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Forum Index > Historical Arms Talk > Gauntlets by Les Brown, circa ... well, heck if I know. B-) Reply to topic
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Matthew G.M. Korenkiewicz




Location: Michigan, USA
Joined: 08 Mar 2004
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PostPosted: Thu 21 Jun, 2007 11:48 am    Post subject: Gauntlets by Les Brown, circa ... well, heck if I know. B-)         Reply with quote

I received a pair of gauntlets made by Les Brown as part of a trade, and
feel his skills should be shown off. Now, I'm no expert on armor of any
era or kind, so maybe Les will see this post and tune in for a moment to
discuss the time period these might reflect. What I can tell you all is that,
and Les can correct me if I'm fishing in the wrong lake, they're made from
18 ga. ( gauge ? ) stainless steel and medium in size ...

I think they're rather cool, B-) ...






Last edited by Matthew G.M. Korenkiewicz on Thu 21 Jun, 2007 12:13 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Allan Senefelder
Industry Professional



Location: Upstate NY
Joined: 18 Oct 2003

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PostPosted: Thu 21 Jun, 2007 12:00 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Matt, these are 14th century "hour glass" type gauntlets ( refering to the semblence to an hour glass that the body of the gauntlet has in profile). There is a gauntlet shown in the Wisby book ( not from the grave pits but residing in a museum) that has the same "disappearing " articulating plate to which the fingers are attached, wheather this is the basis for Les for this pair I don't know. Very nicely done work ( he got great definition out of the stainless)!
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Hugh Knight




Location: San Bernardino, CA
Joined: 26 Jan 2004
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PostPosted: Thu 21 Jun, 2007 12:10 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Allan Senefelder wrote:
Matt, these are 14th century "hour glass" type gauntlets ( refering to the semblence to an hour glass that the body of the gauntlet has in profile). There is a gauntlet shown in the Wisby book ( not from the grave pits but residing in a museum) that has the same "disappearing " articulating plate to which the fingers are attached, wheather this is the basis for Les for this pair I don't know. Very nicely done work ( he got great definition out of the stainless)!


Most hourglass-style gauntlets had that plate, although few have survived; you can usually find the rivet holes for them even when the plate and fingers are missing. The human hand increases in circumfrance as you close it into a fist (as you do when you wrap it around a hilt, for example) and that extra plate allows for that without stretching the finger leathers out of shape.

Regards,
Hugh
www.schlachtschule.org
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Gary A. Chelette




Location: Houston, Texas
Joined: 29 May 2007
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PostPosted: Thu 21 Jun, 2007 2:01 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Very NICE!! Surprised
Are you scared, Connor?
No, Cousin Dugal. I'm not!
Don't talk nonsense, man. I peed my kilt the first time I went into battle.
Oh, aye. Angus pees his kilt all the time!
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Kel Rekuta




Location: Toronto, Canada
Joined: 10 Feb 2004
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PostPosted: Thu 21 Jun, 2007 9:46 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

I don't think Les comes on this forum or at least not frequently. He did a batch of gauntlets in 18ga stainless after suggestions from several people including myself. He had a bugger of a time tinkering with the knuckle plate. Les made several prototypes that blended the classic hourglass and some Wisby elements. He's making useful gauntlets for modern sword play not replicas of museum artefacts and readily admits it. Happy

He'll be pleased that you like them. Cool
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Matthew G.M. Korenkiewicz




Location: Michigan, USA
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PostPosted: Fri 22 Jun, 2007 7:44 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Kel Rekuta wrote:
I don't think Les comes on this forum or at least not frequently. He did a batch of gauntlets in 18ga stainless after suggestions from several people including myself. He had a bugger of a time tinkering with the knuckle plate. Les made several prototypes that blended the classic hourglass and some Wisby elements. He's making useful gauntlets for modern sword play not replicas of museum artefacts and readily admits it. Happy

He'll be pleased that you like them. Cool


Thanks, gentlemen ! Kel, I admit I didn't get into any extended discussions about the gauntlets with
Mr. Brown with regards to history or styles. My immediate intention was to try and resell the gaunts, but
they might not match anyone's " historic kits " -- according to what you post. Even so, they certainly would
make dandy protective mits for modern sword-play / sparring and if they don't resell all that fast, I'd
not be against having them in my collection. B-)
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Jean Thibodeau




Location: Montreal,Quebec,Canada
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PostPosted: Fri 22 Jun, 2007 7:57 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Yes they look very nice and also practical for bouting. As far as historical accuracy they might be a little " soft " in detail accuracy but I'm not expert enough to detail what they might be.

Depending on one's needs the historical accuracy might be sufficient or irrelevant ?

Someone with a very accurate kit might still appreciate a using set for training.

You can easily give up your freedom. You have to fight hard to get it back!
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Les Brown




Location: Toronto Canada
Joined: 28 Apr 2007

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PostPosted: Sun 24 Jun, 2007 9:13 pm    Post subject: 14th century hourglass gauntlets         Reply with quote

These were made with a lot of help from the senior instructors at AEMMA [Kel , Brian] in Toronto . The carpul and cuff are 16 gauge , the finger gadlings are 18 gauge , all stainless steel . I attempted to make most of the parts close to existing historic examples but I have "borrowed" from a few different styles as Kel has stated . These were made to be "stock appearing" while giving some extra protection [thicker material , knuckle rider] Again , these are not made as museum replicas , they are for fighting . I'm quite new to this and am always looking for ways to improve. All comments were appreciated . Les the "amateur armourer"


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Hugh Knight




Location: San Bernardino, CA
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PostPosted: Sun 24 Jun, 2007 10:50 pm    Post subject: Re: 14th century hourglass gauntlets         Reply with quote

Les Brown wrote:
These were made with a lot of help from the senior instructors at AEMMA [Kel , Brian] in Toronto . The carpul and cuff are 16 gauge , the finger gadlings are 18 gauge , all stainless steel . I attempted to make most of the parts close to existing historic examples but I have "borrowed" from a few different styles as Kel has stated . These were made to be "stock appearing" while giving some extra protection [thicker material , knuckle rider] Again , these are not made as museum replicas , they are for fighting . I'm quite new to this and am always looking for ways to improve. All comments were appreciated . Les the "amateur armourer"


Hi Les,

I think you're doing a great thing by learning to make armor, and the medieval community--both reenactors and WMA folks--need a source for good gauntlets.

I would suggest, however, that your statement "these are not made as museum replicas, they are for fighting" betrays an approach that is likely to be counterproductive. In fact, the more like museum replicas they are the better they'll be for fighting, both because they'll work better (medieval armorers knew what they were doing) and because they'll work the same way medieval gauntlets did (meaning you can't do more or less than you could in a real medieval gauntlet), thus driving the wearer to use authentic technique.

Regards,
Hugh
www.schlachtschule.org
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Matthew G.M. Korenkiewicz




Location: Michigan, USA
Joined: 08 Mar 2004
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PostPosted: Mon 25 Jun, 2007 7:55 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

I'd like to thank Les Brown for stopping by and adding his post, and clearing up a
few details. I can certainly see these mits being used for sparring.
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