The Armour Archive

CLANG

Didn't get home 'til 9 pm Mon night, due to visiting my little sis and brother in law on the way home and staying 'til Mon to pick up some stainless barstock in Winston-Salem. SO... Ditto plus on all the thanks-most especially to our benevolent and tolerant hosts Tom and Tracy, and to Wade for makin...

CLANG

Wow. I don't feel QUITE as clumsy now... http://www.armourarchive.org/ubb/wink.gif Let's see... I have a small crescent moon shaped scar on my forehead from running straight into the handle of my press (which I foolishly left down) while at a brisk walk-don't ask-it was peculiar set of circumstances...

CLANG

I've got one-on sale for $69.95 a while back. I put 8" x 2" flap sanders on each side of it, and they offer a lot of wind and weight resistance-works great, but I don't use a lot of pressure with the flap sanders, either. Haven't noticed any overheating-even after continuous use.

CLANG

Forgot to mention that I'd be willing to post a pic of the patterns layed out, but I don't really want to post them for exact copying, as I have put a lot of work into getting them close to right, and I think everyone should add his or her own personal flair to patterns. Direct copying of patterns i...

CLANG

Thanks one and all for your input-compliments, criticisms, and ideas. Abaddon, no worries on the trouble-it comes with the job. http://www.armourarchive.org/ubb/smile.gif I don't normally charge for patterning time unless I'm pretty sure I'll only be making one of something during my armoring career...

CLANG

Wade, I know what you mean about the greaves that extended to the ground-makes me wonder what sort of stances they used at the time-barring the idea that a k'nigit should probably stay in a saddle most of the time anyway... But several foot-combat armors have the same sort of greave/sabaton-includin...

CLANG

Unfortunately not. I've only seen isolated examples. I think the corazinna at the Met is the most famous composite piece. I'd also be quite interested in any info anyone has.

As an aside, the one time I ever visited NYC, the entire medieval collection at the Met was closed. Grrr.

CLANG

I'm in the process of making a pair of sollerets for a client (he posts here, but I forget what his moniker is) They're mostly period in design, though the lames are alternatively brass/steel just for aesthetics. And as an aside before I begin, I haven't had this much trouble patterning anything for...

CLANG

VERY nice kit-and I'm happily and suitably impressed with your interest in authenticity. Sadly, the SCA around here generally treats "authenticity" as a cussword. I'm not kidding. I'm not (vocally) hard-core, and regularly get called a stitch nazi, among other, less flattering things. http://www.arm...

CLANG

Gee, thanks fellers (and fellerettes). I'm blushing...

Really, though, I sincerely appreciate the good reviews. Thanks.

CLANG

Just by the by, I also use 304 2B, and I did a test a while back when I happened to have the forge lit. I heated a scrap to bright orange-probably 1500 degrees F-and let it cool. Then I rough sanded it and let it sit around the shop for a couple of months. This is normally a peachy atmosphere for ru...

CLANG

I generally use standard bolt cutters, but for when I need a nice straight cut, I have a pair of "side cutting" bolt cutters-that is, the jaws are flat on one side, so they give much less of a pinching action in the cutting-on ONE side. They are harder to find than regular bolt cutters, but H K Port...

CLANG

As long as your leather stamp isn't very complex, it should work, but you may very well ruin the leather stamp. Mild steel simply won't stand the stress of imprinting steel. As mentioned above, you'll need a peice of tool steel, like a short section of auto spring. If you have the capability to heat...

CLANG

The countersunk rivets I normally use have those annoying machine marks. It has been my experience that they just make smaller concentric lines when you hammer on them, as you're really just folding the metal together... As to period rivets, it seems to me that it largely depended on the time period...

CLANG

I haven't done much of a study of the Phillipines, but I think they WERE pretty far behind the times, relatively speaking. And remember, nearby Japan was still a feudalistic society mostly armed with traditional weapons at that time. What guns they had were still smoothbore matchlocks-an archaic sys...

CLANG

I think I may have a pic of me somewhere in boxing stance... http://www.armourarchive.org/ubb/wink.gif I actually like the "angles" you've put on the lips better than the way I did them (all round). I think the all round look was more common on Milanese stuff from that period, but I really like the ...

CLANG

Forgot to add-I actually emailed that same ebay guy and asked him point blank why his shear would be better than one from ENCO. He replied testily, "You get what you pay for." And that was all. No mention of any answers to the other questions I asked regarding it's fitness for cutting certain stuff....

CLANG

I picked up an identical shear from ENCO www.use-enco.com In fact, it looks like the EXACT same shear-even down to the color. I paid $79 on sale-it's usually $89. Shipping for the shear and a bunch of other stuff I ordered came to a whopping $16-as opposed to the $140 + $25 s/h that the guy on ebay'...

CLANG

I made one that works tolerably well from a regular pistol-grip air chisel. I just use it with my regular stakes. I've found that I have to keep the working pressure around 35 lbs, or it's too hard to control. It takes a little practice, and it's work on the shoulder to control it for long, but for ...

CLANG

All the other work (which is all very nice) aside, the subtle shaping of the 3 main breastplates is excellent. Really like the original. Don't see that in repro work too often... Great job!

CLANG

Sorry, Ted. http://www.armourarchive.org/ubb/smile.gif I'll always be looking, though. Any seconds on the low temp heating theory? I don't know a whole lot about magnetics other than about the way the molecules are polarised. Any heating I suppose would set them in greater-than-normal motion and whe...

CLANG

See the edited post for the answer to that question. Actually, when I was giving it a "test run", I did think that maybe the sticky properties could come in handy, but unless you're wanting to hit the exact center of a plate, you have to work against the magnet to hold it where it really needs to be...

CLANG

I was fortunate enough to come across a solid steel bowling ball at the scrapyard the other day (as well as two 6" dia ball joints from something BIG). Been looking for similar items for years. Problem is that the big ball's strongly magnetic! That's a 1-1/2" hinge stuck to the side of it in the pic...

CLANG

That brings me to another question: someone mentioned a while back that there is a mediaval "jenny" pictured in the famous woodcut of Maximilian and Seusenhoffer. I have yet to find it. Any further info? I have scoured the print, and I'm just not seeing it.

CLANG

On a related note, I have thus far only executed outward rolls. It seems to me that the (cosmetic) finishing of INward rolls would be a royal PITA, due to the difficulty of getting a long "brushed" finish in one direction with such physical barriers at the borders of a piece. With careful hammer wor...

CLANG

To all and sundry: Excellent. (a la Mr. Burns) Wade, I would love to get a good gander at any period articulated arm harness, especially one with a turning joint. Larien and Bexter, we may have to make this a 3-day trip so we can take full advantage of all the goodwill... http://www.armourarchive.or...

CLANG

That rocks. It's a heck of a unique learning opportunity you're offering. Museums are so touchy about touching... http://www.armourarchive.org/ubb/wink.gif I'll be there, and if the powers that be are amenable, Bexter12 and Larien will be in tow. Uh, at the risk of sounding demanding, how much stuff...

CLANG

I'm not sure about lamellar, but there's a pic of a cool "haubergeon" type armor in Stone's Glossary that is made from horn panels joined by maille. The panels are maybe 2" x 2" up to 3" x 8" as I recall. I think the joining maille was butted brass. I can look up the specifics and/or post a pic if y...

CLANG

Say, that looks just like a Tandy button stud...

But really, is it steel? Looks like it.

CLANG

Awesome! Is the skull done with hand-embossing techniques, or have you (shudder) fabricated it in some way? Far and away one of the best Turks I've ever seen. (Looks like the real thing...

)

CLANG

I've used the spring stud method on european vambraces, but I've never seen the toggles. Thanks for the info-do you know where I could find some pics of the toggles?

CLANG

I've just completed a pair of stainless bands for a client-but for the fastenings. I have dug through all my books and found pics of probably 3 dozen bands, and every friggin picture is taken straight from the front/back, or the hinge side! The pair I made is the type with the solid forearm "wrapper...

CLANG

Wow, folks. Don't know what to say... (says nothing) It's CR mild steel in 13, 14, and 16 ga. I figure it would need an additional gorget, but it's not as stubby as you imagine. The coverage is similar to many originals in its vein. I'm working on a commission of one very similar in stainless, only ...

CLANG

Hi, guys. My friend (self-imposed title: apprentice) Bexter12 was kind enough to post some pics of the burg on her site: http://bexter.adkinssoftware.com/clangsburg.html Check out the rest of her site, too. It has regular updates on projects she's working on, as well as pics of stuff she's done in t...

CLANG

Hi, guys. My friend (self-imposed title: apprentice) Bexter12 was kind enough to post some pics of the burg on her site: http://bexter.adkinssoftware.com/clangsburg.html Check out the rest of her site, too. It has regular updates on projects she's working on, as well as pics of stuff she's done in t...

Interesting question about "period" sollerets (sabatons)

Um... can you de-magnetize a big round ALO?

How are bazubands fastened?