New Helmet Padding

Well, anyone who fights knows that foam padding does not breath well in a steel helmet. So I decided to make a new padding system for my helmet. It is linen fabric stuffed with bamboo fiber batting. It is a little over stuffed but fits my head and the helm well and snuggly. There is no movement of the helm at all. It use to have a little movement with the foam lining. The reason I over stuffed it was because I believe the batting will breakdown a little with use.

I hope it will breath better than the foam and I know it will absorb moisture, which is a good thing. Now I need to make a new helmet strap and try it out next week at Celt Wars.

The New Gorget Revisited

Well, I got to try my new gorget out at Blackstone Raids. I really like the design and it was protective. It definitely gives more protection than a leather dog collar style gorget. Yet, it was not perfect. I really never realized what kind of abuse I put myself through when I take the field. Up until I met Oona I really only wore the minimum armor required and only took minor injuries and lots of bruises. So, where is this leading? It is leading to the fact that 22 gauge copper is not going to be rigid enough for a gorget for SCA Heavy combat.

The gorget was working great and I was loving it. It is light, fits me perfectly and it passed inspection. Then I get knocked over a hay bail backwards with my legs trapped. This leads to me landing on my back but, I landed on my head first. This caused my helm to crash into my gorget with great force. One of the laims on the lobster tail was creased by the bottom of my helm. My face grill hit the front of the gorget and caused it to bend up a little. I never even realized that the helm came into contact with my body other than the ringing in my head. I found the damage after going to resurrection and heading back into the line a few more times. Then during the break between battles I took my helm and gorget off and found the damage. The crease in the lobster tail is a perfect match for the back edge of my helm.

I learned that even though it creased it was very protective. I would hate to think what might have happened if the lobster tail from the gorget had not been there. Maybe a nice crease in a vertebra. I learned that even though hammered 22 gauge feels rigid enough to normal pressure and force, it is not rigid enough for SCA Heavy combat. Now where do I go from here? I have 14 gauge copper in the garage but that might be a little over kill and an increase in weight. I could buy 18 gauge and give that a try. Or, I could continue to fight in the one I have and see if it holds up over time.

I believe that if I had been wearing the old aluminum on that I would have been injured because it does not have the lobster tail down the back. So, in that regard it was more protective. The design is good the materials are OK but need improving.

Now it is time to start the gorget mark II. I guess I will use the 14 gauge copper I have on hand.

New Gorget project part 2

Well, except for padding and lining the new gorget is finished. I learned a few things about compound curves and there are some hammer nicks. I decided to leave the hammered look instead of sanding and polishing. I feel it gives it character. It is surprisingly rigid for being only 22 gauge copper and brass. It fits perfectly and is lighter than my old aluminum one.

Oona has already placed a request for one. I will make her new belt this week and try to get her new shoulders done before Blackstone Raids and then I will make her a gorget.

Oona is making me a new fighting tunic from a honey colored linen we found a Joann's on sell at 50%off. It will look sharp with the gorget.

New Gorget project

So, I have an aluminum gorget that is to large for me and it bruises my collar bone. The other night I decided to make a new one. It gave me the chance to make something with compound curves and a rolled edge. It is just in the beginning stages but I hope to have it ready for Blackstone Raids next weekend.

The armor Project - Chainmail

Well I am still hammering scales for the skirt and that is a long process. So as a side project I started knitting the chainmail for the armor. I have decided that I need to do a full documentation of the armor with the dig site the elements were found and the dating and cultural information from the finds.

So here are some pictures of what is done on the chainmail.

Scale Skirt project

Just a quick update.

I did not get the scale horsemans skirt done by Blackstone Raids. The cutting of the plates and the punching of the holes moves rather quickly once I get into the rythm but, hammering each plate to get the slight curve and to work harden the metal is a slow process.

I will continue to work on the skirt but I will bounce to other projects with more instant gradification. I will start on the curaiss this weekend. I will also work on the vembraces, too. there are also the sheaths for swords, belts, baldric and other things needed for the full armor.

I am excited about the whole project.

Scale Armor Project continues

Well the armor is not coming together as quickly as I had hoped. The scales are taking a long time to produce. You have to cut and shape the scales, then you have to mark and punch the holes and then you have to file the edges and finally hammer them into a slight curve. The hammering also work hardens the brass and makes a stiffer piece. The hammering is time consuming and a pain with the small scales. Once all that is done you have to do the linking of the scales and that can be frustrating.

Below is a 3 row section. I ran out of hammered scales. Time to start pounding some more metal.



Below is a closeup of how the scales look from the front.



This is a close up of the back.



Now off to do some more hammering.

The Scale Skirt - Part 2 update

So, I was thinking about the problem I was having yesterday using the rings and ending up using "staples". Today I decided to try something completely crazy, I changed the hole size from 3/32 to 1/8 and the rings worked. I did not change anything else with position yet it made all the difference in the world. It did not change the ability of the scales to move greatly, it did improve some though but it will dramatically improve the time it takes to assemble the pieces.

The Scale Skirt - Part 2

Yesterday I did more work on the scale armor. I rounded the ends marked out the places to punch the holes and finished up 5 complete plates. I planned to use some of the rings I cut for my chainmail to attach the plates. At this point I discovered why they call it experiential archeology.

With only photos of originals to work from it is hard to make out the details. I will explain this in a moment. First lets see what the scales look like.



Here are the originals.




Looking closely you can see the hole pattern and connection "staples". Well I was wandering why they refer to them as staples. Well I found if you make the holes for round links at the proper distance and then stack the plates it does not go together well. A more squared off staple shape works better. You get movement between rows of scales and a little side to side movement but not much, just enough to allow for body movement and muscle flex. The thing that was surprising was how strong the piece becomes when held together with 14 gauge brass wire. It is like building a semi -flexible plate armor. It would take a very good and well aimed upward thrust to get through this armor. The slight curve of the individual plates does not leave a flat surface and it flexes enough to absorb force and transfer it across the armor.

It is not going to be as flexible as I thought but it is much stronger then expected. I will see about getting a round link to work and see if it adds to the flex.

Here are the five plates that I connected.



The tools used.





More to follow as I get the full skirt assembled.