a brayette without the front triangle/pouch! Based on the description on your site, you would surmise this was an intentional design, and not a later-life removal?

Keegan Ingrassia

Welcome, human! Looking forward to seeing your armouring journey!

Keegan Ingrassia

Looks like it's almost time for my annual project update. :roll: Turns out, a newborn takes up just as much time the second time around...who knew?! :lol: In addition, the past year has been focused on a slew of family-related endeavors...moving my parents out of the ancestral home, also moving my i...

Keegan Ingrassia

Bless you, Ergosum.

An Italian book, then.

Keegan Ingrassia

Man, that looks familiar. I know I've got other pages of this book saved...
https://pin.it/4zaRj0R
https://pin.it/4uLb61D
https://pin.it/5EsoKCc

Keegan Ingrassia

Breathtaking; some kid is going to see this in the exhibit, and you're going to inspire a whole new generation of armourers.

Keegan Ingrassia

You could forgo the issue, and wear a houppelande over it all as a late 14th century German?

https://effigiesandbrasses.com/3544/3099
https://effigiesandbrasses.com/3100/2490
https://effigiesandbrasses.com/872/4490
https://effigiesandbrasses.com/2659/5774
https://effigiesandbrasses.com/5665/20096

Keegan Ingrassia

Nicely done! Those are a handsome pair of turnshoes. Good job on the narrow waist on the sole, as well—historically, it seems they favored a much narrower sole than we are accustomed to with modern, thickly-soled shoes. I can't tell from the picture, and I don't see it marked in your pattern; did yo...

Keegan Ingrassia

Who made the knockoff? And how thick is the aluminum? Any idea about the state of the metal...full hard, half hard, etc?

Shouldn't be a problem, reasonably, but it all factors in. I know I've abused my Harbor Freight knockoff for years, and it's still doing alright.

Keegan Ingrassia

Congratulations! It's beautifully organized.

Keegan Ingrassia

It's the accurate shaping that sells it as decorated armor, and not a costume piece. Fantastic fantasy piece!

Re: Munitions breastplate for a child, late 14th c.

Re: Munitions breastplate for a child, late 14th c.

Re: Need Help: 16th Century Gorget Top Ring

Re: Which piece of armor is the best for beginners to start out with?

Re: Which piece of armor is the best for beginners to start out with?

Re: Which piece of armor is the best for beginners to start out with?

Revival Clothing needs your help

Re: Munitions breastplate for a child, late 14th c.

Re: Articulation

Re: Munitions breastplate for a child, late 14th c.

Re: Munitions breastplate for a child, late 14th c.

Re: Munitions breastplate for a child, late 14th c.

Re: Munitions breastplate for a child, late 14th c.

Re: Munitions breastplate for a child, late 14th c.

Munitions breastplate for a child, late 14th c.

New Book: Beaten Black and Blue

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Re: How should I go about measurements?

Re: Leg Vice for sale.

Re: Mac's blog

Re: Batteredshell’s Cardboard Armour Questions

Re: Batteredshell’s Cardboard Armour Questions

Re: Batteredshell’s Cardboard Armour Questions

Re: Batteredshell’s Cardboard Armour Questions

Re: Mail - tailoring based on a new (to me) example

Re: Tony's blog

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Re: Trying to locate a book based on two pages

Re: Rene's blog

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Re: PLATENER - historical armour reproduction

Re: Rene's blog