Arming Points

arming_point4I had some trouble using leather laces to attach my leg armor to my new arming doublet, so I decided that was a part of my kit that needed an upgrade. On the advice of my jouster friend I decided to try making them from waxed braided hemp. I had a ball of ~1mm hemp cord lying around, so I gave it a try using a plain old 3-strand plait (with the help of a binder clip to tie off on). A random pillar candle supplied wax, which I melted into the braid with an iron and a press cloth. Two or three applications of wax seemed to be enough to give a smoother surface, though it certainly did not completely penetrate the fibers of the braid. The ends were trimmed to length and impregnated with wood glue.

I made aglets in the usual method from 0.010″ brass sheet, about 2.5″ long and blunt on the end. Since the braid was somewhat variable in width due to the cord I used, I finished each aglet by crimping it onto the end where it was going to be installed. They were then attached with a bit of E6000.



Ode to a Shield

IMG_1454A shield lives not for glory,
Like the sword of shining steel;
Upon its face the story
Of its owner is revealed.

While swords have names and pedigrees
A shield is thrown away,
Content to have the chance to be
The one that saved the day.

For though a sword may win a war
And pay its bloody cost,
The shield should be remembered for
Each war that isn’t lost.

This was written to go on the back of my shield.

Shield v.2 – Finished

Testing straps for the shield handle

Testing straps for the shield handle

Water-softened rawhide edging held in place with binder clips

Water-softened rawhide edging held in place with binder clips

Carpet tacks used to hold ends of edging

Carpet tacks used to hold ends of edging

shield4

Saddle stitching with waxed linen thread

Completed hardware including leather-wrapped foam pad

Completed hardware including leather-wrapped foam pad

Finished shield front

Finished shield front

Shield v.2 – Shield Press

I never expected my first heater shield to be my Forever Shield, so it’s no surprise that I’m making a new one. At the regional fighter practice, I was informed by a knight of great wisdom and experience that I was using the wrong shield for me. After borrowing his shield for a few fights, I was convinced that he was right and decided to take his advice.

The plan for the new shield is a 22″ x 32″ heater (vs ~24″ x 28″ for the old one) with a ~1/5″ curve. This website has some neat ideas that I plan to pilfer, and I found some nice instructions on rawhide edging here. The first step is to construct the body of the shield.

shield-press-1

I didn’t want to spend too much money or effort on building the shield press, so I made this frame out of 2×4’s screwed together.

shield-press-2

I cut two pieces of 1/4″ birch plywood roughly 24″ x 36″ so I had enough space to trim things up when I was done. Both pieces were liberally coated with wood glue.

shield-press-3

I drew the shape of the shield is drawn on the inside layer, then put the two together on the frame. Another 2×4 and a pair of wood clamps provided the pressure for the glue and the curvature.

 

shield-press-4

I cranked the clamps down on either end until I had about the curve I wanted. Now I’ll let it sit for a few days to dry and hope that it turns out.

 

Folding Trestle Table: Trestle v2.0

The original folding trestle table was a quick proof of concept, which did the job of showing how the thing worked. Unburdened by reckless eagerness, I put in some proper shop time to make a nicer version. This one was made to the same dimensions out of some oak reclaimed from an unknown past project. The construction is all mortise and tenon (with liberal use of power tools), but otherwise has the same form as the first one. I applied two coats of spar varnish while the two frames were still separate. To allow for this, the hinge this time involved a hole through the full width of the inside frame and another halfway through the outside frame. The inner hole is exactly 3/8″ to allow for the hinge pin to have a snug fit, while the outer hole is 1/64″ larger so the hinge can move freely.

The only part that is visibly different in form is the ring/hook hardware for the adjustment chains. The description of the example in the V&A is fairly informative, though there is no picture of this feature:

Two iron chains (of 13 long links) are fixed to one upper stretcher on rings, any link of the chain fitting over an iron hook in the opposite upper stretcher, so as to secure the trestle open and adjust the table height. The two hooks and rings are driven through the stretchers and the split ends bent over.

To approximate this arrangement, I again made use of the ever-present coat hangers, in a slightly more complex manner.

Rhyme Royal: Distant Stars

When I was young I looked up to the sky
And saw the far-off stars as points of light
That sparkled as they slowly drifted by
To fill my eyes and spirit with delight.
	I sat, earthbound, and watched them through the night,
	Not knowing what those distant lights might be
	Or what they thought when they looked down at me.
	
As years went by I climbed the mountain peak;
I leaped and climbed and, in due time, I flew
So high above the clouds that I might seek
An audience with stars so bright and true.
	The wonder of my boyhood only grew
	When I learned that the beauty of a star
	Is greater still up close than from afar.

This was inspired by the Queens I have met, and the privilege of knowing them.

Blue Satin Cioppa: Beginning

IMG_1210I wanted to have something new for our upcoming investiture, so I decided to make a new cioppa. I got a decent deal on some blue silk satin, and I have black velvet for trim and white satin for lining in my stash already. The body of the cioppa is pretty much the same as the Pesellino cioppa, except with the normal 6 pleats per section rather than 3. After wearing the other cioppa for a while I will also omit stay tapes below the waist (at least in front), as they make things lay funny when sitting. This cioppa is primarily intended for wearing in court, so looking right when sitting is important. I am also making it with short sleeves, which are uncommon but do pop up from time to time in period images. As much as I like my giant sleeves, I don’t want to have to deal with them in a court setting. If I really don’t like the short sleeves, I should have enough fabric left over to make some larger ones.

Rondeau: “A lady’s hand”

A lady’s hand is fine and fair,
But I find more than beauty there:
That hand may craft or strike a blow,
Point out the way the wise should go,
Fly up with joy or fold in prayer.

A mannish paw, strong like a bear,
With roughened skin and beastly hair,
Has hidden grace that it may show
A lady’s hand.

On bended knee, this oath I swear,
And to all men and God declare
That all the wealth I’ll ever know
Can’t match the ring that I bestow
Upon a treasure far more rare:
A lady’s hand.

A Shield

IMG_1075IMG_1074I have been talking about replacing my armor for many years, but I decided that the baronial succession was the final push I needed to finally get around to doing it. My plan is to approximate as best I can a 14th century Italian kit. Some light research tells me that my shield choices are therefore heaters and bucklers. I am not quite courageous enough yet to fight with a buckler, so a heater it is.

I have not made a shield in at least 15 years, so this process involved a lot of googling and guesswork. Hopefully the result will be serviceable. The body of the shield is cut from a 2′ x 4′ sheet of 1/2″ birch plywood. I reasoned that it would be more durable than cheaper pine, and it seemed perhaps a touch lighter than the oak that was also available. After some contemplation, I decided to make the largest size that I could from the wood I had, which meant a 24″ x 28″ shield. I found a very nice method for laying out the shape, and, after some tedious wrestling with a recalcitrant jigsaw, I had a shield blank ready to go.

Before painting the shield, I wanted to attach the strap and shield basket, so the bolts holding them in place would be painted as well. I contemplated buying a shield basket, but being both cheap and impatient I opted to cobble one together out of some aluminum and a dowel. Four carriage bolts attached the basket to the shield, and two more attached the strap (a child’s belt bought for this purpose).

I painted the entire shield blue, using a lovely gallon of mis-tinted house paint in the perfect South Downs blue, which cost me all of $7. I foresee many blue things in my future. After another coat of blue and drying overnight, I masked off the field division and painted the black side with spray paint. The thing I did not foresee was that I should have drilled the holes for the edging before painting. Between chipping edges and sawdust sticking to paint, painting first was definitely not the ideal method. I console myself with the thought that the paint job will get hopelessly scuffed soon enough anyway.

By far the hardest part of this project was putting on the edging. I opted to use 1/2″ polyethylene pipe (aka Siloflex type material), which I knew would take a curve without buckling. In fact, I got a 100′ coil of the stuff, so it was conveniently pre-curved. I cut off a generous length and contemplated cutting it open along the inside of the curve. Leather shears did an okay job , but were unable to maintain a smooth straight line. I found an abrasive cutting wheel for my Dremel and found that it did a better (if louder and messier) job. It also was very useful for cutting the miters at the ends of my edging sections. The real challenge, as it turned out, was getting the pipe open far enough to get it onto the edge of the shield. For the top and blue side, I opened the pipe on one end, slid it onto one corner of the shield, and then slid it on along the edge. As I reached the holes I had drilled for attaching it, I loosely attached a cable tie to keep the pipe from popping back off. This method failed on the black side, where the tackiness of the paint increased the friction to the point where I could only slide it 2/3 of the way on before I simply ran out of strength. Instead I pulled the slit in the pipe open with my fingers and wrestled it on by brute force. ot very elegant, but it got the job done.

Having seen the abuse that the leading corner of a heater can take, I added a triangular aluminum brace in that spot, held in place by a couple of small screws and the cable ties that hold the edging on. After adding a rectangle of yoga mat held in place with contact cement to give my arm a bit of padding, my new shield was complete!

Baronial Coronets: Bolster

After getting the sections of the coronet put together, I tried it on and found that it was just a little too big. This was about what I expected, and I was just glad that it hadn’t turned out too small. I attempted to incorporate some padding when I sewed the leather binding on the bottom edge, but that turned out to be too fiddly to accomplish. Instead, I left the leather band unpadded and built a padded bolster out of cotton quilt batting covered in blue linen.

IMG_1006

 

The bottom edge of the bolster is sewn around a piece of cotton rope, to form a shelf for the bottom edge of the coronet to sit on.

IMG_0990

 

It’s still a bit fiddly to get it on, since the bolster is not attached, but once in place it is very stable.