The Armour Archive

So I want to make an SCA legal gauntlet that looks like the mitten of a padded gambeson.

Any sugestions?

Wisby-gaunt construction with a thicker and boofier layer over the hard pieces -- perhaps two layers of batting laid over, inside the shell-fabric. Could assemble the gaunt entirely by sewing, using stitching awl thread, which is stout stuff. Quilting and mattress needles, like that assorted Tandy needle pack with that bunch of different kinds. Even the curved ones -- in and out, easy; no need to fumble inside a mitt.

Please explain why you think a padded gambeson would have an attached gauntlet.

I lost you there.

He seems to be trying for hard hand protection that is carefully disguised as something other than hard platy gauntlets. Sounds like it's for early-period.

cover a hockey glove with a padded mitten?

Ever tried holding a sword in a hockey glove, Wendall? No way.

Konstantin the Red wrote:He seems to be trying for hard hand protection that is carefully disguised as something other than hard platy gauntlets. Sounds like it's for early-period.

Exactly.
There is evidence of gambesons having integral mittens. well for the SCA and hand protection I need to have a little more than just a padded mitten

I used hockey gloves for a little bit, before getting my good gauntlets. Holding onto the sword wasn't to bad, but getting hit in the hand sucked.

I am working on a 3rd Crusade kit. I'm going to use Wisby finger gauntlets inside a maille mitten. You could also use it inside a padded mitten.

Steve

...or use a mail mitten inside a basket.

Try real Pro level hockey gloves--they have more padding, more flexibility and more finger tip coverage. Used them for years, took many a hit during the Torgul high power hitting era. Still have intact hands.

Kel Rekuta wrote:Please explain why you think a padded gambeson would have an attached gauntlet.

I lost you there.

As they say in the modern parlance, "seems legit".


My advice would be that nobody should ever get into any strictly padded hand protection with the intent of fighting anyting more hardcore than boffer or fencing (not cut and thrust).
To that end, if I were you, I'd be looking at close-fitting hard protection that padding would fit over.

MJBlazek wrote:I used hockey gloves for a little bit, before getting my good gauntlets. Holding onto the sword wasn't to bad, but getting hit in the hand sucked.

I observed that too -- battered fingers. I also observed a lot of sword-dropping. Going to proper gaunts solved a lot of that.

Ernst wrote:...or use a mail mitten inside a basket.

I think the point is to get away from having to use one, and actually TRYING To look good.

Talk to Bishop Amos the Pious. (B. Amos on the archive). I think he's using lacross gloves.



I'm working on a pair myself, using my old-school leather and steel hockey gloves, which are MUCH different in construction from modern gloves. Some pre-quilted cotton with nylon batting isn't 100% accurate, but it looks a hell of a lot better than a basket hilt.

Kilian_the_warlike wrote:

Ernst wrote:...or use a mail mitten inside a basket.

I think the point is to get away from having to use one, and actually TRYING To look good.

I'm merely pointing out that various attempts to cover hockey gloves have been tried within the SCA for decades, and none of them look "good" or as close fitting as mail mufflers. Here's an article from the 1970s by David Counts (Meridies' Sir Barok Baran) showing such an attempt.
http://www.bladeturner.com/pattern/mail ... itten.html

I admit baskets over mail don't look good either, but do they look worse than cloth or mail covered hockey gloves? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I guess.

...or use a mail mitten inside a basket.

The problem with this approach is you get no wrist protection.

Steve

At a recent event, I ran across a guy who had fashioned a very nice half gauntlet out of molded Kydex. I was more than a little impressed.
For a "padded gauntlet" impression, I would go about it the same way this guy did for the half gauntlet.
I would mold/make a kydex gauntlet with mitten lames, and fasten it together with paracord. Make the gauntlet lo profile and close fitting to you hand.
Then make your padded mitten to fit over that. I would sew the mitten so that the outside has the padding but the inside is a single/double layer of trigger or such. That way you don't loose so much tactile feel.

Of course anything other than a list legal metal gauntlet stuck in a oven mitt would require approval from your KEM.

Hmmm... oven mitts....

I was thinking about making hardened leather gauntlets, but inside out. So the glove ( or in thie case mitten) was sewn to the outside of the plates instead of the inside.

MJBlazek wrote:I was thinking about making hardened leather gauntlets, but inside out. So the glove ( or in thie case mitten) was sewn to the outside of the plates instead of the inside.

Another option is to make a mitten out of heavy fabric and then sew in faux "padded stitching" to make it look like a padded gauntlet. Then just slip it over your existing mitten gauntlet.

One warning about putting the plates on the inside, you still need padding between the plates and your hand.

Overall a gauntlet that fits close is your best bet, so a wisby finger gauntlet would be the best choice for low profile, then putting a gambison over it (or chainmail mit)