The Armour Archive

Adriano

Definitely talk to the guy first. A friend of mine went to a tourney with a brand-new helmet, and before long people thought he was blatantly not calling good blows. Some knights took him aside and did gauging blows, and we found that his new helmet provided such an effective glancing surface that h...

Adriano

I was on the other end of such a situation, and learned the lesson to call hold if I want to talk, rather than suddenly asking questions in the middle of a bout; didn't resent my opponent at all when he hit me cleanly.

Adriano

I've got rattan on order for a new greatsword; I was thinking six feet, with a two foot grip, maybe two and a half. I know that's atypical for historical swords, but so is the way we use them -- unlike in real life, in the SCA you can't make full use of a greatsword's potential for really bashin' a ...

Adriano

Thanks, guys!

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"Come, winds! Blow, wrack! At least we'll die with harness on our back!"

Adriano

I need rattan to make a new greatsword, but it might be a long time before I'm at a merchanting event. A furniture company called H.H. Perkins (website www.hhperkins.com ) sells rattan poles for SCA use; an 8-foot pole of skin-on 1 1/2 is $18, plus $12 shipping. I've never bought rattan without look...

Adriano

I'm not the expert some people here are, but it looks like a reproduction to me. That remaining finger doesn't look like it would articulate properly. I guess every "stately home" in England had a suit of armour by the late 19th century, and I'm sure a lot of them were new reproductions or fakes. Wh...

Adriano

Sweet! Somehow I picture Charleton Heston wearing that...

Adriano

I wonder if any of the knights had brasses done while they were still alive and well, in which case the armour depicted might be significantly earlier than their date of death?

In any case, I wish more of them survived from the early 1300s...

Adriano

(I no longer worry about the weight of my hauberk because I've lost that much in fat, so I now weigh the same with it on as I used to with it off.)

48" bare chest.

51" with gambeson.

Adriano

Yep, I misspelled the link. Should be www.pantherprimitives.com . Sorry 'bout that.

Adriano

If you do decide to buy, I recommend Panther Primitives at www.panterprimitives.com .

Adriano

At a Pennsic long ago, I saw a fighter transporting his stuff with a dogcart; he had a large dog pulling a small wooden wagon. Don't know if it's authentic, but it was entertaining. I guess the ideal would be to have your servants carry everything. Sturdy forelock-tuggers who carry your stuff, set u...

Adriano

In Meridies they've changed the rules about grip length on greatswords; used to be limited to 18 inches, but now the grip can be anything under half the total length of the weapon. This should allow for half-swording techniques, although you'd still technically be grasping the grip, which could not ...

Adriano

I'd say that "trapping" an opponent's weapon is part of the give-and-take that makes this stuff exciting. In the SCA, as mentioned, you're not allowed to pin your opponent's weapon between your arm and body, but it can be useful to momentarily control your opponent's weapon while you perhaps get int...

Adriano

Everybody's wrong! There's only one right way to do it!

Don't have a clue what that way is.

Adriano

Jamie, that's a great setup! I don't have room for a bandsaw, so I use a Dremel tool (a great tool to have around any workshop) and cutting wheels. (It's worth it to get the reinforced wheels, rather than the standard cutting wheels.) I leave the coil of wire on the mandrel and score a line down the...

Adriano

Just watched the WETA Workshop feature. I was amazed at how good the plastic mail looks. I predict that before long we'll see something like it in the SCA, which I guess would be not any worse than aluminum mail.

Adriano

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">What do you think about wearing the padding -over- the mail?</font> I've tried this, and it seems to be fairly comfortable; I'm not sure how it compares for protection. It's also quieter. Of course, you still need something under the mail, such as a linen shirt....

Adriano

Copper mail is nice for small decorative pieces; I made a trivet out of it.

Adriano

I've seen Victorian drawings of such armour, but not a contemporary illustration.

Adriano

That gorget is gorgeous.

Adriano

Back about twenty years ago, my little shire of Nant-y-Derwyddon obtained a trumpet from somewhere; I suspect it was manufactured purely as a decorative item. One of our members was a trombone player, and was able to get enough notes out of the thing to put together a simple fanfare as our signature...

Adriano

Thanks, Templar Bob! It'll be a few months before I'm medically able to fight again, so I've got some time to experiment.

Adriano

Here in Meridies, it's not only the long-standing custom to fall down, but the herald routinely announces "Victory by death, Sir Blastopod!" So the silly convention of corpse-riddled tournaments is hard to get away from. There was a time when, upon losing a tourney bout, I'd not only fall down but t...

Adriano

I've just made some nice padded cuisses with steel knee cops attached. I wear steel-toed boots because as a diabetic I'm very protective of my toesies. I've been considering making mail leggings that would come from underneath the thigh padding and cover the boots. Templar Bob -- do you recommend li...

Adriano

I've never completely knocked somebody out, but once while running with a polearm I tripped and put it really hard into a friend's gut. He collapsed, with the wind knocked out of him. It was an accident, and he forgave me, but I still feel ashamed about that incident. I haven't been concussed, but d...

Adriano

I'd recommend making a conical rigid skirt out of expanded metal, to protect your bottom. If you can't afford expanded metal, go to the park every day and look for a discarded newspaper. Read it, keeping an eye out for news of disastrous school bus accidents. As soon as one happens, find out where t...

Adriano

I've been more concerned about having a good style than striking hard. I gave up Florentine, though I was good at it, because I decided the saber-fencing style I was using wouldn't realistically be effective against armoured opponents, and just didn't fit into the medieval mental milieu I wanted to ...

Adriano

Looks great! Does this treatment retard rust?

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"Come, winds! Blow, wrack! At least we'll die with harness on our back!"

Adriano

I had no idea half-swording was illegal on the Society level; I thought it was a kingdom thing. I don't really understand the safety concern; given that several kingdoms (as I understand it) allow unpadded polearms, I don't see how half-swording a greatsword could be any more dangerous. Maybe instea...

Adriano

A few years ago I tried dipping small pieces of leather in wood lacquer; got a fair amount of hardening. Don't know if I'd trust my fingers to it, though. Whatever method you use, I'd try it on a scrap piece first, and then test to destruction. ------------------ "Come, winds! Blow, wrack! At least ...

Adriano

Armpits can be tricky. I'm no expert, but on my hauberk (14 g., 7/16" ID) I just continued the rows on the body out into the arm to make a rectangular sleeve, closed up the lower edge of the sleeve and used a few extra rings to close the squared-off armpit. If you do this, just experiment and make s...

Adriano

If I had good armour and a well-balanced polearm (and were in good shape) I think I could hold me own against peasants for a while, though with my luck I'd probably take an arrow in the eye. The physical hardships of a medieval campaign -- outside of actual hand-to-hand fighting -- would, I think, t...

Adriano

I don't think I've ever killed one of my own guys in a melee... but I did once spin around and strike an inoffensive tree, for no apparent reason. It's always the innocent plant life that has to suffer.

Adriano

George Stone's famous reference work, The Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armour in All Countries at All Time (I think that's the title) has several examples of 19th century armour made in cultures that had avoided modernization. I remember a piece made of European coins sewn to leather...

H.H. Perkins for rattan?