My 14th Century armour and workshop - per many requests

[Lord Cedric]

I have received a lot of requests and some questions about my armour and my medieval fighting etc. So, thought it would just be easier to post some of my pictures. If you have any more questions or would like to see a specific armour set.
The armour is a 14th century combat grade mild steel, Churberg style, trimmed with brass. I did not make this set. It was a special-order by master armoursmiths in the Ukraine, which I had to provice specific pictures, over 64 body measurements and style of fighting etc. Some of the picstures you see have their name stamped over them... the pictures are my actual armour which they use as a model to "sell" more of that type off their website. The maille (no, it was not called chainmail which is a RPG term and is used in many modern fantasy books) hauberk is a rust-protective (galvonized) flat ringed steel individually riveted for durability.
The last of the photos are of my armour/workshop. Yes, I have made some armour and have plans on making more as some of my local fight group is needing their first set.
Why did I not make my own? Because my level of fighting does not correspond with the level of armour I need and I simply do not have the time to dedicate to what I wanted. I am able to do basic and some moderate level armouring.. this set is just beyond my skill level for now.
So.. here are the pictures.:











Ok - there you go! Yes, I do have plenty more pictures.. I do have one more of me fighting in my first suit of armour. I am the one on the left. It's a 15th century jousting kit - heavy! about 97 pounds and made from 16 to 18 guage stainless steel.

 

[strewart]

Sweet, looks very cool! I was tempted to buy myself a suit of armour at one point, but it was a bit beyond my price range and I couldn't justify it. I do have two combat grade swords though, one of them a long sword which is cool.

 

[Lord Cedric]

Sweet, looks very cool! I was tempted to buy myself a suit of armour at one point, but it was a bit beyond my price range and I couldn't justify it. I do have two combat grade swords though, one of them a long sword which is cool.

If you were to just buy armour for wearing (non-combat grade), it can be fairly cheap here running around a few hundred. But if you were going for basic combat grade (munitions) then it would cost between $300-$450. The most expensive armour piece is typically the helm. My suit is 14 guage mostly (12 guage as reinforcement in the helm and 16 for the polyns as their shape gives them strength). The suit cost a few thousand, but well worth it and fairly cheap for the product considering where it was shipped from. Actually, I didn't post all the pictures of the individual pieces, just most of them, so there is more to this set.

I do have some dress swords (wall-type and not fully tanged) and some combat swords. The one you see me in the last picture is made from titanium. I could post some if you were interested in seeing them.

What kind of swords are they (century) and style (okshot, English, German etc.)? I'd really like to collect more. Ive got my eye on a special combat-ready one with my heraldric colors on hilt and scabbard from Museum Replilcas ltd. Do you practice with yours?

 

[strewart]

This is pretty much my longsword. Its my favourite one. I couldn't find a picture of the other one because a friend bought it for me and I'm not sure where he got it.

Most things in Australia are pretty expensive, which makes armour hard. I haven't seen any cheaper than $1000. I could buy overseas, but the postage would be a lot. Again, hard to justify when I probably wouldn't do much with it. I don't practice with mine, I couldn't really find anywhere around here that did weapon combat. There is a SCA group, but they only use wood not real swords, and that didn't seem as interesting.

I'd definitely be interested in seeing some more photos of your swords, swords are really cool! I have also been tempted to get more, but again a lack of space and being unable to justify it has stopped me. Maybe in a couple of years when I get out of uni and start earning real money plus have a house of my own I might buy some more stuff. I also have a quite large dragon tapestry (bottom of the page, orange one on left) which is cool, close to 100 inches wide though! I had it up at my old house, but there isn't really room in my new house unfortunately. I'd like to get it back up on the wall.

 

[strewart]

Hey Lord Cedric, do you have any experience with buying any ancient armour? I'm on a bit of a Spartan fetish right now and thinking about trying to find a place to buy a Spartan helmet from. I'm also about to make a unit of Space Marines Spartan themed, if they look good enough and I think the cost is worth it I may try to do a small army. And of course, I already have my Spartan High Elf army that everyone has seen.

 

[Lord Cedric]

Hey Lord Cedric, do you have any experience with buying any ancient armour? I'm on a bit of a Spartan fetish right now and thinking about trying to find a place to buy a Spartan helmet from. I'm also about to make a unit of Space Marines Spartan themed, if they look good enough and I think the cost is worth it I may try to do a small army. And of course, I already have my Spartan High Elf army that everyone has seen.

The Spartan designs are pretty neat in my opinion, along with the Greek and Roman styles. Here are a couple links. Also, please note that many of the armourers that I would recommend do not make this style helm as it's not as popular within my fighting organizations. However.. almost ALL of the armourers do custom work, so if you can provide a picture, they can make it. The last link is one of my favorite websites.. Armour Archive. A SLEW of information on all-things medieval, ancient, combat grade and historical armour and arms (I've bought a few things off this site!). Visit the trade forums to see what people are selling. Also, post there if there is something you want but cannot find.

http://www.darkheartarmoury.com/Olympia.htm

http://www.museumreplicas.com/p-16-300-spartan-helmet.aspx Do more searches for helms in this store! Great place to look around and highly authentic.

.. and finally Armour Archive http://www.armourarchive.org/links/armouries.shtml

Oh, and about my weapons and swords - I'll get some pics of them and post for you soon! Museum Replicas (the second link above) has some REALLY good swords at reasonable cost - and all are combat ready. However.. if you are looking for the best , look up Allbion Swords. Simply beautiful.

 

[strewart]

Thanks for the links, I have looked at Museum Replicas before. Indeed some very very nice stuff!

There is a much cheaper one here, I'm not sure if the website is any good though. At this stage of my life I can't really spend too much on stuff, I am still a uni student. A Spartan Helmet would be awesome though!

 

[Lord Cedric]

I understand, Strewart. As far as that company from your link, I am unsure. Couple things to consider is your climate and where the helm will be "stored" and the type of metal. mild steel will rust. Brass won't (but tarnishes) and stainless *can* rust, but takes a very long time in constant humidity/rain. If you are in a humid climate with mild steel helm then you will want to consider oiling it down occasionaly when needed for preservation.

If you are simply looking at getting a helm just for display or occasional costume wearing, then there are a mulit-tude of places to look. The ones I linked for you are serious crafters who do it all by hand and create helms continuously for real combat.. but their quality is excellent and come recommended. I'm sure I can come up with more armourers. Many of the "costume" type helms are made in India (incidently, so are many maille items).

 

[strewart]

Yeah there is definitely a big case of you get what you pay for, I know the Museum Replicas one would be fantastic quality. I'm currently not in a very humid place. Actually, I'm in the driest state on earth I believe (aside from Antarctica which wins by default because it always snows instead of raining) so no worries there. But when I finish my PhD in 2 years, I have no idea where I might end up living.

 

[Lord Cedric]

Well.. if you find yourself coming to USA for work then, would be great to get a brewsky together and chat about.. whatever. lol.

But yes, you are right in that you get what you pay for. I'll try to get some of those pics of my weapons for you tomorrow.. both my live-steel ones and also my medieval sport competitive ones.

 

[strewart]

Sweet, sounds good!

Not sure I will end up in the US, though I'm not shutting any doors at this stage. I'll probably end up interstate somewhere, but considering Europe as well. We'll see, I still have 1.5 years before I have to worry about it.