Just after an accident it is often very hard to see a fracture according to my sister, later on it is a lot easier. Though I think there are differing views in differing hospitals, I had an x-ray when I said that it probably wasn't necessary (and it wasn't), but the doctors wanted to be sure.

Maybe it also depends wether you hurt your fingers or your vertebrae.

Back to the gauntlet topic. The amount of protection also differs, wether you scholl advocates hand cuts or not, in the latter case nearly all gauntlets are just a compromise.

I for one think that if you're able, you should point them onto your hauberk.
I think I've seen pictures from the Manesse Codex where they appear to wear maille 'gauntlets' separately and even on their own.
I'd say using so much padding, and then 'hardened leather' and then thick maille sounds cumbersome. Maybe a pair of Wisby-esk munitions grade gauntlets could be worn under the maille?
Anyway 6-in-1 mitts on a 4-in-1 hauberk, sounds good to me :D[/i]

Here Marechal, hope this helps...

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Notice the figure on the left... [ Download ]

I've broken both little fingers on each hand in the same place (between the big and middle knuckle). Both times the sword hit perpendicular to the bone and snapped it like a twig. Both cases (once with a wooden waster and once with steel) I was wearing heavily padded hockey gloves which did not disperse the power of the blow. Both times I was out of action for three months and had to start my conditioning all over again. Recently, we were sparring with Albion Meyers and while wrestling at the bind the hook on my opponents ricosso went through the half inch padding of my glove puncturing my right index finger to the bone. Ouch!

I really need to something that provides a hard barrier between my fingers and the sword and I'm not sure that maile will disburse the impact of the blow to keep from having the same break again. I am also not sure that maile would prevent the puncture wound that I experienced. So that leaves me thinking I need gloves with plates that also protect the creases at the joints because the sword edge has a way finding its way between the joint creases. What I'm describing are plate gauntlets which is a discussion for another thread but also not practical for my purposes.

Many purist in Western martial arts will contend that what I'm looking for will make me sloppy and I will develop bad habits due the fact I won't know when I'm making mistakes because I won't feel the pain. On the flip side of that coin is if you make one mistake, your out of commission for three months while the bone heals.

There are so many trade offs with regard to gauntlets. Protection at the price of Dexterity or Dexterity at the price of Protection all at the risk of developing bad habits or not. It's been very frustrating.

I wish one of our manufacturers would develop a serious glove or gauntlet for just Western Martial Arts. One that provides protection while not sacrificing dexterity. If I had a glove that covered those two things I think I could deal with problem of developing bad habits.

Rant over. Sorry

Well, I'm out of the plaster cast and I am starting to regain some movement back in my finger. My physical therapist recommended that I get back to sword fighting as soon as possible. she thought that it's a great way to build up strength in my fingers again.

Ayway, back to the gauntlets. I would like to do some testing before I start building them. Ideally I am looking for some material that has about the same strength as the bones in the fingers and hands. Something I can cover with padding, leather and mail and whack with a sword so I can see how well they disperse the force from a cut.

Does anyone have any suggestions for such a material? Or suggestions on other ways on how I can test this? I thought about getting some lambsrack or T-bone steak from the butcher and using the bones, but I think that dead bone reacts very differently from living bone.