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Post by Deleted on Feb 19, 2008 20:54:43 GMT
At one time I was considering making a lamellar curiass, using strips of steel from the banding used to hold bundles of metal bars together for transportation. I have yet to find a suitable cording material, though. Latigo leather bootlaces are a bit too stiff, but it seems like any commonly available cotton-type cording would fray on the edges of the holes. Any suggestions?
Actually, the type of armor I want to make is unimportant, as such. My criteria are simplicity of manufacture, low cost, and flexibility. Lamellar SEEMS to meet that criteria, cording problems aside. The "jack of plates" I mentioned in another post also seems to fit my criteria, though the sewing of the "shell" might be tricky, as well as getting the plates sewn in right. Leather lamellar would be simple to construct, but the materials are NOT cheap (I can get banding steel free at almost any steel yard). I'm not stuck on any particular time period, though I would PREFER to stay European.
I have heard of "ring mail" armor made of metal rings sewn to a backing like scale armor rather than linked like chainmail. Anybody know if this actually existed?
Any other types of armor that might meet my criteria?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 19, 2008 21:10:41 GMT
Ring mail has been essentially proven to not exist. All extant effigies and other iconographic illuminations have been thought to be simply maille. Rings sewn to a backing offer little protection, compared to actual maille.
The only problem with what you are suggesting is that sometimes the steel used for banding is of a high carbon content, annealed for softness. You would need to harden it for it to stand up to your use. If you are not totally concerned with historical accuracy, parachute cord is cheap and durable. Available at most military surplus stores. I have also heard of finger-braiding and lucetted cord being used to good results.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2008 4:20:24 GMT
I can't help much, but if you want to use some other cordage, why not put something around the edges of the holes in the steel so that they don't cut at the cording? Rubber, pitch, duct tape, something.
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Post by rhfay on Feb 20, 2008 4:46:49 GMT
Why lamellar? Why not scale armour? Scale was used historically in the Roman and medieval periods. The lorica squamata was a Roman cuirass of bronze or iron scales attached to a foundation of hide or strong cloth and joined to each other with metal wires. Some of the coat-of-plates of the early14th century have the appearance of scale armour, such as that seen on the effigy of Albrecht of Hohenlohe (died 1319).
I think scales could be rivetted, laced, or sewn onto the backing material.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2008 17:43:25 GMT
I rather like the idea of "self-supporting" armor that doesn't require a backing - chainmail, lamellar, etc. If I'm going to use a backing, I may as well stick with the Elizabethan jack-of-plates. I guess there are no "easy" solutions or choices, are there...? :~
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Post by rhfay on Feb 20, 2008 18:02:33 GMT
I rather like the idea of "self-supporting" armor that doesn't require a backing - chainmail, lamellar, etc. If I'm going to use a backing, I may as well stick with the Elizabethan jack-of-plates. I guess there are no "easy" solutions or choices, are there...? :~ Oh, understood. If you want something made from small plates without a backing, then lamellar may be your only real choice. Leather laces other than latigo may be an option to link the individual plates in lamellar, if you can find something less stiff than the latigo boot laces. In Brassey's Master Class: Living History, there are photos of a participant in the historical re-enactment group Britannia dressed as a Romano-British warrior of the fourth to fifth century wearing a lamellar cuirass. The caption states clearly that the lacing is leather.
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