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Post by justin520 on Aug 14, 2013 5:42:57 GMT
Where's a good place to obtain samurai torso armour that isn't thousands of dollars but is functional?
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Post by Onimusha on Aug 14, 2013 5:52:45 GMT
I've got info on making it. Other than that, I couldn't tell you.
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Post by justin520 on Aug 14, 2013 5:54:30 GMT
PM me that, I'd love to know, to those who see this I'd still like help with something already made though.
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Post by Onimusha on Aug 14, 2013 5:57:50 GMT
In this day and age, materials are cheap and labor is expensive. Samurai armor is labor intensive. I'll see what I can dig up. What kind of money were you looking to put into it?
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Post by justin520 on Aug 14, 2013 6:00:53 GMT
Middle hundreds range. I only want to do the torso armor.
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Post by Onimusha on Aug 14, 2013 6:11:37 GMT
That's the trick. I can't seem to find a place that sells just the dou..
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Post by Timo Nieminen on Aug 14, 2013 9:40:28 GMT
What kind? Iron/steel lamellar, rawhide lamellar (or imitation rawhide such as plastic), steel laminated (like Roman lorica segmentata), riveted laminated (like the previous, but with the strips riveted rather than laced), one-piece steel breastplate, mail-and-plates, or mail? Chest only, or chest + tassets? What about the shoulder + neck armour worn under the chest armour? For what purpose? A kendo dou might work as functional and samurai-style in appearance. www.e-bogu.com/Kendo-Bogu-Do-s/30.htmOtherwise, stuff supposed to be wearable turns up on ebay in your price range, usually 20th century repro armour. For lots of info on construction (and DIY construction), see www.sengokudaimyo.com/katchu/index.htmlIf you want to make your own imitation rawhide (i.e., plastic) lamellar armour, www.plasticlamellar.com/Plates/effingham-plate
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Post by justin520 on Aug 14, 2013 9:58:41 GMT
Well timo, I'm looking for something resistant to a katanas cut, in short some sort of metal, or just historically accurate sengoku armor. I'm just looking for the chest and back armor.
Side note, if it's red that would be lovely.
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Post by Timo Nieminen on Aug 14, 2013 10:32:31 GMT
Most samurai torso armour will be overkill then (being designed to stop arrows and spear thrusts, and for later armours, bullets). At least as far as it covers you. Most styles leave the shoulders (and hips, depending on what you include with "torso") very exposed. Mail or mail-and-plates will be fine, even if butted mail, and the mail and mail-and-plate armours give better coverage with the torso armour only. DIY can work. Get mail, sew mail onto backing. Maybe a heavy traditional style Japanese jacket as a base? A kendo or aikido jacket should work. Mail-on-jacket is more of an Edo-period style, than an earlier style. Mail-and-plates is a very common Sengoku period style. Alas, don't know of any commercial source for tatami-do (mail-and-plates), so you'd be stuck with DIY or custom. Some examples: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatami_(Japanese_armour) www.samuraiantiqueworld.com/samu ... nmail.html www.treasurenet.com/forums/my-co ... armor.html
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Post by justin520 on Aug 14, 2013 10:39:46 GMT
Really just a tatami do would be perfect. I'm searching ebay as we speak.
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Post by Jussi Ekholm on Aug 14, 2013 10:49:40 GMT
I would recommend contacting Fenglinhanjia. They are probably a good option for fairly afforadable armor. You could ask them if they could sell only some parts for you. In that way you could get what parts you need. Depending on your size you might need some custom sizing, I know that as inquieries from couple places have shown I would be bit too tall for the stock sizes. Fenglinhanjia offers two quality levels, here they are explained. Here is a red armor for 1050$: shop.japanese-armor.com/B002-Ari ... r-B002.htm But note that this is the Ashigaru quality, higher quality was probably 1000$ more to the price. However by your post I might think you do not necessarily need high quality materials? You could always shoot an email to the Little Star Enterprises and see if you can get what you need through them. I also know couple other places selling Fenglinhanjia armors and few other Chinese armor makers as well, but I am very skeptical about the quality of some of them. Then there is always Marutake Sangyo which would be my go to place for samurai armor. Here is a red armor for 1750$: www.samurai-store.com/armor/L049.html
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Post by Timo Nieminen on Aug 14, 2013 21:29:42 GMT
Do you know the thicknesses of the breastplates (approximately)? I've seen repro armour that is excessively thin, not even close to arrowproof, let alone bullets. Talks the talk, but won't walk the walk. "Functional" in the sense that it can be worn, but would fail in battle.
(Would still meet the OP's requirement of cut-resistance, though.)
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Post by Beowulf on Aug 14, 2013 21:30:41 GMT
Not what you want but an option...
Get a period appropriate western curiass, lacquer it red, add some traditional shoulder guards and go for the "Southern Barbarian Imported Armour" look. You'd have to have some Japanese attachments to the curiass or it would be totally confusing.
I think I've ran into DIY look-alike Tutorials for Samurai Armours before. Perhaps fish in SCA based websites.
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Post by Beowulf on Aug 14, 2013 21:36:51 GMT
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Post by Onimusha on Aug 14, 2013 21:51:06 GMT
The western curiass is an idea. The Japanese did import and use them that way. Here's the thing though. Anybody who knows even a little about using a katana in battle won't be trying to cut you. I'm not sure what your purpose is. I'm gathering you want it for some type of apocalypse prepping situation.
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Post by justin520 on Aug 14, 2013 22:12:41 GMT
What are they gonna try to do?
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Post by Onimusha on Aug 14, 2013 23:23:51 GMT
The japs had halfswording techniques just like the Europeans. They would try to stab you through gaps in your armor. Tanto were the close-in armor penetrators. Now, the armor does make it harder for your opponent, but you're faaaar from invincible. I know what I'd do about somebody wearing a dou. I'd go for arms.
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Post by justin520 on Aug 14, 2013 23:47:59 GMT
Exactly, but at least my gut and heart are protected.
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Post by Rifleman Lizard on Aug 15, 2013 0:20:15 GMT
It's hard to find good yoroi for affordable prices. It's a specialist product for a very niche market (even more so than swords), so they're not produced on such a large scale that quantity makes them especially cheap. There are numerous Chinese dealers in "traditional samurai" armour, but most of them are anything but either. One set I've seen was padded with cardboard, with the laces pulled through the holes. Fancy dress things more than anything. I'd avoid anything that does not explicitly detail the construction and materials used.
Jussi's link is pretty awesome though! Their accessories look good too.
I own two armours made by Marutake. They're 100% accurate but I doubt they'd protect against even small calibre modern conical bullets. The old-school arquebus balls worked very differently and at much lower velocities.
I recommend Samurai Store International to anyone looking for excellent armour, even just individual components... but not for someone to cut at with a blade mind you. While they are properly constructed from the right materials in the same manner as originals; it's worth remembering that all armour can be broken and will eventually fail. Their sales manager is a nice guy to deal with and he is also prepared to work to get you a bargain. You may be pleasantly surprised if all you want is a breast and back plate.
Maybe you could contact Samurai Store International and ask them to produce a rough but practical torso with no frills. This could be your best bet as it would fit you perfectly and is also available in red.
A kendo-do will be more cost effective but they aren't made to be hit with anything but shinai.
More cost effective still you could grab a toolbox and fashion your own out of layers of sheet metal. Even cheap leather and hide was tied and lacquered into effective torso protection, especially during the Sengoku Jidai as ashigaru troops became the more common way of doing things.
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Post by Onimusha on Aug 15, 2013 2:34:13 GMT
The Japanese also made maile suits with small plates attached in vital areas. They made leather armor backed with maile as well. Japanese armor is just like their swords. There are a few famous types and a boatload of other types most people don't know about. If I was going to wear armor, I'd want the whole suit. That's just me. However, no armor is perfect. Every type has a weakness. There's another thing to consider too. When your armor stops a blow, the full force of that blow is transferred to your body. You can ask anybody who's ever been shot while wearing kevlar.
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