Arms and Armour thread

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I've got a 13th century 1 1/2 hand sword and my brother has a Landskneckt's two handed that we got for our 21sts, but that's about it unfortunately

I've taken up the arduous and thankless task of hand-making chainmail from pop-tabs. Does anyone know how I can shape it into a proper coif and shirt, instead of just a sheet?

Bronze age armor is always so silly

The art's kinda shit there, which makes it a lot worse.

>Does anyone here actually collect historical weapons, or should I look to /k for that?

Sure. Which period? Functional or sport?

/k/ is mostly reserved for modern firearms, but even then, only after 11pm.

It was also a relatively new tech. Only a few hundred years of design rather than a few thousand.

Pic is an original Masai Seme shortsword from Africa, ground out of a larger British Machete.

>Masai Seme shortsword
I read that as Meme shortsword at first.

>ground out of a larger British Machete
Why would they do that?

>Why would they do that?
Because reasons.

Next up is one of my Tuareg knives. They make awesome blades, and will trade pretty easily.

STEEL

lads anyone know where to get an accurate early middle ages sword ("viking" is what most wall call it) that comes sharp and has the correct sized handle? what most people don't realise is that swords of the period are supposed to fit tightly in the hand, the hilt and the pommel are supposed to be right next to your hand when you grip it. every sword i've seen has a few inches of space below the hand to the pommel when the sword is gripped.
i want it to be cheap but i don't mind paying a bit, and it would be good for the company to ship to bongland.

self post but also the sword would be best battle ready as well. will bump with more weapons and armour.

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Check out Albion. They're pricey but worth it.

Kind cheating, because its my work sword, but my Type II infantry Hanger repro.

What particular period, what purpose, and whats your budget.

Living in Bongistan will make it difficult.

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thanks

early medieval period, norse, anglo saxon, continental germanic, just a germanic sword, and a sharp sword for cutting. budget is potentially £900

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end of bump

I'm a early/high medieval reenactor, living in the UK. Also that bloody pic of Varangians is full of errors.

I know that chap

Only the one in my hands is mine, but a pic of me trying to teach people at a pirate festival how to use boarding pike...

Albion is not worth the money for a casual collector.

It may be better worth your time and money to buy parts and make one to best suit your needs. Hawei's practical viking blades are actually quite decent, and I can list you dozens of repro hilt hardware producers.

You'd just have to make the handle.

raymonds-quiet-press.myshopify.com/collections/viking/sword is my first suggestion

Thats clearly a Gaulacian Celt.

Ian Pierce's "Swords of the Viking Age" is the go to text, covering the various types of blade & pommel with a lovely catalogue of examples to choose from. It's very accessible and has all the information you need to get into the world of VA swords. Other good books are Ellis-Davidsons "Sword in Anglo-Saxon England" and Oakeshott's "Record of the Medieval Sword".

Petersen's seminal work is not available in English but a partial translation can be found here: vikingsword.com/petersen/

amazon.co.uk/Swords-Viking-Age-Ian-Peirce/dp/1843830892/ref=sr_1_fkmr2_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1488929713&sr=1-1-fkmr2&keywords=swords of the viking age pierce

I'll echo the suggestion of Albion if you have money to burn and care about an accurate and quality sharp sword.

The cheaper option is Armour Class. They offer both sharp and blunts for fighting. However AC swords do suffer from the grips being overly long and generally not being as good; also always choose the 5cm blades as the 3.8cm width blades are not accurate for Viking Age swords.

armourclass.co.uk/Data/Pages/DarkAge_Main.htm

(Also ignore the "seax" at the bottom of the page as it is beyond shite in every way)

If you really hate your bank account Paul Binns is the way to go. However he is no longer accepting orders and makes new stock according to whimsy then advertises it on FB, where they get snapped up within minutes. They are that good.

paul-binns-swords.co.uk/Collectors_Swords.html

Heron Armoury is also worth considering. His reenactment swords are quite good (both my swords are his), but I can't personally speak to the quality of his sharps. He will make them however and can produce some stunning work if you throw enough cash at him (arranging to visit his workshop in Kent helps if you want something special).

heronarmoury.com/

Finally, if you are tempted by the reenactment life check out regia.org/.

Everyone is asleep, post stylish helmets

Why is Sting sitting in an Imperial Chinaman's waist sash?

Ha, Dominicans, you crazy buggers.

>That bent-to-shit spear shaft

Jesus. Season and bind your wood, people.

Remember that leather armor is unique in that you can actually carve into it without weakening it too badly, where metal armor is too thin.

Why do maces seem much more popular in all time periods in the "middle area" of Persia and India, while never seemed as popular to the East or West?

Really, Op?

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Except leather armour, as Veeky Forums and pop culture think of, is not really a thing in reality for a reason.

The cost of production, utility and functionality was just not valid.

Symbol of authority.

Question for the thread:
Why do you think things like Linothorax died out?
Not only just that general shape of armor, but also how it's made (some sort of layered fabric hardened with glue.)

It died out because it offered limited protection. Although cheap and easy to produce you leave a lot of vulnerable places on your warriors. It's great for a bunch of guys standing with huge shields or massive pikes keeping the enemy away... but should the enemy get close or get around that shield it was most likely they were going to cut you. Bad.

Better to provide armor with better all over protection. Like maille. Although more labor intensive and expensive, your warriors would be better protected.

It also was very... revealing. Better access to boipucci I guess. Hellenistic people were constantly banging one another

I know it's not great, but it looks nice and seems more practical than some.
Also has anyone used/bought kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=200628&name=Padded Coif
?
It seems a bit thin, but that's one of the few proper coifs I've found. Admittedly I'm not sure where all to look that might provide functional items, but still.

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It did exist, just not often whole suits of it like in fantasy. You see it most often in greaves and jerkins, or even just smaller parts. Though I think it was more popular in the Middle East and China.

Shame that modern day Chinese dramas/movie forgo historical accuracy.

There's plenty of reference material from Wujing Zongyao for Song era armaments.

>The art's kinda shit there, which makes it a lot worse.
Osprey isn't known for accurately depicting Chinese armaments(with the exception of Qin and Tang drawings derived from archaeological finds).

greatmingmilitary.blogspot.com/2015/11/101st-post-p2.html

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I'm a bit curious, was the kusarigama actually a thing?

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youtube.com/watch?v=bXesoopsWGE

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yes. twas a rare weapon, to be sure, but it actually worked as intended during the occasional ninja night raids and assassinations on samurai forces.

its not like they took to the field of battle in waves with it. if there were say 1000 ashigaru, being led by 10-20 samurai and the samurai outnumbered the ninja on an order of like 30 to 1, then there might be 1 ninja in 20 to use a kusari-gama,

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THIS IS HOW REAL MEN DRESS YOU PANSY ASS LITTLE DICK WAFFLES!

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With what w know, that image is almost certainly of splinted defenses, and the few record/extant pieces otherwise are rare exceptions.

It simply wasn't as good, or as cost effective. Better the leather was used for saddles, boots etc.

Please tell me this is genuine.

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>Greek armor was... short.jpg

Time to break the bad news to you: All breastplates are pretty damn small.

Just imagine him saying 'For the honor of Japan' in a stereotypical accent and a serious tone

I remember that one being made in the early 00s.

Big vagina!

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