Posts: 429 Location: florida
Sat 02 Jun, 2018 4:05 am
"Off the shelf", used market, or from lesser known eastern european makers or fledgling armorers you're looking $2500-5000 and your kit will show it.
A full one maker harness based off references or direct copy of an effigy, most importantly properly fitted, will run you 2-5x that if not more. Easily 10-25k or higher the more esoteric you get regarding armor styles. A pure, proper english armor based of a single effigy fit to you will run a lot more than a work "in the style of".
Roughly
Helmet: $500-700
Breastplate: $500-1000
Full leg including greaves: $500-700
Arms with pauldrons:
$300-500
(edit) Gauntlets; another
$300-500 and usually the first and one thing you want/need custom fitted. Steamshovel hands are the worst in my experience doing armored fighting.
Finger Gauntlets also are a no go if you want fingers. Mitten gauntlets and later period mitten gauntlets in the style of finger gauntlets all the way. I've gotten bruised, cut knuckles from mitten gauntlets through gloves consistently in my career as an armored fighter. I'd have broken fingers with anything less. Not only do most makers, even professional ones, go the "scales on leather" route for finger protection despite it's ahistorical nature but even done properly will tear off during anything north of light sparring. Finger
shields are a must if you want to insist on hourglass or wisby style gauntlets.
arming coat/jack/gambeson: $100-500 and replaced in 1-3 years of significant fighting
quintessential to your overall kit and the most disposable and abused member of it.
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This is for gear that will pass muster at a battle of nations/Historical Medieval Battle event regarding historical accuracy and fit well enough to fight in.
Full contact fighting puts a harness through the ringer. You don't see many fighters with the latter type of harness doing HMB or BOTN versus historical reenactment and light sparring. Even a full suit of springsteel will get dented to hell after a few dozen strikes from a halberd. It's like getting a scratch on a supercar if you fight in a kit like below
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Most of my kit for SCA/Adrian Empire combat is off the shelf with key pieces fitted in person and others made to size. But "to the yield" fighting my group does for exhibition blows out straps and leads to significant dents in short order. Just look at the condition of most "lightly used" HMB armor used gear listings and you'll get an idea of what monthly sparring and competition does to your kit. Half of mine is held together with paracord at this point.