The Armour Archive

Pietro da San Tebaldo

My current kit includes a pair of hose made up from XL sweatpants. Tailoring them from off-the-shelf to custom-fitted left enough material for a codpiece which holds the Neccessary Armor Piece. I highly recommend it - provided you can get it to sit correctly. ------------------ "Or, a pall inverted ...

Pietro da San Tebaldo

The photographs of 'brigs in progress' on sinric's website are also very informative. The only thing I'd add to the previous note: try making your 'test plates' out of cardstock - something w/ a touch of stiffness - and when you're marking your plates for the holes, make a template out of a piece of...

Pietro da San Tebaldo

Just a few suggestions- if your escort's wearing a vest, see if you can find him a real vest, not a false front like the rental place will try to sell him. Also, if he wears a high-collared vest, an ascot could add to the "quasi-historical" feel of that gown. This website has illustrated directions ...

Pietro da San Tebaldo

Someone suggested working the crease from the back with a blunted chisel, working into a shallow slot cut into a block of oak. I have one dished piece (knee-cop), and then lames and cuisses which are just rolled pretty much. ------------------ "Or, a pall inverted surmounted by an orle Azure counter...

Pietro da San Tebaldo

I'm starting a pair of 15th c. Italian legs (after Sinric's pattern from the Pattern Achive). What's the best way to form and finish the crease? On test pieces, I ended up with some really f***ed-up metal... Help. ------------------ "Or, a pall inverted surmounted by an orle Azure counterchanged" mk...

Pietro da San Tebaldo

I recall discussion along these lines regarding the concentration of Native American reenactors in Europe. Check out "www.naaog.de" for the Native American Association of Germany" for more information. I showed this to a friend who traces his ancestry back to Lakota and Seminole tribes, and his firs...

Pietro da San Tebaldo

I use the tools owned by my local armorer's guild (Cleftlands- Plug!), and we have a series of steel dishing forms with graduated interior radii. (I have no idea what they were made from.) For high speed dishing, I start with the most shallow and work into it using our 4" ball stake as a piledriver....

Pietro da San Tebaldo

Aside from the "gee-wow" factor, or the "I-am-one-with-the-cosmos" factor (and I know there are customers who'll pay premium for either of those), are there any advantages which meteoric iron possesses over 'planetary' iron? Never smithed any blades - just asking. ------------------ "Or, a pall inve...

Pietro da San Tebaldo

Yeah, the tinning's rust prevention. Since I didn't have access to that sort of processing, I'm painting my plates so they don't rust all over my arming coat. I'm building a suit myself, and it's going fairly quickly. As a point of comparison, I have 110 plates in my brig, and I'll be peening almost...

Pietro da San Tebaldo

sounds more like lamellar armor. The brig I've seen all seem to be horizontal plates rather than vertical...

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"Or, a pall inverted surmounted by an orle Azure counterchanged"
mka: Sam Pearce

Pietro da San Tebaldo

Stopping by the Archive is heartening, because I get to hear from people making incredibly cool projects. When my own work is stalled or pre-empted, I get to share the vicarious thrill of someone else's craftsmanship. The pattern archive has let me make crisp, historical armor without screwing it up...

Pietro da San Tebaldo

I lined a Mandrake bascinet with a hand-sewn linen liner packed with upholstery cotton. You can check out my notes and sketches if you check out my website (in my Profile above - look under "The SCA" and then "Projects, etc") This liner's really nice- it wicks away sweat and I haven't had any proble...

Pietro da San Tebaldo

Do a websearch for "Truehearth" armory. (Trueheart? Try both) They've got simple, inexpensive helms. (Those prices are in Canadian dollars...)

Good luck.

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"Or, a pall inverted surmounted by an orle Azure counterchanged"
mka: Sam Pearce

Pietro da San Tebaldo

Many of the buckle and fitting merchants have items which have been cast directly from an original item. I applaud the provenance of thse pieces, but am I being too persnickety to wish that they also offered a "brand-new" version of these items? So many of the pieces cast from the original look exac...

Pietro da San Tebaldo

Yes.

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"Or, a pall inverted surmounted by an orle Azure counterchanged"
mka: Sam Pearce

Pietro da San Tebaldo

I'd recommend doing a websearch for an article entitled "The Physics of Medieval Archery". It's basic but interesting.

Good luck.

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"Or, a pall inverted surmounted by an orle Azure counterchanged"
mka: Sam Pearce

Pietro da San Tebaldo

"The person responsible for the Rules of the List has been sacked.

"The person responsible for sacking the person responsible for the Rules of the List has also been sacked."

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"Or, a pall inverted surmounted by an orle Azure counterchanged"
mka: Sam Pearce

Pietro da San Tebaldo

I'm seeing the 'mall photos' oddly squished vertically. Could be that you specified a WIDTH or HEIGHT for the IMG which is different from the pics in their 'natural' state.

Otherwise, nice.

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"Or, a pall inverted surmounted by an orle Azure counterchanged"
mka: Sam Pearce

Pietro da San Tebaldo

I may be doing this wrong, but all I get is the Yahoo Log-In screen. It's frustrating - any thread title which refers to "Armored Covergirls" is a natural draw!

Any advice?

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"Or, a pall inverted surmounted by an orle Azure counterchanged"
mka: Sam Pearce

Pietro da San Tebaldo

You can also check out my experiences of lining a helm at:

http://www.nacs.net/~pietro/SCAArmorHelmLiner.html

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"Or, a pall inverted surmounted by an orle Azure counterchanged"
mka: Sam Pearce

Pietro da San Tebaldo

"It's all in the reflexes."
J. Burton

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"Or, a pall inverted surmounted by an orle Azure counterchanged"
mka: Sam Pearce

Pietro da San Tebaldo

Instead of staples, mark the holes. For assembly, you can use a paper-punch and those brass fasteners with the two 'limbs' you flatten out. Cheap at any office supply place!

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"Or, a pall inverted surmounted by an orle Azure counterchanged"
mka: Sam Pearce

Pietro da San Tebaldo

Why you fight? For the fun of it, and the challenge. (For the exercise- I mean, any wimp can get on a treadmill, after all! http://www.armourarchive.org/ubb/biggrin.gif ) How did you get inspired? Books and movies. "Men of Iron" by Howard Pyle, "The White Company" (??) Arthur Conan Doyle, "Chanson d...

Pietro da San Tebaldo

I was advised previously that a twill-weave wool, or simple 'standard weave' would work and be period. The trick is that you can 'cheat' a little stretch out of it by cutting on the diagonal (on the bias) rather than on the grain of the goods. The wool jersey I used gets about 10% stretch when new -...

Pietro da San Tebaldo

Lyonette- hose are no problem. I'd be happy to help you set up a pattern (since it's almost impossible to properly pin up the back of one's own calf...)(unless you like being a do-it-yourself blood donor) I'll admit to cheating some too - I have a pair of fighting hose which I whomped together out o...

Pietro da San Tebaldo

According to what I've read, the pics which Chef d' Chambre's posted, and the brig I'm (laboriously) making, that's correct. The plates are all attached to the outer fabbric shell - they 'float' independent of one another, which is what makes a brig more flexible than a back-and-breast... ----------...

Pietro da San Tebaldo

This is me in my fencing gear. The "hard suit" kit isn't done yet. (Long winter nights beating on metal!)
<IMG SRC=http://www.nacs.net/~pietro/Images/Pics/PietroFencing.jpg>

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"Or, a pall inverted surmounted by an orle Azure counterchanged"
mka: Sam Pearce

Pietro da San Tebaldo

"Get rid of old books"?

Are you sure he's genetically related to you? (No offense intended, of course!)

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"Or, a pall inverted surmounted by an orle Azure counterchanged"
mka: Sam Pearce

Pietro da San Tebaldo

"Making Stuff" is good for you - armor, art, mead, whatever. At it's most basic, I find my artwork can be "a place to get away from the B.S." and, when viewed from a distance the B.S. doesn't look as huge as when it's hanging overhead. ------------------ "Or, a pall inverted surmounted by an orle Az...

Pietro da San Tebaldo

I (mostly) hand-sewed my arming coat. See my website for a couple of pictures: http://www.nacs.net/~pietro/SCAArmingCoat.html Step one: I used a semi-coarse linen, and found that a blunt needle worked best as it slid between the linen fibers rather than trying to split them. Step two: buckets o' pin...

Pietro da San Tebaldo

(Warning - based on stuff I've seen, and my own small experiments...) <font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">What is an appropriate weight for the upper and sole? Colors appropriate?</font> About 4 oz for uppers, and only slightly heavier for soles - 6 oz maybe. It has to be thin enough to 'turn' effi...

Pietro da San Tebaldo

If you're not afraid to get your hands dirty, you could try to build your own. If there's a craft store or floral-supplies place nearby, you may be able to find a wide array of pre-made paper-machie(sp?) forms like birds, swans, etc. These are sold as 'cores' for flower arrangments and centerpieces,...

Pietro da San Tebaldo

Her medical conditions aside, I don't see any rules problem. I know fighters who can't stand "sword & board", and don't pick up a shield for months at a time. Personal preference... (One Midrealmer's opinion. Your mileage may vary.) ------------------ "Or, a pall inverted surmounted by an orle Azure...

Pietro da San Tebaldo

Thanks all. Actually, on the plates themselves, there won't be a need for washers - they're being used as I rivet the leather straps to the brig-shell. Today's project is to make a rivet set out of a narrow flat-faced punch. Again, thanks. ------------------ "Or, a pall inverted surmounted by an orl...

Pietro da San Tebaldo

I'm starting to experiment with the brig nails I bought from Sinric, and I'm having trouble getting a good tight clinch or peen with them. The head of the nail tends to roll onto its edge while I'm trying to clinch the shaft over, and the resulting "fastener" will slip out of the plate at the first ...

"Cast from an Original"

Brigandine Nails Question