The Armour Archive

For the last month or so I've been working on a clamshell gauntlet design and have been pondering the thumb attachment. I've been using a single 3/16 rivet to hold the thumb base to the major hand piece and while this works OK I would like to increase the thumb mobility by using a hinge. I have seen historic examples with this but am wondering how the little hinge holds up in combat. Can anyone give me any imput on that? I'm thinking of trying a one inch steel hinge cut down on one side and attached with a 3/16 rivet. Thoughts?

Use the beefiest cut-down hinge you've got, and attach it by that rivet. Should work just fine.

Then set about building hinges your own self out of 18 gauge metal. Pp. 257-260 of TOMAR tells you how and has illos.

Actually... I kinda cheat. My Gaunt pattern has a rather extended Thumb Area (gadling) Like most SCA gauntlets. When the finger lame pieces wrap around... the end piece (Finger Tip Lame) overlaps the thumb gadling. I supply a two piece thumb articulation that (I suggest) attaches directly to the Glove you mount in your Gauntlet. That way you have a flexibly attached thumb that ends up as secondary protection under two other pieces of Metal.
BUT>>> the rivet attached hinge is a much more period style attatchment (for later period gauntlets) that I have been wanting to try myself.
JUST ONE of the problems getting stuck doing SCA Combat grade armour.

Are you being hit in that spot often? I have made a few using a hinge there and haven't heard of any problems yet. Use a heavy duty type hinge or better yet make one using the method Konstantin mentioned from TOMAR.

Chris

<a href="http://www.grimmarmoury.com/albums/early16th/MuseedelarmeeG179FootCombat19.jpg">Here is a mid-16th century solution.</a> Yes, the enclosed thumb seems to be used. I've got a pic of a similar locking gauntlet that not only has an enclosed thumb, but also has a thumbnail.

Y.I.S.
-Hugo Fuchs