The Armour Archive

Old Armourer

Thanks for the kind comments guys. High praise indeed coming from such auspicious colleagues.

Old Armourer

Thanks for the compliment, Mac.

Here's a side view of the helmet; a much better angle.

Old Armourer

Here's a photo of the interior of a 16th century tilting helmet. You can see the straps, fastened at the brow, and criss-crossed at the top of the head. One has a slot cut in it to allow the other to pass through, so they don't slip down away from each other. There are two sets of holes at the back ...

Old Armourer

If you look closely at this image by Durer, you can see that the knight is not wearing any lower canons with his vambraces. The sleeve of his puff-and-slash shirt can be seen sticking out from between the gauntlet cuff and the elbow cop (look also at the inside of the gauntlet on the right arm). Sor...

Old Armourer

Looking good Cian. Doing scallops as dags is an interesting alternative. If you want to punch up the torse a bit more, try running another, thinner ribbon (1/8" or so) along the edges of the wide one. You can hot-glue them on, or they'll stay in place once you attach the torse to the mantle. For pai...

Old Armourer

Guys, this discussion about how to tie the points on the crest is moot. Gerhard; To begin with, I wasn't using my comment about how difficult it is to tie the points on the inside of the helm as a challenge to Mac's point of view. It was a "By the way" comment, something like "By the way, have you t...

Old Armourer

Mac; Thanks for the kind comment about my work; it's appreciated. With regards to the points, I think for the most part you're right, But somewhere along the line I recall seeing a photo of an effigy showing the points laced on the outside of the crest, on all four points of the compass. I distinctl...

Old Armourer

Cian; Thanks for your kind comments regarding my work. I don't usually get any feedback, so I never really know how I'm doing. I do love making the crests and mantles; it gives me an opportunity to exercise my artistic side, and I think they finish off a great helm nicely. Below is a photo of the pa...

Old Armourer

Cian; Jeff DeBoer made the crest and torse for the Prince Arthur achievement, and I made the helm and mantle. Here's a link to it at Worcester Cathedral - http://www.richardiiiworcs.co.uk/arthurexhibitionthumbnails.html (five thumbnails down, and one over) The leather I used was bovine, not goatskin...

Old Armourer

James;

This is the best I can do; not exactly straight on, but hopefully it helps...

Old Armourer

Mac; Your "arm tube binding problem" is an excellent example of how contemporary art sometimes isn't reliable. What works on a carved statue doesn't necessarily work for actual armour. Artists have a tendency to take certain liberties, either because they are working from memory (they don't actually...

Old Armourer

Mac;

How's your arm doing?

Old Armourer

Mac; I just noticed this thread today and read through it (whew!). I noticed you mentioned that you couldn't remember the brand name of the compression sleeves I told you about, so here's a link; http://www.tommiecopper.com/product/mens-elbow-compression-sleeve Posting it here rather than sending yo...

Old Armourer

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Old Armourer

Depending on how artistically inclined you are, you could try using an airbrush. Use the painter's tape and the stencils (just make sure they don't move while you're painting!); do a light coat first, not completely saturated, and let it dry (about ten minutes). Then go over it again and give it ful...

Old Armourer

In his book, "A Knight and His Armour," the late R. Ewart Oakeshott wrote; "The most serious and stupid error is the old one about the weight of armour. Men never had to be hoisted into their saddles with cranes; the relative weight and composition of armour are widely known and appreciated, yet thi...

Old Armourer

Sorry guys, you're still looking. I've got both of Oppi Untracht's books mentioned, and the Claude Blair book on the Henry VIII silvered armour, and no dice. Untracht's Jewelry Concepts has a section on armour, but no line drawings of patterns for a pauldron. The image in question looks like it coul...

Old Armourer

Bleddyn - I"m sorry for all the confusion. I should have made my request clearer. Here's what I'm looking for: Thorvald has challenged Lars to a duel, to meet him at the Holmganga. But Lars can't fight; his right arm is palsy-ed, and he can't hold a weapon. Thorvald knows this, but being the jerk th...

Old Armourer

Bleddyn - Thank you for the info. I wonder if it's the same context though; I was thinking about a champion specifically with regards to the Holmganga - the Norse duel within the 'hazel field.' I'm not sure if 'Kappi' would qualify, but then I know nothing about the Old Norse language, so those more...

Old Armourer

Kilkenny - Thanks for the link. I tried it, but couldn't find what I was looking for. I'm going to keep searching, though. Bleddyn - I'd be interested to hear what your prof has to say - thanks in advance. Arngrim- I need to know the Old Norse designation for the champion, not the second. i.e., Beow...

Old Armourer

In a purely descriptive sense. It's for an article. It will be used in the following sentence;

"In Old Norse, (blank) was used to describe a champion or advocate."

P

Old Armourer

As the title says, I'm looking for someone who can translate an English word into Old Norse. Can anyone tell me what the Old Norse word for a champion or advocate would be, someone who fights (say in a duel), on behalf of someone else who is unable to fight for themselves? Any assistance would be ap...

Old Armourer

Ernst:

I'll look up that reference on the shield with the fabric on the back; it may be one you already have.

Perhaps one day I'll give the Brienz shield a try...

Old Armourer

Ernst: You could be right, that the shield was made specifically as a funerary achievement, and as a result, they didn't bother to do anything else but paint the back. I've heard of other surviving shields of the period having their backs covered with fabric, and that's what gave me the idea (I can'...

Old Armourer

Thanks for the kind comments, guys. Ernst: Your criticisms are spot on. I used the gold brocade cloth on the back of the shield because I thought it looked at little more 'regal' than simple paint. The direction of the diaper on the blue panels was a faux-pa on my part; I didn't realize I was going ...

Old Armourer

This helmet may not have had a visor at all. It may have only had a removable nasal that was attached to the camail. Those are not simply posts above the face opening; when viewed from the side, you can see that they are "L" shaped. The nasal bar would be slid over them and then pulled down to lock ...

Old Armourer

http://www.medievalrepro.com/Buckles.htm

Scroll down to the bottom of the page

Peter Fuller

Old Armourer

Use a material called "JAX". It's made specifically for brass. It will turn it jet black, and then you can sand it back with emery paper to brighten the high spots. You can buy it in any decent art supply store. If you can't find it let me know, and I'll track down the manufacturer for you.

P

Old Armourer

http://www.medievalrepro.com/Buckles.htm

Bottom of the page.

P

Old Armourer

The finger plates and the thumb guard are EXACTLY like the ones on a pair of guantlets in the Glenbow Museum here in Calgary, and they are from a nineteenth century theatrical armour (its provenance has been well documented). Sorry guys, in my opinion, they are Victorian copies.

Peter

Old Armourer

Have you tried the Weald and Dowland Open-air Museum in Sussex? I'm pretty sure they have early medieval buildings there.

http://www.wealddown.co.uk/home-page-english.htm

Old Armourer

I sell them on my website (www.medievalrepro.com), but these guys are right; you would be best to make them youself. They are finniky and time consuming to make, especially when you consider that each hinge has two components, and for a set of greaves you need four hinges, or eight halves. It adds u...

Old Armourer

Sorry man, I'm just going by what Ryan told me. I wasn't there, so I can't say one way or another. I will say this, though; if it was not one of the swimmers Ryan mentioned, I don't think I would want to be in the water with it, whatever it was! I can recall a time many years ago when my wife and I ...

Old Armourer

The fellow I quoted is Ryan Jones. With regards to him swimming around the bow, and the camera being pointed at the stern (which was obvious), I think he meant that they were swimming around the ship - he mentioned it passing over their heads at one point. He also said he was in the ship at one poin...

Old Armourer

I sent the link to the video to a friend who was at Gimli to get his take on what the 'sea monster' was, and this is what he replied; "Yes I was there, I am one of the organizers of the event!. Have been for 5 years now. Kelly and I are in the boat too. Sam had to pry me off of the Yrsa, she was way...

Re: Question about the Lyle Bascinet authenticity.

Re: Question about the Lyle Bascinet authenticity.

Re: Question about the Lyle Bascinet authenticity.

Re: Dusting off the cobwebs

Re: Great helm crest, torse and mantle

Re: Great helm crest, torse and mantle

Re: Great helm crest, torse and mantle

Re: Great helm crest, torse and mantle

Re: Great helm crest, torse and mantle

Re: Brit needed to take photo!

Re: Dusting off the cobwebs

Re: Dusting off the cobwebs

Re: Dusting off the cobwebs

Re: What is the evidence for this sugarloaf?

Re: Painted tent decoration.

Armour tests by the Metropolitan Museum

Need translation help - English to Old Norse