The Armour Archive

Sean M

Very interesting, thank you! I notice many of the images of similar armor in that thread appear to be German. It would make sense for Lithuanians to be familiar with German armor styles since they had been at war with the Teutonic Order on and off for hundreds of years prior to the early 15th centu...

Sean M

An old thread with some 15th-century armour which seems to be built of vertical slats strapped or riveted together like a tatehagi okegawa dō from Japan or the S-13 breastplate in Schloss Churburg http://forums.armourarchive.org/phpBB2/ ... &p=2744361

Sean M

Ralph Moffat thinks that the shield in Rohan v. Beaumanoir 1309 is of wood and leather and sinew ( ners ) rather than vers . I think on pavises from the 15th century, the sinew was shreaded and scattered onto a layer of glue like grated cheese on a pizza. Moffat's sourcebook on arms and armour also ...

Sean M

Hi Indianer,

here is the thread where I made a doublet of white linen with grande assiettes using some of Matthew Gnagy's ideas.

Sean M

I could make a mockup of a doublet bodice in about 1:5 scale, but just drafting the pattern will take 1 or 2 hours. How about a deal: I will make and photograph the mini doublet, if you agree to pick a place and a time and make a mock doublet out of cheap cotton or similar (just one layer, to test t...

Sean M

Sean, I am trying to follow up on this with my notes. I am pondering over the construction #2 (heavy skeleton core like in modern suits). With the Grande Assiettes tailoring , there is a small gusset under the armscye, between the large front and back pieces. Since it is such a narrow insert, will ...

Sean M

Over on Facebook someone said that the following book in Spanish is good. It seems to be based on a 1990 PhD thesis and was probably printed in a small run because most PhD theses don't have a big audience. Álvaro Soler del Campo, La evolución del armamento medieval en el reino Castellano-leonés y A...

Sean M

Hi Indianer, I am trying to think of the best way to communicate some of these ideas. If I have the right scraps of cloth, I might be able to make up a little model (or maybe I could try some more drawings). In the city where I live I don't have affordable access to heavy linen or hemp canvas so I d...

Sean M

Over on his YouTube channel, Tod has a series on an English recipe for reinforcing shields with an extra layer of half-tanned leather, hide glue, glass powder, and iron filings https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGYRM0AmCx4 He used rather thick leather so its hard to say how much the glass and iron fil...

Sean M

https://www.bookandsword.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/reinforcing-a-glued-seam.jpg?w=800 Made a batch of casein, carved some planks of the big domed shield, and glued the patches onto the small domed shield. I took a round wooden toothpick and forced some leftover glue into cracks in the glued jo...

Sean M

Indianer wrote: ↑Wed Sep 13, 2023 5:08 pm You mean the lining also wrapped over the core..?

In construction 2 (like a Sakko) you can put in the lining like this:

So its only fastened to the rest of the garment at the hems (cuffs / bottom edge / neck opening).

Sean M

Looks fine to me!

In construction 2, you can do the lining the same way as the outer fabric (only with the seam allowance on the other side of the fabric) or fancier ways that Matthew Gnagy talks about.

Sean M

Hi Indi, I like the drawing! The only thing I would change is that in 2. the two cloths usually touch each other all over like this. https://www.bookandsword.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/right-side-to-right-side.jpg?w=800 You could also do this step with a sewing machine if the doublet is not too ...

Sean M

The shield in that sculpture on the lower right is also clearly domed, even though that would be harder for the sculptor than carving flat shields. I wonder where and when it is from? I try not to go into interpreting clothing and armour in Roman art because there is so much of it in coarse stones a...

Sean M

I had a few minutes today when I did not have the brainspace or light for anything fiddly like fitting scraps into low spots in the small shield. So I tried the big gouge on the awkward side planks of the big round shield. The right tool makes a big difference! For these long curved cuts in the side...

Sean M

As far as construction is concerned..... I have seen a couple of examples of modern guys building up the shape of the pavise in layers. With good joinery, this should be pretty strong. My suspicion is that our ancestors would have just cut it out of one piece of wood, but I really don't know. beuin...

Sean M

If I had to guess I would say the lamp shows pteryges (the 'flaps' below the waist), a belt (at waist level), and a shoulder-flap cuirass (above the level). Every type of armour that existed the ancient world was made as a piece that wrapped around the body and a piece that folded over the shoulders...

Sean M

A while ago someone shared another booklet by Mann where he describes how the replicas were made, but there are no photos or drawing of the back of the shield. I could forward it if you really want it, but for a one-stop shop on heater shields I would try Jan Kohlmorgen's book. For the price of mate...

Sean M

Jan Kohlmorgen has a description and a B&W photo of the back of the replica shield. Give me a week or two and I could summarize the German. The new book I was thinking about was about the achievements of Henry V. My copy of the booklet from 1951 is buried somewhere, I don't remember if it had good ...

Sean M

https://www.bookandsword.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/side-view-of-shield-cropped.jpg Looking over the shield deciding whether it needs any more sanding. The small gouge marks will probably be invisible under the rawhide and gesso, but there are a few low spots 3 mm below the curve and I may fill...

Sean M

https://www.bookandsword.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/sanding-the-shield.jpg I have carved it enough that I am starting to use sandpaper around a wooden block to smooth out the high spots and blend the curves. I don't think you want a silky-smooth finish, just one which won't look lumpy under the...

Sean M

I added a note on a Byzantine text which says that in addition to offensive weapons and shields, the heavy infantry should have helmets (perikephaleiai) and body armour (thorakes) and greaves (periknemides). If, however, sufficient equipment is not available, then at least the first two ranks should...

Sean M

The Italian National Library in Florence has let the Wayback Machine digitize and host some of their manuscripts because they do it better than Google Books. Have not yet explored them for material culture. https://www.bncf.firenze.sbn.it/collezioni-digitalizzate/ https://archive.org/details/BNCF?ta...

Sean M

https://www.bookandsword.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/carving-front-of-shield.jpg As you see I have it within a few millimeters of the final outline. Carving the front is tricky because I want to make the same curve all over and its a lot of crossgrain carving. I may make a cardboard template. So...

Sean M

https://www.bookandsword.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/hollowed-shield.jpg Since last post I have hollowed out the center of the shield and started to remove wood from the back. This plank was cut from close to the surface of the tree, so the grain at the edges can be tricky to work with. I am usi...

Sean M

https://www.bookandsword.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/hollowing-the-shield.jpg Hollowing out the shield with the big gouge. The gouge arrived with a 1 mm or 1/32" notch in the edge so I will need to grind it a lot. So far the glued seam is holding up to the pounding but I have managed to collapse...

Sean M

https://www.bookandsword.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/ash-scabbard-laths.jpg Resawed a 33" ash board into two thin laths. Those who have handsawed seasoned ash or oak will know. I like Matt's idea of removing the wood from the sides early but I have to make sure I don't remove too much wood. Beca...

Sean M

The Canso d'Antioca (c. 1170-1250? It kept being edited and adapted to different forms of French or Occitan) ed. Suzanne Duparc-Quioc and tr. Edgington and Sweetenham. This is a story about the First Crusade which claims to be recorded by a pilgrim, it definitely sticks close to history as we know i...

Sean M

Our library has an electronic version of the new English translation of the Chanson d’Antioche based on the edition by Suzanne Duparc-Quioc . This is hard to date because it seems to have gone through several versions, it could be as early as 1170 and as late as 1250 when the Old French Crusade Cycl...

Sean M

Looks like I don't have a choice because I cracked the wood too badly to patch

I will see if the ash board I have works, ash scabbard cores are not unknown in the Viking Age and High Middle Ages. Beech tends to be expensive and imported.

Sean M

https://www.bookandsword.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/back-of-scabbard-core.jpg?w=800 About 70% of the wood has been removed from one side of the back of one lathe. I am leaving the other side for now because I can treat it as a straightedge when I clamp the slats together. Because as the wood ge...

Sean M

https://www.bookandsword.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/scabbard-core.jpg The scabbard cores are shaped on the inside! They are a tight fit so I will remove just a little bit of wood until they go in easily. It sounds like most people make their first scabbard a bit too tight and forget that the le...

Sean M

This makes me think of the use of cuttings of cow sinew to reinforce shields. They seemed to be sprinkled over the face of the shield like gratings of cheese on a pizza. http://www.atilf.fr/dmf/definition/nerver has an entry from the Song of Betrand de Guesculin where someone has a sinewed shield an...

Sean M

Fabian Brenker and Daniel Burger in Waffen- und Kostümkunde (2020)

https://www.academia.edu/103598599/Bren ... 3%BCrnberg

Sean M

I had a few hours to put up a typology of round shields in Catholic Europe around the 14th century. It seems like there are the kind with no bosses and straps on the back like a 16th century rotella ... the kind with one boss which are probably overgrown bucklers, ... and the kind with four or six b...

Re: Lithuanian Cuirass?

Re: Lithuanian Cuirass?

Re: Felt Armour

Re: Arming coat for supporting armor only, no padding

Re: Arming coat for supporting armor only, no padding

Re: Arming coat for supporting armor only, no padding

Re: Written Sources for Gambesons/Aketons/Pourpoints 1100-1350

Re: Arming coat for supporting armor only, no padding

Re: Building a historical pavise

Re: Woodworking Project Diary

Re: Arming coat for supporting armor only, no padding

Re: Arming coat for supporting armor only, no padding

Re: Arming coat for supporting armor only, no padding

Re: Felt Armour

Re: Woodworking Project Diary

Re: Building a historical pavise

Re: Felt Armour

Re: Back of the Black Prince's Shield at Canterbury

Re: Back of the Black Prince's Shield at Canterbury

Re: Woodworking Project Diary

Re: Woodworking Project Diary

Re: Felt Armour

Italian MS Digitized

Re: Woodworking Project Diary

Re: Woodworking Project Diary

Re: Woodworking Project Diary

Re: Woodworking Project Diary

Re: Was maille cleaned using sand and vinegar?

Re: Written Sources for Gambesons/Aketons/Pourpoints 1100-1350

Re: Woodworking Project Diary

Re: Woodworking Project Diary

Re: Woodworking Project Diary

Re: How do the grips of hand pavises work?

German Article on the Armour on a House Front in Nurenberg

Round Targets