Off the shelf Gauntlets
Hi I was wondering if anyone knew a place to get well articulated gauntlets for under $300 bucks and within a month wait time. My first choice had been  Lewis Moore of Knights Armoury but I can't find him online anymore, is he still in buissness? And are Mercenary tailor's gauntlet s any good? My main concern is mobility and function for sparring, and I need to get them by sept.9...
Any good ideas?
Thanx
Z
Our entire group uses Mercenary Tailor gauntlets for full contact fighting. Wonderful protections, we haven't even looked elsewhere really. They also have out-of-this-world customer service.
Yeah I have heard great things about their customer service.
What about these ones, how do you guys think they'd compare http://wildarmoury.com/product_info.php?cPath...ts_id=140P
http://armourandcastings.com/index.php?_a=vie...ductId=229
I don't know anything about wild armoury, but one thing I like about MercTailor's gauntlets are the slot-rivets, which give greater mobility in the hand over just the standard rivet. I haven't seen the armourandcasting gauntlets but I've seen their helms, and they're very nice and well made.
I have been using Ice Falcons Kydex Guntlets for a while now. I paid $150. The price seems to have gone up to $170. You will need a sword handle of at least 12" to be able to comfortably use mitten gauntlets. Best thing to do is sew your gloves into the holes they provide all along the edge. I used 20 lb test fishing line to saw them in. He sells padded gloves that go great with any gauntlets for $35.

http://store.fastcommerce.com/icefalcon/prod-...f2ad8.html

A cheaper option in stainless or aluminum is Bakalo. I am not to crazy about his fixed thumb design despite it being safer. I would cut it out with a dremel and reattach it with a piece of leather and rivets. I also don't like closed cuffs. I would cut those and open them so that they look like Ice Falcons gauntlets. For the $120 it is worth a little extra work on your part.

http://bokalosarmoury.com/express.htm#gauntlets

Ascroft Baker good cheap armor pieces too. I had their mild steel guantlets but I sold them off. The were a little too heavy for my taste and mild steel rusts. They also have stainless which I should have got. I did some work on the ones I got. I completely separated the cuff and attached it with leather to give me maximum wrist flex.

http://www.ashcraftbaker.com/SS%20clams.htm

If you must have finger gauntlets. Then your cheapest option is to get a kit. It is not listed anywhere but I know Master Ket has about 25 kits left for about $100. I was in his shop the other day. Once the kits run out he is not planning to make more for sale. The profit is too low on them so if you want it, better get it soon.

http://roughfromthehammer.com/about.html

You get fingers and knuckles only in the kit. You then have to rivet these peices on to leather. You can then buy ready made half-gauntlets and attach the fingers. Beware though, finger gauntlets are not very safe. They just cover the top of the fingers. The fingers can still be crushed with a hard blow. They are ok for drilling and very light controlled sparring. Off-the shelf finger gauntlets rarely fit right. They really need to be tailored. That is why the do it yourself kit is a good idea.
Vassilis Tsafatinos wrote:
Beware though, finger gauntlets are not very safe. They just cover the top of the fingers. The fingers can still be crushed with a hard blow. They are ok for drilling and very light controlled sparring. Off-the shelf finger gauntlets rarely fit right. They really need to be tailored. That is why the do it yourself kit is a good idea.


I wear finger shields from Merctailor to protect my fingers more fully when fighting longsword, because of a past broken finger, but. MercTailor will also take measurements of your hand so that the "off the shelf" ones fit well, like a glove, (sorry, I couldn't resist). The do it yourself kit looks like a nice winter project though.
Michael B. wrote:
MercTailor will also take measurements of your hand so that the "off the shelf" ones fit well, like a glove, (sorry, I couldn't resist).


That's not "off the shelf", that is "custom made", which is preferable of course. Off-the-shelf usually means that they have small, medium, large, x-large and you pick a size. How much did you pay for your custom job?

I have started considering the kit I mention for myself, since my last post. It is a project best suited for people who have already done some do it yourself armoring and are familiar with riveting. I have two extra pairs of demi-gauntlets that I made myself and I am know thinking of getting the kit and attaching the fingers to one of them... or I may just attach the fingers to one set of gloves and then be able to wear those gloves with any one of my demi-gauntlets.

BTW, before you start riveting, attach the finger pieces to the leather via screws and make sure you have the proper spacing. Then, when you are happy with the spacing, rivet the finger pieces to the leather strips. Then sew the leather to your gloves fingers along the edges.
Quote:
How much did you pay for your custom job?


The price quoted on the site Bill, it was a simple matter of using a leather glove of the of the appropriate size.
Just read the review of the armor and castings gauntlet review and won't be buying those! I wish knights armoury/Lewis Moore were still in buisness! They were like $200 and looked better than the merc tailor ones, does anyone know how the two compare (Bill Grandy?), are the mc ones worth the $200 extra bucks?
Thnx
Z
ps moderators, just wondering why this got moved to offtopic isn't it talking about reproductions of historical arms and armor? No offense, just curious so I don't make the same mistke!
Zach Gordon wrote:

ps moderators, just wondering why this got moved to offtopic isn't it talking about reproductions of historical arms and armor? No offense, just curious so I don't make the same mistke!


Because your original topic is about companies not about gauntlets.

Page 1 of 1

Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You cannot attach files in this forum
You can download files in this forum




All contents © Copyright 2003-2006 myArmoury.com — All rights reserved
Discussion forums powered by phpBB © The phpBB Group
Switch to the Full-featured Version of the forum