You're Fired!
OK, I finally fired the right arm harness. Everything worked out fine except the rerebrace, which warped the first time, just didn't turn out quite the right shape the second time (after annealing and reshaping), and now there's forge scale on it that won't come off. Besides that, it's going well. I used some vinegar to clean it up which sped things along well.
I looked at more pictures of various late 14th century arm harnesses- I've really made a collection of them which can be played as a slide show on the computer. It's been a great learning experience. The biggest things I've learned:
1. The original lame shapes are like elongated 'D's. To get things to work out just right mine sort of have little wings on the Ds, a little like Brion Price's style, but less exaggerated. If I don't add the little wings there are gaps between the lames at full extension. I guess having things overlap more would address that. It's worth playing with.
2. The Musee de l'Armee arm harness is really neat, and might be faster to make. It has a cool hinge, and that neat extra lame on the vambrace. The wrist is rolled, which might make some adjustments a little tougher, but it might also make a smoother cuff.
3. The buckle used to close the vambrace doesn't have any leather on it. In the Musee de l'Armee arm, the Churburg arms, and at least one other the buckle is riveted right to the vambrace. When you think about it, it's sort of an obvious way to do it. It's more durable lighter and simpler. There's really no need to put leather on there. The one weird thing is it looks like they did it through a slot like the strap side does, though it might be a smaller hole. The buckle for the strap over the inside of the arm attaches directly to the cop on the Churburg arms, and I think I'll be doing it that way in the future.
I looked at more pictures of various late 14th century arm harnesses- I've really made a collection of them which can be played as a slide show on the computer. It's been a great learning experience. The biggest things I've learned:
1. The original lame shapes are like elongated 'D's. To get things to work out just right mine sort of have little wings on the Ds, a little like Brion Price's style, but less exaggerated. If I don't add the little wings there are gaps between the lames at full extension. I guess having things overlap more would address that. It's worth playing with.
2. The Musee de l'Armee arm harness is really neat, and might be faster to make. It has a cool hinge, and that neat extra lame on the vambrace. The wrist is rolled, which might make some adjustments a little tougher, but it might also make a smoother cuff.
3. The buckle used to close the vambrace doesn't have any leather on it. In the Musee de l'Armee arm, the Churburg arms, and at least one other the buckle is riveted right to the vambrace. When you think about it, it's sort of an obvious way to do it. It's more durable lighter and simpler. There's really no need to put leather on there. The one weird thing is it looks like they did it through a slot like the strap side does, though it might be a smaller hole. The buckle for the strap over the inside of the arm attaches directly to the cop on the Churburg arms, and I think I'll be doing it that way in the future.
Comments