the 'not-so-black' Knight. Nice outfit mate! You can really see that you love your kit!

Well, so here's what I eventually put together, a classic 16th century white armour. I was disappointed the faulds ended up a bit longer- almost peascod length or English Civil War. But I love the hault guards, even though I never jousted. Of course the armour was fairly new ar this point and the straps are all over the place, I hadn't adjusted and tucked and customized anything. The sword isn't period either, it was just the only one we could find as we had just moved when this picture was taken (15 years ago). It's an early Del Tin 2132, what MRL called the "Santese Sword" before they were bought out by Windlass.

I didn't fight in this much, it felt too heavy after I was used to the freedom of mail, and the fit wasn't too good. I bought it from Illusion Armory and ever since found myself wishing I'd gone to Valentine instead. He had the look down for a full suit at an affordable price in the 80's and 90's.

In any case, after sitting in two Rubbermaid tubs out in the garage for over ten years I negotiated with my dear one to let him come in from the cold. We call him Manfred, and he stands by the door to greet our visitors. (Note the official Monty Python Killer Rabbit on his pauldron.) I put Cylon eyes in him on Halloween. He's become a notable member of the neighborhood.

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And this is my armour!
The photo is taken in our 15th century towergate in Brugge (Belgium).

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Bert, nice to see some one doing a kettle helmet and bevor instead of the standard visored sallet.

Just got a beautiful set of arms made from the Mercenary's Tailor. My first piece from Allan, based primarily on all the recommendations I've heard from the members of this forum. Hopefully (and almost certainly) not the last.
Still a perpetual work in progress, but it's a big step up from the fantasy-esque kit I posted here when I first joined. No helm featured, as the two I own are both woefully inaccurate.

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Nice action shots of Matt Cacy and I giving a Harnischfechten demo last year

Matt's kit is based off the the idea of a non noble Man at Arms and mine is as a Lesser Knight.

Quinn, I have something of a question about your sword. It looks remarkably like the Hanwei War Sword I have, except there seems to be a rather noticable peen block(?) on the pommel. This seems a little strange to me, and I can only conclude that it is one of two things:

1. It is a slightly modified Hanwei War Sword. This seems odd to me, as you have the money for some cool armor, but the War Sword is pretty much the cheapest of the cheap. On the other hand, I like the way it feels in my hand and feel there is a certain charm to it, so I can see where it is just a personal preference or you're using it for a beater or something.

2. The Hanwei War Sword is based off of an historical design and so is yours. I sort of discount this one because I feel the War Sword looks rather modern and has features I would have thought inaccurate, but it isn't like I'm an expert.

So, if I'm not being too rude here, which is it? Or is it something else entirely?

Edit:
3. My eyesight is bad or the picture doesn't show enough detail to show that it actually doesn't even look like the Hanwei War Sword...

Actually, you're spot on, Colt. The main reason is that even nice armor can happen in $150-200 increments, whereas to upgrade from my War Sword to an Albion would be a bit of a bigger step than that, and college tuition must come first for the time being. One day, though...
The reason I haven't gone for a middle-range sword between a Hanwei and an Albion is that I do actually like the way my War Sword feels and handles compared to others within that price range, and I feel as long as it's a decent representation of what a historical sword should be (if not a particularly high quality one) then it can hold the place until I can go for the best, rather than set down $450 for a middle-range one and thus have to put off my dreams of getting the Steward for another year at least.
This specific one is an older model. I understand they've upgraded the pommel and grip since then.
Nice catch, and no, you didn't come off as rude at all. Anything to clarify for anyone who's interested or to help me improve my own kit.