The Armour Archive

Steve S.

There is some thought that the entire garment was lined. Mild steel maille is a rust problem regardless of what you do. I dip mine in future floor polish and this works as a decent barrier for 4-5 events. But I have a large wet tumbler I can tumble the maille in with an ammonia-based cleaner to stri...

Steve S.

I would like to know the answer also. I would like a plasma cutter just for rough cutting stock.

Steve

Steve S.

I don't have FB so I can't see that link...can anyone do the cliff notes version?

I quoted the entirety in my post above. I will change it to be in "quote" format.

Steve

Steve S.

Today I received my helm from Man on Anvil (Ideal Handicrafts). I wanted a simple, cheap Norman conical style of helm, SCA legal, for doing a Crusader impression. This is something I will be temporarily indulging in so I did not want to spend a lot of money on it. After seeing Man on Anvil's work on...

Steve S.

So what is this bruhaha going on on the Midrealm Marshal's facebook page about the Tuchux having their cards pulled for Pennsic? https://www.facebook.com/groups/319888711484563/ So that this information is disseminated among the Midrealm Marshallate. This is copied over from HG Stephen personal page...

Steve S.

Wow, the God of Armour awakes from his slumber!

Steve

Steve S.

Yup, an Ipod will do the trick. Basically all phones are these days are tablet computers that happen to have cell communications capability. All you want is a tablet with wifi capability.

Steve

Steve S.

Pro Oil dye. Some turpentine like solvents (Stoddard fluid and/or petroleum distillates dissolving aniline pigment. Even coverage, consistent penetration, good colour and saturation stability in daylight or UV intense environments. According to Feibings, the Pro Oil Dye is also alcohol-based. They ...

Steve S.

Thanks for the Vinegaroon suggestion. I had heard of such dyes but never looked them up before. Looks pretty easy and good.

Steve

Steve S.

I've never heard of angelus dyes. Are they better than Fiebings? I heard back from Feibings. Evidently the "Pro Oil" has oil-based pigments even though it is still alcohol based. Supposed to have more vibrant colors and better UV resistance than the standard leather dye. I thought the formulation ha...

Steve S.

About 10-15 years ago I bought quart bottles of Fiebings Leather Dye and I am just about out now. :) I notice now there are different kinds. Acrylic, Leather Dye, and Pro Leather dye. Acrylic is obviously water-based, and the other ones are alcohol based. I think I remember hearing years ago how the...

Steve S.

Hi Hans! Welcome to the Archive. Here is some of my advice for acquiring armour: 1) Decide on a time period first. Too many people buy a cool piece of armour and then try to back-end into a time period. If you are interested in "minimal armour" then consider earlier period or do a less-armoured late...

Steve S.

I sent my payment on 12/23/2013, evidently before you. You could attempt to contact the Bank of India in Meerut: http://www.bankofindia.com/english/contact.aspx And see if they can verify your transfer information. If they verify the account information, I would go back to your current bank with the...

Steve S.

what you want to do is cut a dart This. See here: http://www.forth-armoury.com/photo_gallery/coat_of_plates/cop.htm Where the back panel meets the front panel at the shoulders, this should not be a straight line at the plane of the torso before the pieces are sewn together. They should able away fr...

Steve S.

When did you send your transfer? Is it possible the account has been closed since I sent mine?

Steve

Steve S.

There is/was a shirt of maille at the Higgins where very link had been embossed with symbols. Clearly it was stamped and each link was not hand-engraved. Also clearly this must be done prior to weaving/riveting the links. So I believe it was done as part of the flattening operation. A special coinin...

Steve S.

I am honestly wondering if having a person go over and bring the stuff back (at cost) could be made to be economical The problem isn't getting the stuff, it's getting the money there. Though the shipping did cost more than the item. I daydreamed about mailing actual cash, hidden in something. I thi...

Steve S.

Just got back from my bank. The transfer was denied Jan 15th because the Bank of India said that the account number did not exist. I can only assume that it was typed incorrectly at my bank. When I make my wire transfer at Wells Fargo, they print out a form and I have to review it and confirm that ...

Steve S.

I just checked Fonzeroth's bank info against mine, and it matches. My wire transfer went through using Wells Fargo. So it looks to me like Fonzeroth's bank has screwed up. I would be talking to my bank about why they are charging me $80 for a wire transfer that didn't transfer and that other banks a...

Steve S.

I'm surprised he ended up with fees but no money transferred. When I had problems with transfers with Wachovia (now Wells Fargo) I was not re-charged when the transfer did not go. They just had to keep tweaking the form until it went.

Steve

Steve S.

I think your drift is not punching a hole and instead is cracking out the side of the mound because the receiving hole is too big. You might try punching into a smaller hole.

I never had any luck with getting the watershed in my rivet setting tongs.

Steve

Steve S.

How about...dare I say it...bitcoin?

Steve

Steve S.

Like I said, I have had a lot of trouble with other importers trying to wire money. There is a lot of data and if it doesn't get put into the correct fields on the wire transfer form it doesn't go through. It's even harder when you try to route through a domestic intermediary bank, though usually th...

Steve S.

Steve, the thing is that there are "wealthy elites" and then there are "wealthy elites." Around 1415, for example, all men-at-arms were part of a wealthy elite in _very_ roughly the same way that people today who have six-figure incomes not starting with "1" and nice houses are part of the wealthy ...

Steve S.

In the 14th and 15th centuries, "man-at-arms" (homines ad arma, gens d'armes, hommes d'arms) is a category of combatant with full armor and a war-horse, able to fight on foot or on horseback. Around Agincourt, a French army would normally have one man-at-arms to one _gros valet_ (partly armored) pl...

Steve S.

I will say that I dealt with a lot of foreign armourers when I was running Forth Armoury, and getting the payments to go through was always a hit-or-miss thing. Once you finally got the "recipe" right you could just take the wire transfer form from the last successful transfer and have them duplicat...

Steve S.

I had no problem, but agree that he needs to figure out a better way to take payments.

My $50 helm cost $45 in wire transfer from Wells Fargo and it will be $60 in shipping. For $150 I could have bought from a domestic armourer.

He needs to figure out PayPal or somesuch.

Steve

Steve S.

Ingelri turned me on to the deer skin glove people.

Steve

Steve S.

Here is the place I found for the cheap gloves. http://www.constructiongear.com/mens-cheap-leather-work-gloves-wells-lamont.html?utm_source=googlepepla&utm_medium=adwords&id=57139074330&utm_content=pla&gclid=CJDYudbszroCFQLl7AodRC4A2Q They are pretty decent, but for the gauntlets I am making (Wisby ...

Steve S.

I will send you my sources when I get home. I found a place that sells cow skin gloves for about $5 a pair.

But the best ones I found were www.deerskingloves.com as it includes the gauntlet cuff and they are only about $20 a pair.

The G-316BK are the unlined ones.

Steve

Steve S.

Can anyone recommend a nice bench-mounted hole punch that does common armouring hole sizes?

Steve

Steve S.

I bought one of these years ago when HF sold them and it has a full set of dies. It works nice for the thin stuff I punch. My main complaint with these things is that for any thickness of metal you are punching at the beginning of the stroke the handles are impossibly far apart - you cannot squeeze ...

Steve S.

Many times I have used 2 layers of cotton duck canvas for coats of plates. Or canvas and upholstery fabric.

I've never tried it for limb armour but it should work.

Steve

Steve S.

Get some old sweat pants. Cut them off at the knee. Draw a line that runs from the waistband, down th inside of your leg and back up to the waist on the side of your buttock. Cut that line. Then cut a line straight up the back of the leg and open it up - bingo, a pattern! Yup, this. What I have fou...

Steve S.

I like them they seem to be quite well fitted.

Steve

Re: Chainmail Aesthetics Question

Re: Harbor Freight Plasmas Cutter?

Re: Tuchux banned from Pennsic?

Review: Man on Anvil

Tuchux banned from Pennsic?

Re: Dusting off the cobwebs

Re: Need an app, but don't want to get a smartphone

Re: How to choose Fiebings leather dye?

Re: How to choose Fiebings leather dye?

Re: How to choose Fiebings leather dye?

How to choose Fiebings leather dye?

Re: SCA beginner Armor Commission

Re: Anyone else had trouble getting payment to Man-On-Anvil?

Re: How do I bring down the shoulders in a Coat of Plates?

Re: Anyone else had trouble getting payment to Man-On-Anvil?

Re: Semi related maille question

Re: Anyone else had trouble getting payment to Man-On-Anvil?

Re: Anyone else had trouble getting payment to Man-On-Anvil?

Re: Anyone else had trouble getting payment to Man-On-Anvil?

Re: Anyone else had trouble getting payment to Man-On-Anvil?

Re: Another Riveted Maille Question: UPDATE: Rivets! 01/29

Re: Anyone else had trouble getting payment to Man-On-Anvil?

Re: Anyone else had trouble getting payment to Man-On-Anvil?

Re: crossbow bolts and longbow arrows against armor

Re: crossbow bolts and longbow arrows against armor

Re: Anyone else had trouble getting payment to Man-On-Anvil?

Re: Anyone else had trouble getting payment to Man-On-Anvil?

Re: Gloves- What are the best gloves for finger gauntlets?

Re: Gloves- What are the best gloves for finger gauntlets?

Re: Gloves- What are the best gloves for finger gauntlets?

Re: Cheap sheet metal punch

Re: Cheap sheet metal punch

Re: Cloth Shell for Splinted Armor

Re: Padded Cuisse Pattern

Re: Light splinted arms