The Armour Archive

Buster

That first photo Josh posted is a detail from this painting http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Altarpiece_of_St_Sebastian.jpg If you open the full resolution you can see a huge amount of detail in the archery equipment. Some of the arrows look like they have some sort of decoration on the shafts...

Buster

These could be faulds or full scale body armor, but a falud could give the same look. In each case the scale armor is being worn over mail. (All these are English from the first half of the 14th C.) http://www.flickr.com/photos/trelewis/448129603/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/sheepdog_rex/6417865135...

Buster

On 16th century infantry armors you often see shoulder plates/munions attached directly to the gorget like this. http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y110/Nephtys/Medieval%20European%20Armour/16th%20Century/armours_c1555_and_1540_IA_51.jpg If properly constructed, how flexible is this style of armor? I ...

Buster

Alright, thanks for the helpful responses.

Buster

How practical it is to have armor made mostly based off measurements? For example, would it possible to order a 3/4 plate harness that fits well without actually going to the armourer? It seems like the gorget would be the biggest issue, since it is a complex piece that the rest of the armor is base...

Buster

I have some plates for a wisby style coat of plates which are similar in size to the original, but they just seem way to long. (The lowest plate would end about 14 inches below the top of the side plates.) It's based on wisby #7, so there are only a few segmented sections. I didn't know if this woul...

Buster

Dan Howard wrote: Armour "made of metal rings on leather belts" never existed in any time period.

That would be impossible to prove.

Dan Howard wrote:This thread has already shown that the banding is ridiculous.

No one has convincingly shown that the concept wouldn't work.

Buster

Cool! So are you keeping all the lames in the same direction and omitting the extra center plate? It seems like it works well either way.

Buster

Here is a basic one I made using 2x4's, board lumber and a jigsaw. The rear shoulder piece is set slightly higher, so it holds a gorget at a more natural angle. I used pipe insulation for the shoulder padding. The main post actually starts as two 2x4's screwed together in the base for support, but I...

Buster

Konstantin, I'm not sure his spaulders are all lames and no cops. His left shoulder does give that impression somewhat, but his right looks more like a cop with 2 lames. Compare Littlebury's spaulders to this one from a few years earlier. http://effigiesandbrasses.com/monuments/unknown_pembrugge/ Th...

Buster

I think doing the entire suit would be really cool! (I like the mix of armor styles you see in this one.) To me, the sabatons look like they could be brigandine style construction, just with the plates on the outside. The spaulders are a bit unusual. I think what looks like top lame is actually some...

Buster

These look very nice! Psst. Aglets . The legs look more like first quarter of the 14th century to me. When I saw these, my first thought was the 1365 effigy of sir Humphrey Littlebury. http://effigiesandbrasses.com/monuments/humphrey_littlebury/image/206/large/ The rivet size, style, and placement i...

Buster

I tried on an old French cuirassiers breastplate, and although it fit me fairly well, it was wide enough across the front that I could only hold my arms straight out in front of me at a slight inward angle. If you wanted to make a left to right swing, for example, you would have to twist your torso ...

Buster

The a46100 looks similar to the ar500 to me. There is a little deformation in that edge shot, but I'd be surprised if there was a lot of difference between the two steels. The biggest issue with either would be the spalling. Enough spray on bedliner seems to help, but if you're putting your plates b...

Buster

AR500 seems pretty solid, and is a lot more common. It appears to reliably stop what it's rated to stop and more. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb-ClokH0ks http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCn8KOoBNxs http://www.youtube.com/user/AR500Armor The biggest issue is the spalling, but that would apply to ei...

Buster

I've never worn greaves with sabatons, so I didn't know if weight on top of the sabatons/shoes would be comfortable or not. I know having a greave by itself resting on the instep can be uncomfortable, but I thought having it attached to the sabaton might better distribute the weight over the shoe. R...

Buster

I misread your original post and thought you had already attached your greaves to your sabatons, now I see what you mean. The Chartres greaves I mentioned seem to have overlapped the top of the sabatons and been secured with 2 pivoting rivets, one on each side. (If you can get access to a copy of Br...

Buster

Does anyone know more about this topic here? http://www.myarmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=28005 I'm interested in what happened to armor in western Europe during the late 17th century and 18th century. It's easy to follow up until around 1640-1650, but after that information becomes scarce until th...

Buster

I'm not sure about this, but I think more open period helmets (like sallets) generally had chinstraps in addition to the suspension, while ones that covered the entire head often didn't have chinstraps. With some types of helmets, like the close helm or armet, the helmet is already firmly closed and...

Buster

As above I think the average will be around 17 gauge if we ever get a big study done. From my initial look that is what I am seeing. That said I'd like to do scans over measurements with calipers... it would be much more helpful and definitive. I think for thinner parts 20 is possible for sure. RPM...

Buster

Weight can also be deceptive since the size and coverage of the arm has to be considered, plus any metal loss from polishing or corrosion. The evidence shows arms could range from fairly thin to quite thick, like on the A21 harness. If you look at wcallens measurements, 20 gauge seems to be at the m...

Buster

They look more like depictions of Chainmaile rather than scale in both representations, but someone more learned than me may know better. The chausses on the St. George statue definitely look like scales. The Romance of Alexander ones are also pretty clearly scale: - http://manuscriptminiatures.com...

Buster

Scales inside the elbow can work fine. There was a thread a while back where someone tried to replicate the scale sleeves on the Prague St. George statue in card paper, and it worked good. Here are some more medieval European depictions of scale sleeves: - http://effigiesandbrasses.com/monuments/sai...

Buster

I have a Pexto roller and I gotta say its a HUGE pain in the ass to try and roll a bead into 18g stainless.. MUCH easier to make a jig and start the roll with a chizel and backing plate matched out. Granted Ive always thought this wasnt done in period but I make SCA armor so its tolerable IMO. Do y...

Buster

So it seems Ffoulkes might have been the source for the claim I heard. Mac, that reconstruction looks very much like the one in the painting, and makes more sense then Ffoulke's. In the painting, we see the forge of vulcan makes all sorts of things incuding tableware, jewelry, watches, etc., so the ...

Buster

I remember reading on some armor site that the reason most rolled edges changed form being rolled outside to being rolled inside was the invention of the bead roller in the 16thC. The channels on rerebrace turning collars also look remarkably similar to a pipe that's been bead rolled: http://www.ust...

Buster

I see what you mean now about thicker metal working better. I moved up to a slightly heavier gauge, started with the piece flat, and I'm finally satisfied with the results. It seems like after the angle is established, the bulk of the forming can be done with just a ball pien hammer and a 2x4 restin...

Buster

Thanks for the posts and tips. After I posted this I gave it another go and had better luck using a ball pien to dish and flatten the edges out from the center, similar to the way wcallen describes. I'm happy with the angle I was able to get, but this piece was only 24 gauge and 1.5 inches wide at t...

Buster

My two favorites are close helms and burgonets.
I especially like close helms that have the sharply angled ships prow shape on the front.

Buster

How do you form the sharp anticlastic curves like you see in later period elbows? I cut a pattern out of (very thin) metal, scored it with a chisel and tried hammering out the shape, but I didn't achieve much. Every time I got it to flair out a bit, the curve wanted to straighten out, and I couldn't...

Buster

Most of the examples the Met presents seem to be in good condition, with sharp lines, clean engraving, gilding, and possibly original paint. My point was that even in their current state, the weights given for barding pieces often seem to indicate an average thickness of more than 22-24 gauge. Most ...

Buster

I know this is an old thread, but I'm also interested in this topic. Here is an interesting book from the Met about horse armor, and it gives some weights: http://www.metmuseum.org/research/metpublications/The_Armored_Horse_in_Europe_1480_1620 Saffrons seem to average 4-5 pounds, with one over 7 pou...

Buster

Okay, so it sounds like painting the inside of helmets is pretty common, thanks.

Buster

Thanks for the quick responses. Yes, it has a certain smell to it, but I'm not sure it's because of the paint, it might be the plastic wrap/packaging. I wore it for about an hour earlier today and it did give me a mild headache after a while, but I'm also unaccustomed to the weight. (I got a neck ac...

Buster

Today I received a helmet, and it appears to have been spray painted silver on the inside. Since it completely encloses the head, I was wondering if it would be safe to wear? There is an overseas manufacturers sticker over the paint, so I assume it was done a while ago, but I didn't know if I should...

Re: Cresting Arrows

Re: Historical evidence for scale fauld in 14th century?

How flexible was munion/almain rivet style armor?

Re: How difficult is it to get plate armor that fits?

How difficult is it to get plate armor that fits?

Coat of plates seems too long

Re: How plausible is banded mail?

Re: Pheonix Dawn Plate Armour: Compression Articulation!

Re: Making an armor stand?

Re: 1365 Legs with Cheep Aglets!

Re: 1365 Legs with Cheep Aglets!

Re: 13th c Legs with Cheep Chapes

Breastplates and arm mobility

Re: Metallurgy Question

Re: Metallurgy Question

Re: New Armour suit

Re: New Armour suit

Western European armor after 1650

Re: New Armour suit

Re: arm harness thickness

Re: arm harness thickness

Re: assembling scale chausses

Re: What's going on in this fresco? (German 14th century)

Re: Were bead rollers used in armor construction?

Re: Were bead rollers used in armor construction?

Were bead rollers used in armor construction?

Re: Forming anticlastic curves

Re: Forming anticlastic curves

Re: Favorite helmet type

Forming anticlastic curves

Re: Barding thickness?

Re: Barding thickness?

Re: Safety of paint in helmets?

Re: Safety of paint in helmets?

Safety of paint in helmets?