I looked with the search button given I most likely just put the wrong combo of words but I didn't come up with anything so forgive me if this has been covered or not in the right place and me not being very articulate lol.

Well the the purpose of this thread is about your experiences from various armouries that make armour (any time period). How was the communication, planning, price and how was the finished product. How happy were you with your purchase and would you recommend them to well us or feel free to give us a shamless plug and let us judge for ourselves. I guess thats it ha ha, :cool:

Mercenary's Tailor is the crew that I got most of my harness from. The armor itself focuses on quality and ease of movement over aesthetic decoration as they explain on their site. I am very impressed and happy with their product and as for customer service, you couldn't expect more. All my e-mails are returned within a day or two and in a few cases within a couple of hours. Allan is a great and easygoing guy. I highly recommend him.
http://www.merctailor.com/index.php

The only other armorer that I have experience with is Steel Mastery from Ukraine. I bought a pair of spaulders from their ebay store. The product was beautiful, They were prompt with thier responses and what also made an impression was they included a personalized hand written thank-you note with the order written on fancy notepaper in a plastic slip. Just one of the little things that surprise you and leave an impression. Since then I've heard that they are extremely busy and hard to get ahold of. In fact I had tried to contact them to complete the rest of my harness before I discovered Merc Tailor, but I recieved no response from them. If you can get ahold of them or if you see any of their product on their e-bay store, I recommend them as well.
http://www.steel-mastery.com/index.php?&m...gory_id=17

(It seems threir website is down at the moment)

I can second that about Mercenary Taylor's and great customer service if one is looking for functional armour at a reasonable price that is off the shelf and immediately available as opposed to waiting months or years to get !

Some armours are more finely finished and decorated and more strictly historical when it come to details like period buckles and other details: Some compromises are made to keep cost down.

Generally it's one size fits all ( most ) and custom work is limited as Allan's business model is to be able to churn out his standard line so that customers can get their armour within a few weeks or a month or two at most ( Many can be shipped very quickly within days ).

Some minor customization is possible if it doesn't disrupt the production of the regular line or if they are in a slow period, but Allan avoids taking too many off these as custom work can be delayed for all sorts of reasons and he wants to avoid unmet expectations i.e. the missed delivery dates that are chronic with custom work.

Oh, as an example where Allan can accommodate some customization is like the Heater shield I ordered where he added a steel cross and 4 steel fleurs-de-lis, one in each quadrant to reinforce the surface and protect it from cuts. ( Also looks cool ).

Note, full disclosure: I'm a longtime customer of his and consider him a personal friend

Jonathan

What do you want the armor for is the first question.

Armor makers vary in quality and price and make armor for different costomers. I have been most pleased with the items I bought from Historic Enterprises and François L'Archevêque; great replicas both in shape and weight.

Take a look at Jeff Wasson of Wasson Artistry http://www.wassonartistry.com/ as well he does excellent work.