The Armour Archive

Frederich Von Teufel

Here is a secret I've been holding onto for some time, but I'll finally part with it, just for you guys. Molefoam. You can usually find it in grocery stores or pharmacys near where they have their shoe and foot stuff. It's Moleskin (sort of a soft, fleesy white fabric) with an 1/8th inch of padding,...

Frederich Von Teufel

Way back when, when I first started fighting, I learned shield work with a strapped round. I eventually graduated into other shield styles, but I admit that the groundwork that was laid with the strapped round has always stayed with me. Over the years, countless people have complained of how difficu...

Frederich Von Teufel

A good attempt, your first at this type, yes? If you were to be making another one, there are a few things that I'd recommend, but there aren't any changes that are worth making at this point in the construction. It does look like the marking you have for the ear hole should be moved forward just a ...

Frederich Von Teufel

The word is that Ron's site is currently being re-worked, and will be up again when it's done. Until then, you can still contact him via email, mail, and phone. And he does occasionally check in on the Archive, a post directed towards him might get his attention.

Frederich

Frederich Von Teufel

I must make comment on one thing. Metalmart.com may be acceptable if you are buying a small peice of unusual metal, but it isn't cost effective enough when you are buying large lots of metal. Metalmart.com is just too expensive, even with their highest quantity discount (I won't even mention what I ...

Frederich Von Teufel

Highness, my lady wife, Tirzah MacCrudden, is Royal Chatelaine to the Crown Prince and Princess of Trimaris. I just wanted to take this opportunity to pass Their congratulations on to You, and to let You know that Your presence would be most welcome to Them on Their Coronation. If there is anything ...

Frederich Von Teufel

Anodizing can be expensive when done by a professional shop, especially when you have only a small batch that needs to be done. The finish and colors can be nice though. A complete Powder Coating setup can be had for a couple of hundred. I'm not sure this is cost effective for just a few hundred lam...

Frederich Von Teufel

You remember back to when you first started fighting? Remember when you finally started to get good and actually got a few kills under your belt, finally starting to think you were doing okay. You began having aspirations. You started feeling cocky. And then you met up with another fighter who just ...

Frederich Von Teufel

Do not use JBWeld! It is not sufficient for our sport. The best you could hope for is a broken nose when it fails on you. I heartily recommend Noe's advice. The 4 point system does seem to work well in my experience. Make sure you do put the 4 attachement points far enough back, as putting them too ...

Frederich Von Teufel

The spear doesn't need a counter balance, you need a fairly evenly balanced spear to easily and speedily use it. I did forget to talk about the overhand grip. I exclusively use overhand for fighting legged opponents; it's the most effective angle of attack for that. I will admit that I've never used...

Frederich Von Teufel

I've done it in the past, when trying to get in touch with an earlier fighting style. I've done the 30" round with 7 1/2 foot spear. I do agree that Tybolt's suggestion of a 6 foot spear might be better, although I had excellent luck with the longer spear. Tybolt has it just about perfect. Hold the ...

Frederich Von Teufel

Trimaran Kingdom Law states, "Section XI. Fealty shall be re-sworn to the Crown of Trimaris by all Knights residing within the borders of Trimaris at Coronation or the first event that the Crown and Knight attend following the Crown's Coronation. Failure to do so may result in a mandatory first leve...

Frederich Von Teufel

I'll chime in as a 9 year user of Beverly shears. Alcyoneus' experiences with wastage is typical. It's more of a layout problem rather than a shear problem. You can do layouts with a Beverly shear that you could not do with another type of shear or saw. I quite frequently layout parts edge to edge, ...

Frederich Von Teufel

Actually, properly treated, bowstrings do _not_ break a lot. In fact, in 26 years of being an archer, I've never had a bowstring break on me, nor have I ever seen a bowstring break. In my youth, I probably should have had a string or two break, since I was quite abusive to the cheap little bow I had...

Frederich Von Teufel

I own a bench roller, but it does seem like I'm one of the few armourers who do. Mostly I use it for when I'm doing lots of repetative rolling, like in gauntlet cuffs or cuisses (that's the 'long part of the leg' I believe you are referring to), or when I curve aluminum shield blanks. It can make do...

Frederich Von Teufel

An hour? Yipes. It's something like this that makes me realize how much I appreciate my Beverly Shear. A back plate and a couple pairs of demis is a ten minute job, tops. Hell, I'd just been complaining recently to an apprentice how long the cut out process takes me. I'd been cutting out all the fid...

Frederich Von Teufel

The lames on cops can be either dished or flat, but flat lames will have a smaller range of articulation (when compared to a dished lame using the same cop.) This smaller range of articulation can still be sufficient for your purposes, however. It very much depends upon your pattern. On a side note,...

Frederich Von Teufel

The dish of an elbow cop should be between an inch to an inch and one quarter deep. It should fit over your elbow very well when your arm is bent.

Frederich

Frederich Von Teufel

The elbow needs to be dished more, it's not deep enough, and the flutes need to be refined over a fluting stake. However, with a bit of planishing and polish it will be an excellent first peice of armour.

Frederich

Frederich Von Teufel

I'll start with the bascinet as well. I don't like the planished finish on such a large peice, it makes it look "unfinished" rather than "textured", in my opinion. While I've used the finish quite a bit as a silversmith, and as an accent on some armour pieces (the nasal and eyebrows on the spangenhe...

Frederich Von Teufel

>Ya take this here stick, and you hit him over that there head.
>Am I a master now too?

It's worse than you think. Imagine "Riverdance" with sticks.

Frederich

Frederich Von Teufel

Whoa! "Stainless contains no carbon"? Sasha, I know that some things are a bit different in Australia, but not that different. Stainless steel does in fact contain carbon sometimes, depending upon the alloy, a very high amount. I'm not quite sure what alloy it is that you are talking about, but the ...

Frederich Von Teufel

I don't have anything to add other than my thanks for to PaulyP and Dragon for posting the links to my essays. It was particularly good to see the one that PaulyP posted, as that was an old message that I posted to the Archive years ago. I don't know exactly how long ago I wrote that, as I believe t...

Frederich Von Teufel

This gave me the biggest laugh since I met the guy who told me he was a Master of the ancient art of Irish Shilleighly Fighting. 'Course, some people will try anything to profit off of the ignorant.

Frederich

Frederich Von Teufel

I am certain you can improve the articulation, but exactly how much improvement can be done is dependant upon the peice itself. First, take the cop and put it over a large pipe or bickhorn stake. The bottom point of the cop should be pointing up. Take a soft face hammer (a deadblow hammer is perfect...

Frederich Von Teufel

One thing that I can pass along is that you can't build your bench too heavily. If it's going to have a vice attached to it (and therefore, probably going to hold stakes and be hammered upon), the heavier the better. You want the bench to not move easily when you are working at it. This can also be ...

Frederich Von Teufel

I personally do 8" shield bosses, but I have done smaller upon request. Larger than that looks kind of silly, in my opinion.

Frederich

Frederich Von Teufel

Good job Reinhard, congratulations. I still vaguely remember the thrill of having authorized, it's a good feeling.

Frederich

Frederich Von Teufel

Atlantian by birth,
Barony of Storvik by choice,
House Blackspear by the Grace of God.

Frederich

Frederich Von Teufel

I've found 4 to 6 ounce cow suede to work very well for coat of plates, but that is _true_ thickness, meaning that it actually measures to that thickness when checked (that would be 1/16" to 3/32".) However, I really find that cloth works better. It's cheaper, more easily obtainable, and comes in a ...

Frederich Von Teufel

By 1550, the Landsknechts were pretty much a dying breed. Their heyday was 1510 to 1530 really, although the true life span starts at around 1492 and continues until approximately 1580 (one really can't give an exact date of the "death" of the Landsknechts, as quite a few Landsknechts continued to s...

Frederich Von Teufel

There are a few things I can pass on to all those who are interested in gaining a White Belt. This is stuff I have gathered over the years of being friends of many Knights, and paying attention to various discussions. First, and most importantly, you must be known to the Chivalry. If they don't know...

Frederich Von Teufel

Gereke, as you can see, you are well remembered. Good to see that you are back, and I hope that you will be able to return to the SCA soon as well. Let us know what your duty station will be when you find out, I'm sure we'll be happy to do our best to hook you up with the local group there. You will...

Frederich Von Teufel

Samuel, I appreciate that you are pleased with the Chivalry in the Outlands, and are proud to be a new member of the order. I agree that there are some exceptional members of the Chivalry in all of the Kingdoms I have been a member of, or visited (which does include the Outlands, although that was y...

Frederich Von Teufel

Yehuda, nice sugarloaf. Bob did a great job. I particularly like the brass work details. Nice wiggle-work and star detail. Polished up it must look fantastic. I hope I get to see it on the field one day.

Frederich

An Epiphany