I am thinking about purchasing my first piece of armour. Probably gauntlets because they're going to come in handy (excuse the pun) during WMA.

I am wondering about the colour of steel though. I've been thinking about what kind of armour I want so I can get gauntlets in the correct style, but I don't have the money to buy a full suit, or commission a full suit to be made over a longer period. I'll probably end up buying my kit in pieces from several different armourers. But is it going to match?

Is steel (e.g. mild steel) always the same colour? Will my armour pieces match? I assume the amount of polishing can differ of course. How easy/hard/expensive will it be to repolish certain pieces to match the rest, assuming I want a softer finish and not mirror? (personally I love the rougher, used look of munitions-grade armour).

Or are there more severe problems with collecting armour piece-wise than just color/finish?

Thanks in advance!

The first thing you have to decide is the epoch and the personal history of your character (like social status, finance, etc...):: only then you can start buying what you need. Es.: a lord will more probably have a complete suit, where a veteran mercenary will have pieces from hundred of battles.

The vast majority of the suits of armor we have are patchworks, and even if they were build all together probably not all pieces were manufactured by the same hand (but this is a topic I pass to the probati auctores of the site).

I personally enjoy collecting and making my kit piece by piece. No worries on matching mild to mild steel, although I wouldn't recommend matching a mild piece and a stainless piece.

It is not hard to polish various pieces to a matching finish level. All you will need is some time and "elbow grease". A very informative article on this forum written by Patrick Kelly has most of your answers. Even though Care and Maintenance of the Modern Replica is written with the sword in mind, the same polishing and care tips apply to your steel harness.

All mild steel I have sen was of same color. Well, actually all low and medium carbon and light-alloyed steels are of same color. Some high-carbon steels tend to get darker with time and stainless steel is usually noticeably different in color.

If you do not want to polish your armor (a real pain in the ass, especially if you intend to actually use this armor) but instead want to get uniform finish then I would recommend the thing used by the guy at the middle of this video (time 4:05):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1jF2MA4UrU&feature=related
It is a kind of abrasive felt. Do not know how it is called in English, when translated from Estonian it would be "bear's tongue". Gives a nice mat finish with very little effort. MUCH easier than sand paper. It is also very good for cleaning armor from light rust. And it last very long, unlike fine sandpaper that get clogged up in no time.

Hope this info helps. And good luck with your kit.

Thanks all.

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The first thing you have to decide is the epoch and the personal history of your character (like social status, finance, etc...):: only then you can start buying what you need.

Of course. I haven't quite settled yet, but I'm thinking late 14th century transitional. Partly because I like the look and partly because I think it's easier to collect. I have a few questions about that as well, but I will make new threads for them.

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No worries on matching mild to mild steel, although I wouldn't recommend matching a mild piece and a stainless piece.

That's good to hear. I wasn't planning on buying stainless. I don't like the looks of it and it's much more expensive because it's so hard to work with. Any thoughts on matching mild steel and spring steel?

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It is a kind of abrasive felt. Do not know how it is called in English, when translated from Estonian it would be "bear's tongue".

I think I know what that is. It looks like the stuff that's on the abrasive side of those abrasive dishwashing sponges, only a little more abrasive. I believe they sell it at the local DIY.

Sander Marechal wrote:

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I don't have the money to buy a full suit, or commission a full suit to be made over a longer period. I'll probably end up buying my kit in pieces from several different armourers. But is it going to match?

I would recomend to consider buying a full suit from one maker. Of course the entire price tag will be large, though as you said --to buy one piece at a time-- Which you can do from a single armourer. That suit will match in style and colour of steel.

If you buy from different armourers... It will not match in the end, even if you polish and buff all you want, the entire end result will not match. Each maker has a different "style" of making their armor. Your suit will "most likely" not match in style and color. Please consider the two scenerios below....

Buying from the same Armourer
(A) Pick an armourer that has the most desired look that you want.
(B) You can purchase one piece at a time from the choosen armourer.
(C) Since a man at arms could range from wearing gauntlets and a helm to a full suit of armor. The one piece at a time will develop your persona of a men at arms acquiring a piece by piece set of armor.
(D) If your armourer remains the same person, your entire suit (In the end) and the colour steel of that suit will match.
(E) Each piece of your armor will connect and fit with all other piece's of your armor. for example... Your Pauldrons or spaulders will fit well with your arm harness and/or your gorget.

Or...

Buying from different Armourers
(1) buy different pieces of armor from different makers.
(2) different sheens of polish or different looks of a rough munitions grade will be very visible (Modifiying a new piece of armor to have a different finish look is very risky considering you spent hundreds of dollars on a nice new piece of armor)
(3) This can give a very neat look (Like a true man at arms that would pick up different pieces of armor from the dead on the battlefield)
(4) Your complete suit will have a different attachments--A different armourer means a different style of connecting the armor together (Straps and buckles are different, those same straps and buckles are in different locations. Some pieces of armor are meant to tie to another piece, whereas the opposite can be said of an ajoining piece... example-- Your Pauldrons may have a strap and the gorget has a strap as well)

Yes, tabs that would allow you to point your armour would be great. That way nothing directly attatchs to each other. Just be extra sure to mention that to each maker.

The styles I was speaking about would be the-- "rolled borders" look at this link of the merc tailor...http://www.merctailor.com/catalog/popup_image.php?pID=54 Notice the edge of the armour. Some makers fold the metal to the inside of the armor, as in the photo.

Now notice this maker.. http://www.ageofarmour.com/education/armour_rolled_edges8.html Look at the second to last picture and the last picture. Other makers may round the metal to the outside of the armor as seen in those pictures.

This is one example of different styles.. Of course one would buy a "set" and not a left arm here and a right arm here. Though, the borders of your armor pieces may be different. That is something you would have to decide if you want or do not want.

These are just things to think about. When I began buying armor, I had no clue about all the "little" details.


Another thing to seriously consider. when buying a gambeson or an arming jacket... a gambeson or arming jacket that does not properly fit will put all the weight of your armor onto your shoulders... 30lbs or more on the shoulders will be very uncomfortable... On the other side a gambeson or arming jacket that fits to the "T" will distribute the total weight onto your hips and shoulders. that makes a huge difference.

Thanks, I hadn't thought about details like which way the edges are rolled. I presume another such detail is the type and colour of the rivets used (e.g. brass or steel, size, etcetera).

I'll give it some more thought.

Those are indeed important details for a consistent look in a harness.
One option you can consider is to replace all exterior straps and buckes for a similar colour and design. This also helps a lot.

One thing which is great about 14th century armour is that there are a lot of eastern european makers who are specialised in this timeframe, so you can get some great deals, however beware of the sizing. Most armour is made too thick and too big, as it's customary to wear a lot of thick padding under their armour there because of different combat styles on the battlefield there. Those guys hit seriously hard.

If you're considereing 15th C. also, please consider that barbutes are SO overrepresented in living history and reenactment.

It's possible to build a consistent 15th century harness over time. I've done it too.
I started with a sallet, bevor and gauntlets. I already had a pair of ugly old arms, so used these as well.
Next step: a brigandine with brigandine spaulders. Then I got me some legs, new better arms and now I'm upgrading the helmet. Hopefully i'll get a cuirass over time to make the full suit complete. The brig really helped gluing these parts together as its suitable for a whole strata of statuses.

And even then it depends from helmet to helmet. In a sallet, the visor is supposed to be fairly close to your eyes. The further away it is, the worse sight you're going to have.
With a decent visored sallet and a correct bevor you have better protection than with a barbute, as your throat is also covered. Your face is a bit more exposed to thrusts, but with your visor half open you'll have some good protection against strikes.
(My current bevor is still too far away from my face. I've ordered a new one with my new spring steel sallet which hopefully will be good and I currently have ordered another spring steel bevor Jeff Hedgecock had in stock.)
A bevor is supposed to be as close to your face as shown in the numerous historical depictions of it.
Most replicas move way from the face instead. Because of this, most sallets are adapted to these bevors.


I've just posted in the thread you referred to, funny that you mentioned it.

Ah, I only now noticed that those fantastic archer pictures are yours :-)

Thanks for the information on how a sallet is supposed to fit. When I'm in the store again I'll try them again and see how close to my face it really is.