The Armour Archive

Myron

I have been looking through it some more, but lost the drive to make notes. It goes on for about 700 pages full of illustrations. The later Luzerner Schilling chronicle is great too, lots of early 16th century battle scene illustrations and the color is richer. http://www.e-codices.unifr.ch/en/list/...

Myron

I haven’t posted in a long time, but I just stumbled across the Swiss Chronicles and have been looking at the Spiezer Chronik by Diebold Schilling the younger ( http://www.e-codices.unifr.ch/en/bbb/Mss-hh-I0016 ) as a reference for armour of the period. There are a lot of great illustrations, and I ...

Myron

I will try to get there around 9ish. I want to check out your Spanish 1510 Cuisse for the left leg if possible, I want to make something similar but 30 years earlier.

Thanks, looking forward to this weekend.

Myron

Thanks Wade, I'm looking forward to seeing everyone again. Sorry for the last minute add, my weekend schedules have been changing like crazy the last few months. I'll bring a few projects along to get some critique on if there is time.

Myron

If there is still room I can make it out. I haven't posted much lately but I'm still working on late 15th century stuff and would definitely like to see the new pauldron.

Myron

Some more pictures.

Myron

I am finally as finished as I can be with this project. With it being spring steel there is not much I can do to change things around at this point. After trimming down the arm holes (they look a lot uglier now) it works mostly ok if I wear something that pushes the breastplate out so it doesn't sit...

Myron

I would love to make it out, I am really busy in September, I think the only free weekend I have is the 10th -11th. October is a little better, I think I am only working on the 21-23rd weekend. I want to check out the cuisse for the right leg, the one we were talking about in the "archer's knees" di...

Myron

I found three more so far in Goll, one photo from the Met that is partly reconstructed, and the other two from Philadelphia.

Myron

I see it now Wade, thank you for making it clear. I looked at your pictures quickly on my phone earlier, your website is blocked from work. Yeah I should be working, but I was on lunch. I didn't even think of the row of rivets on the cuisse being used for leather that could be pointed. I found anoth...

Myron

Thanks Wade, I thought yours looked later as well. I will do some digging when I get a chance. Yours looks like it was strapped with two straps, one above and one below the knee. I have found some manuscript illustrations that show the same thing. Would they fit close enough to stay on the leg, or d...

Myron

Are there any surviving 15th century pieces that could be considered "archer's" knees? I'm considering trying to make some before making a full leg harness since I have never made articulated knees before and would look nicer than my current rig.

Myron

I've seen the Medieval Soldier book but need to get a copy. I will also pick up the Louis XI book, it looks like it is only used from the UK. I'll see what Amazon charges for shipping from the UK to here, if not I can send it to my brother in Cambridge and get it from him later.

Thanks

Myron

I'm trying to find some decent reading that might cover the Alsace region around 1460 - 90. I figured most of what might be written would be about Charles the Bold, and there are a few books on him out there. One by Ruth Putnam is free on amazon right now, I might start with that. https://www.amazon...

Myron

I scrapped the shoulders I was looking at above, started some multi - part spaulders. The cuirass is mostly done - I heat treated it and temporarily put it together to fight in. I found that the arm holes were not big enough. It came up too high in the armpit and I had a outward curve at the top by ...

Myron

Thanks Jeremy, I have been out of town for a few weeks and haven't gotten anything done since. Hope you are feeling better and can get back to work, I want to see how your helmet turns out. I have made some can construction sallet patterns but not gone any further yet. I am starting to work on a pat...

Myron

Two more pictures

Myron

Ok, for some almost complete pictures. I have not gotten in the shop much the last 2 months but I think I have taken it about as far as I can. I still need to make the straps and buckles, as you can see here I'm just using some ties and a belt. I think that is part of the reason the breastplate is r...

Myron

I'm finishing up a cuirass out of 4130 using .04 for the plackart, back, and tassets. I used .032 for the top piece of the breastplate, fauld, and cullet. It is very light overall, and will be plenty strong enough for sca after its heat treated, but if I did it again I would go up to .06 or thicker ...

Myron

It's been a long time since I updated this, I have made some decent progress. I remade the top of the breastplate, started fluting, and now I'm working on the fauld and cullet. Using thin steel has really been a pain. I'll never do it again for something like this, it just flexes and moves around to...

Myron

Mac, Some pictures might show you more of where I am at. As soon as I can get some help taking good pictures of it strapped to me I will get them up. I'm sure there will be some things I need to fix and adjust. I was marking it where it fit on me like you advised so I can strap it together when it's...

Myron

Hmm, I may end up welding, not sure yet. I'm afraid it might get messy, another problem with using thin steel. I could also redo the whole top plate if I need to, I was just getting excited about making some progress. Mac, I have done quite a bit to the back plate since the last pictures, the top of...

Myron

I attempted some triangular rolls at the arms and it was a disaster. I ended up cutting them off and made gussets. Is there there any provenance for gussets on late 15th cent or turn of the century two piece breastplates? I haven't had time for a good search yet.

Myron

Off topic for raising hammers but on the subject of ghetto armoring tools, here are a few I have put together that may give you some ideas that you can do a lot with for not a lot of cash J. Hillard. My whole shop is ghetto tools. It helps if you have an angle grinder and access to a welder. My Mig ...

Myron

Not yet, I've been looking around for a used torch. I am probably just going to buy a new one when I get some money and time to actually use it. I don't really need it for my cuirass, and my next project will be to start the arms to go with it. I won't need it until I get to the elbows. At the rate ...

Myron

Looking good Jeremy! Keep posting pictures, I am going to try a sallet like this at some point also.

Myron

Ok, so I added a little more depth to the upper back, made the breastplate have more of a C shape than U shape, trimmed about 1.5" from each side of the breast, and taped the whole thing on me. It was hard to get good pics, so I also hung it up and took some. I feel like I am starting to get somewhe...

Myron

I've done some work since getting a bunch of advice at the study session. I dished the top back plate, lightly dished the bottom plate and took out the dip in along the spine, and maybe prematurely started to dish out the back bumps for the shoulder blades. Next step is to temporarily rivet them tog...

Myron

I had a great time, thanks to Wade for hosting and sharing his collection, and Tom for showing us his shop. Seeing the real stuff has motivated me to try harder. And get a torch. I really need a torch. I have begun to attempt to fix some of the things wrong with my cuirass. I'll post an update when ...

Myron

I'm really excited to be able to make it. I will probably be one of the least experienced guys there but I will try to absorb everything I can. I've never seen real armor bits that wasn't behind glass. I am bringing a couple of breastplates I made and the cuirass I am working on to get some pointers...

Myron

I have seen that post before Tom, I needed to look at it again. There are so many things to consider in building a cuirass I am probably going to get a lot of small details wrong. I cut the rest of the back plate and did some rough shaping. Yeah, I am wearing the same shirt as before but it was wash...

Myron

My last breastplate I made does not wrap around my sides nearly enough so I was paranoid of that happening again and added a lot of extra material. As it is now there is about 2" overlap of the side of the breast over the back plate so I hope it is ok. If I put on just the back it goes slightly past...

Myron

Thanks for the image links Wade, I have seen them before but always to look back to. Here are two shots of how it sits on me as it is. Mac I can see what you mean from the profile view of how putting some more curve under the neck will make it fit better on the upper chest. I do think the waist line...

Myron

Mac, I didn't see your comment until I started the flare in the neck, not that big of a deal to re-do. I will go back and curve the under the neck in more. After that I am going to cut out the rest of the back plate. I'm keeping it simple and making something like this, Goll 3279. Thanks for the adv...

Myron

Wade I think I get what you are saying about the breast and back fitting together without them being parallel to each other. I think it is close to right, but fitting the top plate of the back will change it. Thicker steel would have been easier to work with. I only have .032 and .04 right now that ...

Re: Interesting things in the Swiss Chronicles

Interesting things in the Swiss Chronicles

Re: Study Session 2016 - Nov. 19, Central NC, USA

Re: Study Session 2016 - Nov. 19, Central NC, USA

Re: Study Session 2016 - Nov. 19, Central NC, USA

Re: Need some help on a breast/back

Re: Need some help on a breast/back

Re: Study Session 2016

Re: Definition of "archer" knees/elbows?

Re: Definition of "archer" knees/elbows?

Re: Definition of "archer" knees/elbows?

Re: Definition of "archer" knees/elbows?

Re: Reading recommendations that cover Alsace / Burgundian w

Reading recommendations that cover Alsace / Burgundian wars?

Re: Need some help on a breast/back

Re: Need some help on a breast/back

Re: Need some help on a breast/back

Re: Need some help on a breast/back

Re: Metal thickness for a breastplate?

Re: Need some help on a breast/back

Re: Need some help on a breast/back

Re: Need some help on a breast/back

Re: Need some help on a breast/back

Re: Buying a raising hammer/armouring hammers

Re: Jeremy's harness build.

Re: Jeremy's harness build.

Re: Need some help on a breast/back

Re: Need some help on a breast/back

Re: Study Session 2015

Re: Study Session 2015

Re: Need some help on a breast/back

Re: Need some help on a breast/back

Re: Need some help on a breast/back

Re: Need some help on a breast/back

Re: Need some help on a breast/back