Theory & development of Mountain Pattern armour

[Todd Feinman]

Will do! I am going to make two pauldrons and the two-part breastplate.
For others who are making this armour:
1. I've used a Whitney punch to make the holes
2. If you punch the hexagons, they will be slightly dished
3. Any dishing very much affects the curvature of the armour as pieces are added
4. If one were to make a breastplate, one would want to re-flatten the hexagons after punching them (rubber mallet).
5. If one slightly curves the hexagons along an axis between two vertices (bilaterally symmetrical) one can get curvature in larger piecesin one direction (useful for the curvature of a breastplate
6. One can use these varieties of dished and simply curved hexagons to make complex pieces of armour. e.g. If I wanted to make a pauldron, I would use the curved hexagons for the middle rows of scales to make sure the piece curves arund the shoulder, but I could use the dished scales at the edges for more curvature in all directions.
7. I am using latigo lace; I wanted to use an easily found type of lace. when a row is done, the knots would be too uncomfortable, so I am using linen (or hemp) cord to bind the ends of the lace back onto themselves, so no bumps. The lace is in no danger of pulling through the scales due to the hole pattern.
8. The armour is semi-rigid, with some flexibility, so it needs to be made of the different types of slightly dished, or slightly curved scales to be form fitting, but it does a great job of that.
PLEASE! If any part of this is not understood, ask for clarification; it will save time and money. I will have more pics soon...

[Mac]

Will do! I am going to make two pauldrons and the two-part breastplate.

Excellent!.... you will be making Chinese armor.. right? .. and not forcing this construction where it doesn't belong?

2. If you punch the hexagons, they will be slightly dished
3. Any dishing very much affects the curvature of the armour as pieces are added

This is one of the things that concerned me about the test patch. I'm glad to see that you are on top of this.

4. If one were to make a breastplate, one would want to re-flatten the hexagons after punching them (rubber mallet).

It seems to me that a breast is exactly where you might want some compound curvature.

5. If one slightly curves the hexagons along an axis between two vertices (bilaterally symmetrical) one can get curvature in larger piecesin one direction (useful for the curvature of a breastplate

This!

6. One can use these varieties of dished and simply curved hexagons to make complex pieces of armour. e.g. If I wanted to make a pauldron, I would use the curved hexagons for the middle rows of scales to make sure the piece curves arund the shoulder, but I could use the dished scales at the edges for more curvature in all directions.

I assume that you are using "pauldron" to mean the East Asian equivalent.... but Yes!, again.

8. The armour is semi-rigid, with some flexibility, so it needs to be made of the different types of slightly dished, or slightly curved scales to be form fitting, but it does a great job of that.

Mixing and matching curved and dished plates sounds like a very go0d way to control the overall shape of the armor components.

Mac

[Todd Feinman]

Yes to all!! Thanks Mac! Though if I could go back in time and give it to the Egyptians...

[Todd Feinman]

Here is the process I am using to make the lamellae. I purchase the bronze blanks now. 22 gauge bronze. They arrive dead soft, but after punching them and bending them back and forth for a couple of seconds beford bending into final form work hardens them.
I use a template made from a hexagon with smaller holes. I use a fine sharpie to draw a circle through each hole while ho!ding them together (all pretty easy). Then I use a regukar nail with a good point to tap dimples into each piece. Then I use the Whitney punch by feel until the tip fits into the dimple, and punch. It's best to do the center hole first and then those around it, completing the pieces in stages. The Whitney punch has a pull-through that elevates each hole slightly, and there are no rough edges, as with drilling.

IMG_0234_kindlephoto-768364496.jpg (45.74 KiB) Viewed 658 times

[Todd Feinman]

I want to base the armour on the more Himalayan variety, so I can wear it with a Tibetan helmet and accoutrements. There is some variety in the spaulder portion of the pauldrons; some look more like wrathful deities or Chinese tomb guardians, while official Chinese versions appear to be lions or Fu dogs. :

LDit_800.jpg (98.04 KiB) Viewed 655 times

[Todd Feinman]

If you look closely at the leg protection on this statue, you will notice that it is inverted Mountain Pattern, and that there are set hitching points to gather the armour and the top angle of the portion being hitched up matches the edge of a hexagonal assembly. The overlap see from the side on the figure's left leg is the length of a hexagonal lamellae.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G8ntIJcV__E/V ... 345b8f.jpg


This can be easily accomplished by attaching two lamellar leg sections to a backing, and leaving a portion at the top of the lower section free so that it can overlap if raised..

[Todd Feinman]

I've seen some posts at the great Ming Military blog about the Mountain Pattern armour reconstructiuon here. I think that the hexagonal plates with the "mountain lacing pattern" explains many depictions and is accurate. It also makes excellent armour. There are many other depictions labeled "Mountain Pattern"; I think they are also based on lamellae of different shapes (such as squares), also with external lacing. I'll post more pics when I am a bit further along.

[Todd Feinman]

IMO, this depiction most likely represents square lamellae with external lacing.

square lamellaesmalldetail.jpg (48.52 KiB) Viewed 581 times

square lamellaesmall.jpg (93.91 KiB) Viewed 581 times