The Armour Archive

Adriano

Lord Gabriel, I only wish that I could be there to meet you. Just reading your challenge makes me want to emulate you in being both courteous and valorous.

Adriano

If only I had one of those job thingies. . . .

Adriano

Cisco -- I know you've seen my CoP, because you've hit it with a stick. I used lumber reinforcing plates from Home Depot. Thin galvanized steel, with 1/8" holes pre-punched (the right size for 6d nails). Not very expensive.

I recommend overlapping; it works.

Adriano

I've fought both righty and lefty (with a shield); for the past twenty years I've been mostly shieldless, and have become essentially ambidextrous.

Juggling might help; seriously, it's good for your hand-eye-coordination and timing, and you use both hands equally.

Adriano

If I recall, I made lace-up bracers back in the mid-1980s; I simply used elastic cord, permanently knotted. Enough give to allow slipping the hand through it.

Adriano

Someday I'll make it out there, when I've either got the free time for a three-day drive (each way) or the scratch for a plane ticket and shipping charges.

Adriano

I think that both shields and spears would have to be destructible, IF we wanted to be more realistic. Down that road lies madness, I'll take the game as we play it. I have to agree -- even speaking as a guy who uses a greatsword. If you've never tried it, fighting with just a single (single-handed...

Adriano

for those who have seen it, is it worth $30.00? m Reclaiming The Blade DVD (2-Disc Deluxe Edition) Email to a Friend Be the first to review this product Availability: In stock $27.95 Ah; guess that depends on what's on the bonus disk. The documentary by itself, I'd say no. Although it's definitely ...

Adriano

I used foam for a quarter century, then made a padded liner (cotton batting sewn into an old pillowcase); laced into holes. Much more comfortable.

Adriano

Watched it on my PC. (It says the release date for the DVD is "unknown"; I don't know if that means what it says, or just means that Netflix might or might not buy it.) Pretty good; they had a lot to cover in a short time. I've been at the Royal Armoury in Leeds, but didn't get to see a co...

Adriano

I'm just interested: Why ditch the thrusting tip? It's psychological. I've been fighting in the SCA for 28 years; fighting without a shield for about 20. In what's left of my brain, there are two distinct kinesthetic databases: one for polearms and one for swords (one-handed or two-handed). The pol...

Adriano

Experiment conducted. Results: mixed. Like the ricasso; ditched the thrusting tip. I will win Silver Hammer without one.

Adriano

mordreth wrote:I can't for the life of me remember the writer who described roman training as a bloodless battle, and their warfare as a bloody drill.

I believe that was Josephus.

Adriano

I'm not sure. After a lot of years, the specific level of restraint required by SCA fighting (hard but friendly competition among equals, with no intention to harm, never striking as hard as I can) is so ingrained in me that it's automatic, and I can have fun without worrying about it. "The bea...

Adriano

To win the Silver Hammer Tournament, using a greatsword.

To show every opponent respect and good will.

To take joy in seeking excellence, every bout, regardless of outcome.

To get healthy so I can keep doing this stuff for a long time.

Adriano

That's true; my moral lapse is Asbrand's fault.

Adriano

There'll never be a thrusting tip on a greatsword of mine, so Cisco will have to borrow somebody else's if he wants to learn that aspect of the game. But I seem to be an eccentric in this area; as I was telling Cisco last night, just about every other greatsword I've seen has one. Big talk, schmuck...

Adriano

Nice! The brass washers look so much better than the pennies I used.

Adriano

I'd make CA battles their own battles, CA army vs CA army, and heavy fighters are immune due to presumed armor, much as period. Everyone is happy. Yeah; why'd they even bother to have archers in the army back then? Edward III must have been an idiot. There's not much about the current ruleset I'd c...

Adriano

Then we'd get in a big circle and join hands like the Whos in Whoville, and we'd sing about peace and love.

Adriano

Aeiric, I'm so glad you were able to get back onto the field! That in itself makes it a good day.

(At the same time, the reports about the heat tell me I made the right decision not to go, given my own medical reality.)

Adriano

Any blow sufficient to bring one to their knees through maille would be a killing blow. Knee fighting is lame. That's one of the thoughts I had a few years ago when I took a bad fall and severed my right quad muscle. For the first few seconds I was in so much pain that I would have been helpless ag...

Adriano

I would love to get rid of knee fighting. Combat archery is fine, though I wouldn't want to see it in every battle.

(Knee fighting is especially ridiculous in melees. You've got guys knee-crawling thirty yards to get back in the fighting. If it's a res melee, I just declare myself dead.)

Adriano

No, but it makes your ass look big.

Adriano

So how do you undo the strap? just untie the string outside the helmet? Is there a danger the string could become untied from being exposed? Otherwise great idea! G- Hasn't been a problem. The leather thong seems to grip pretty well. Also, the chinstrap isn't even really necessary; my helmet stays ...

Adriano

Helm with strap attached (I left out the padding for the sake of visual clarity). (Never mind the paint job; I'm changing it this weekend.)

Adriano

I use a simple wide leather strap with a horizontal slit where my chin goes; two holes in each end of the strap. On each side of my helm, two holes drilled; each side of strap is tied in place by leather thong going through holes in leather, through buttonhole in my cotton helmet padding, and throu...

Adriano

I use a simple wide leather strap with a horizontal slit where my chin goes; two holes in each end of the strap. On each side of my helm, two holes drilled; each side of strap is tied in place by leather thong going through holes in leather, through buttonhole in my cotton helmet padding, and throu...

Adriano

I love the idea of a two-handed axe, but have had trouble using one. When I tried a five-foot axe, I kept hitting guys with the haft, which is both annoying (to both of us) and ineffective. Does it just take practice?

Adriano

I use a simple wide leather strap with a horizontal slit where my chin goes; two holes in each end of the strap. On each side of my helm, two holes drilled; each side of strap is tied in place by leather thong going through holes in leather, through buttonhole in my cotton helmet padding, and throug...

Adriano

I've cancelled my plans. I know my physical limits, and heat does me in. Maybe next year when I'm in good shape.

Just as well; a work assignment came up for the rest of the week.

Rock on, guys. Drink plenty of water.

Adriano

Okay, this is getting ridiculous. Now the Saturday forecast is for 98 F, with enough humidity to make the apparent temperature ten degrees hotter. I want to go, but I don't want to have heatstroke and lapse into a coma. ETA: Looking around at different websites, I get forecasts ranging down to 91 F....

Adriano

Looks like extreme heat. The current forecast for Saturday at the site is 96 F.

Adriano

Just a reminder: the event is in a dry county, so if you've got a thirst for the suds, best BYOB.

Adriano

Anybody selling armour at Border Raids? I want to look for some new gauntlets.