The Armour Archive

Why don't we put together a list of suggestions for a low cost, low, maintenance rig that has a period look to it. I think that with all of us here throwing in suggestions, we could probably put together a short informational pamphlet on how to look period and be fighting safely for under $300, and around $200 if we are lucky. All with minimal skills and tools necessary. I know such a list- possibly eventually with directions, would be useful for many of the newer fighters around here.

Plastic and other non period materials are fine to use as long as they are covered. Also, off the shelf items from armorers are fine to put in as well.

Let's try to avoid spun top football looking helmets though if we can, ok?

Alaric

So we're simply going for the "period" asthetic (I know the spelling's wrong but hopefully you get the idea) in a general sense, i. e. not jarringly modern, or do we wanna narrow our focus down to a specefic century/place/social standing? I just want to make sure of what we're aiming for here.

Now for my add in- I'm discussing 14th century helms because that is what I know. I'm also assuming relative inexperience on the part of the reader.

Helmets

THE BUY OPTION
There are a few places that carry relatively inexpensive bascinets, which are ideal helms for what we do. Ironmonger and Illusion both have bascinets in at about the $100 mark. Ironmonger would be where I'd go, as their turnaround is better than Illusion's.

Barrel helms can be had for even lower prices. Armour and Castings makes a decent Pembridge for around $80, with shipping probably about 100. Turn around is not bad on these guys either, by all reports.

Stay away from Ebay helms unless you ask a friend who happens to be a fighter/armourer/ ect. with more experience than you. While many reputable armourers sell there, many more merchants are selling Indian armour that is not legal or safe for what we do. As a general rule of thumb, if it's under $50 and new, it's probably a good idea to steer clear.

The helm, if you buy it, will and should be the biggest chunk of change you drop on your kit. You will be trusting your head to it.

THE BUILD OPTION

The helm I would suggest here is the one desribed in the Arador Great Helm Tutorial. Enough 14 guage steel will run you around $30-$50.

I won't re-iterate what the tutorial would tell you. So without further or do, here's the link:
http://www.arador.com/construction/index.html

It's under Great Helm: Pattern and Construction.

This helm could be done with very minimal tools. A drill, a pipe or other cylindrical former, a relatively heay ball pien hammer, something to cut the steel with (jigsaw is probably least costly and most likely to be owned by you or someone you know), rivets, leather and a buckle or two for a chinstrap, and a 5 dollar roll of Walmart camping pad blue foam should give you a perfectly legal helm. Not pretty, legal. I'd also suggest a deadblow hammer and a Beverly shear or knockoff for this project but you can get along without them.

Wow, what was gonna be a question turned into something constructive...

Fabric covered COP or Fabric covered Corizinna is a good start.

Should we be designing to SCA minimum safety standards or SCA medium level standars or WMA standars or something else?

Sean

Let's say SCA "medium" standard (more than minimum, but not necessarily fully armor clad), and with a consistent one period appearance for the suit: proper helemt with proper armor.

Alaric

I know it's a higher cost but I can provide a full suit of plate except the helm for $455 I'd make it $425 if ordering a full set.

Thats
gorget
spaulders
arms
legs
greaves
coat of plates kit
and demi gaunts.

Then get the bascinet from ironmonger. I'm gonna be offering bascinets soon but they'll be more expensive (and nicer).

Or soon I'll be offering soupcan knees and elbows.
gorget
elbows
knees
coat of plates kit
and demi gaunts

would ring in at $190 with a discount applied for ordering a full set. Of course stainless would be more money.

The pics of the arms and legs are pics of old ones I had The new ones will be much nicer.

Matt,

The second kit is closer to the price range I am shooting at for newbies, however, I am trying to put a list of things together that will allow them to get on the field, with everything including pads, surcoats, etc for hopefully less than $200 (maybe up to $250)- all while looking good. I do not believe that this is impossible.

Alaric

www.armourandcastings.com Pembridge Greathelm
14ga mild steel - $120.00 with shipping
Stonekeep Pricebeater knees:
http://www.shop.store.yahoo.com/spiers- ... pknco.html
$10.00
Stonekeep Pricebeater Elbows:
http://www.shop.store.yahoo.com/spiers- ... pelco.html
$9.00
Brettuns village leather black 9-11 oz side:
http://www.brettunsvillage.com/leather/sides.htm
(Excellent Thick Veg Tan Sides for Tooling, Carving, Wet-Forming, or Armor! ) - $75 with shipping
1 pickle barrel - $15 or free
1 box of wood nails - ???
2 packs of speed rivets:
http://www.tandyleather.com/prodinfo.as ... &mitem=166
200 - $8
20 1/2" center bar buckles:
http://www.tandyleather.com/prodinfo.as ... 1&mitem=48
$6.60
5 yrds duck cloth canvas from walmart:
$3yrd - $15


Use the leather to cut out a gorget, cuisses, 1/2 gauntlets, vambracers, and straps.

Use the pickle barrel to make splinted cuisses, splinted vambraces, coat of plates, brig plates for gorget.

Cover pickle barrel plates with canvas and use nails as rivets. Use buckles to strap. Use speed rivets for straping.


TOTAL: $258.60

Add to that a crusader Syclis and black sweatpants with the ankle elastic cut off and you will have a reasonable facticimili(sp?) of a crusader for the non educated public.

I tried to get into this for $500, but my eyes kept getting bigger.



(edited cause Irish already said it!)

Come on people, with all the pages of bitching about DVA armor, no one wants to be constructive and try and come up with a suitable alternative?

I really think it would be great if we could come up with a solid list of things that people can easily build and buy in order to have a period looking suit of armor to fight in. All for around $200-$300.

Alaric

Your Grace,

Have you been following this thread:

http://forums.armourarchive.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=55281

Scroll down a bit and look at the pics of the CoP that M S Anderson put together for $35 bucks or so.

I think that ANY new fighter would be proud to wear a kit based on that CoP.

I think I could do a very basic leather kit for about $350. No tooling, or anything fancy. Vams/bazubands, rerebrace, cuirass, gorget/mantle greaves, cuisses. The greaves and vams would lace on rather than buckle. Strapping would run a touch more. Or I could leave it without holes of any kind so you can fit the strapping perfectly to you. I notice a lot of metal guys have done this. It would't be hammered for that price, and I haven't really gotten my hammer on yet, so I can't say how that would turn out...lol. I can still bake it and stuff. Or leave it unbaked if you prefer. It wouldn't be pretty, but it wouldn't be ugly as sin, either. Wouldn't fit perfectly, but you could move ok in it. I think it would look ok, and work well enough to get a guy on the field and not look like a tragedy in hockey gloves and pickle barrels. I don't work in metals, so I can't help with a helm, and I'm still working on gaunts. Getting close there, tho. Knees/elbows...well, I'm still working on getting those to where I'm reasonably satisfied. Spaulders I would charge more for since articuations take a bit longer.

That's not to say I'm looking to do it right now...I don't even have a pic yet, so for all anyone knows it looks like a blind squirrel made it...lol

Like I said...it would be about as basic and stripped down as it gets. Course my estimate could be wrong, I haven't done the "knock out a full suit as a single project" yet. And I would call it SCAdian-ised or faire/LARP armour (but heavy enough for SCA use), but I'm not up to what I would call real leather armour like what Dan and some of the other guys here make. Just cheap and functional, and you'd want to upgrade to one of the masters when you can afford it.

Christopher

Brettuns village leather black 9-11 oz side:
http://www.brettunsvillage.com/leather/sides.htm
(Excellent Thick Veg Tan Sides for Tooling, Carving, Wet-Forming, or Armor! ) - $75 with shipping

- Created vambraces, rerebraces, legs, and front greaves with 1 hide with left over leather bits for shoe soles.

Picked up basic elbows and knees from Cet $30 ldr_gto@earthlink.net

Picked up a used CoP that was put together for $60, Good alternatives are:

- Mad Matt Coat of plates kit. $60 http://www.geocities.com/madmattsarmory/

- Alchemy Armory plastic plates: $55 http://www.alchemyarmory.com/14thcentury.html

- Canvas for CoP about $12 to $18 at Wal Mart or Joe Anne's Fabric

My Gorget and half gauntlet were given to me but for cheap buys try:

Gorget (if you are not using an aventail)

- Mild $25 or Stainless $40

Half Gauntlets:

- Alchemy Armory plastic half gauntlets (Atlantian’s need to cover with leather, cloth, or paint $35 http://www.alchemyarmory.com/14thcentury.html

-Mad Matt half gauntlets $45 a pair in mild steel http://www.geocities.com/madmattsarmory/



My first armor minus helm was $165 the alternatives I have listed run just a little more than my first armor and come in under Dark Victory's price but my kit did require a few hours of work to cut, dye the leather, and assemble.