The Armour Archive

Hi,

I’m quickly making a brigandine using the scrap leather and stainless steel (and plastic) I’ve got. And I was sewing up the shoulders of the leather cover for brigandine…and then I looked at a diagram and it shows that they’re buckled on!

Which is better, buckles at the shoulder or sewing it closed?

Is sewing it closed historical?

I've got plenty of buckles and leather and steel for this project...just not much time. I'd like to take the FLF suit to Albuquerque, NM next week on my trip and maybe get a couple of bouts in with Blackstone.

With respect,

-Aaron

Aaron wrote:Hi,

I’m quickly making a brigandine using the scrap leather and stainless steel (and plastic) I’ve got. And I was sewing up the shoulders of the leather cover for brigandine…and then I looked at a diagram and it shows that they’re buckled on!

Which is better, buckles at the shoulder or sewing it closed?

Is sewing it closed historical?

I've got plenty of buckles and leather and steel for this project...just not much time. I'd like to take the FLF suit to Albuquerque, NM next week on my trip and maybe get a couple of bouts in with Blackstone.

With respect,

-Aaron

I've seen both, so I think it's all down to fit, comfort, and practicality of wear. some of the wider shouldered ones seem to have buckles, presumably as they were a bit stiffer, and so could'nt be pulled on in a comfy manner otherwise.

Suzerain wrote:

Aaron wrote:Hi,

I’m quickly making a brigandine using the scrap leather and stainless steel (and plastic) I’ve got. And I was sewing up the shoulders of the leather cover for brigandine…and then I looked at a diagram and it shows that they’re buckled on!

Which is better, buckles at the shoulder or sewing it closed?

Is sewing it closed historical?

I've got plenty of buckles and leather and steel for this project...just not much time. I'd like to take the FLF suit to Albuquerque, NM next week on my trip and maybe get a couple of bouts in with Blackstone.

With respect,

-Aaron

I've seen both, so I think it's all down to fit, comfort, and practicality of wear. some of the wider shouldered ones seem to have buckles, presumably as they were a bit stiffer, and so could'nt be pulled on in a comfy manner otherwise.

This is correct, and either method will work. The test piece prototype we made had no shoulder buckles, and is based on the Vienna Kunsthistoriches example. Sinric made his copying this, and I made mine copying the RA examples, which buckle at the shoulders.

I don't think it has much to do with the width of the shoulder varying, as I believe the extant examples pretty much are generally the same width. It likely more has to do with region they were manufactured in, and the workshop they came out of than anything else.