actually, ed hit my reasoning right on the nail. (actually, he is where i got the inspiration for it) btw, this prodject is actaully goin to be in the future aways. (limited means, and school, with band, soccer, and track to boot ;) ) and my idea is actaully to be able to easily expanded into previous and future centuries.with the subrraction of the surcoat and a norman helm + kite shield and minor modifications, into a norman kit, and some plate, solid 14-15th cent. kit. so im goin for maximum adaptibility here. btw, ill buy a later riveted mail set to suplemement ringmesh. btw, why is it bad for sparring? does the wieght make the rings too thin? (i want something that wont get cut easily)

http://weldedchainmail.com/

I drool over his maille its awesome sauce lol

I am not certain of the historical accuracy but Museum Replicas does make some nice crusade period items that would fit your budget.

http://www.museumreplicas.com/s-5-crusades.aspx

yes, ive actaually experienced the mail wings problem before. (buying short sleeves) can anyone tell me weather or not ringmesh can make a horsemans slit? if not, how hard is it to make one yourself, and how? and thanks ed for the recommendation, now i dont have to go thought the accursed customs (if the surfboards were a pain in the butt, i cant wait for the sharp pointies!!!!!! even the name of GDFB im sure might raise some red flags!!!!! :lol: :eek: :lol: also i saw some references to knights who had lost horses to the Muslims arrows. it stated that they revised their kit a bit, cutting down the lance and leaving the great helm in the camp tent and using somethin similar to a norman helm that was already worn w/ a coif under the great helm . (also, ditching the spurs) and functioning as heavy infantry. can anyone tell me about the authenticity of this (and if its true, what did i miss?) if so, i could pull that off, save money, (or buy a higher quality sword or so) forgo horses and lessons, ect, and numerous improvements to its authenticity. (btw, im also in the future going to order a cloak and surcoat from GDFB. is there anywhere i could pickem up in the USA? preferably east coast)

Well Ed's kit is nice, it is not very accurate at all. If that is the look you are going for that's ok, just dont tell people it's accurate ;)
I'd echo what has been said earlier about saving money and starting small. Adding a slit to a maille shirt is super easy, just clip a straight line the length that you want.

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here is my hospitaller kit. its based around the 1206 AD mark. i need to get a taller spear ;)

not the look i am going for, but the idea of having a moderatly nice kit and upgrading expensive thingeys from there. also, i am trying to start a group. (just found a bunch of guys around the area who are into this too, and might need a kit or peices of it to wear if we ever get to doing events god willing. so far were just a bunch who like beating each other w/ swords every couple of days or so, but i think that with time and intrest, it can be done) also, can anyone get to me bout the dismounted crusader idea? im really looking into that.

your best bet is to figure out what country you want to be from and specifically what date. a few years forwards or backwards can change fashion and armour a lot. i know you probably don't want to be 100% period and thats ok too, but knowing a date will help you when figuring out the details... like having a 1490s breastplate and calling yourself a crusader etc :)

i would do things in this order

decent periodish clothing/shoes. doesnt need to be spot on if thats not what your going for, but "sorta" goes a lot further than generic mixn match

either buying or making yourself a long sleeved knee length hauberk (mail shirt)

make/buy a matching coif

surcoat

helmet

sword

belts etc.

I'm kinda interested in putting together a similar kit, though it will take me a long time to get the money together for such. I'm somewhat torn between buying cheaper mail soon or better mail later, since on the one hand I'd really rather only buy one set of mail and have it last me, but on the other hand I don't know if I could afford anything high quality for at least a couple of years. Anyway, that Windlass mail is looking nice, but it isn't riveted is it? I think I'd rather go with the Ring Mesh welded mail than butted mail, but I suppose I really should start with a soft kit. Any good sources for surcoat and hooded cloak patterns?

Also, MRL deal of the day is currently their riveted steel coif: http://www.museumreplicas.com/p-747-mail-armo...-ring.aspx
Too bad I don't have the money for it at the moment.

Oh, and I'm thinking of doing a Hospitaller kit similar to the one Chuck posted. Did you sew that yourself? It's pretty nice.

I'd also suggest looking at the wonderful selection of books myArmoury has. You can read up on your future kits and how they were made worn and used by the people of the day!

haha, i am offended! :mad: :lol: i know i sound like the biggest noob forumite, but i wouldnt be caught dead with a breastplate and calling myself a crusader. i do spend a heckuvallotta time reviewing armour and whatnot, i do have a relatively good head as far as what is feasible with each other. actually, on the point of feasible, i actaully do consider, ther might have been a couple of knights or poor nobility, or seargents, who used a short-sleeve hauberk back then. maybe the vast majority of knight used long, but mebbe a few were weird like that. im not trying to justify a unhistorical detail, but it couldve happened. god i sound like a dissed noob again....... :lol: :lol: :lol: really, as long as the peices are right, you have to wonder the FEASIBLE things that couldve happened. especially later in the 15-16 cent mercenaries largeley mixing and matching things. really. so, because i am uber-poor, i might have to cheat a coulpe times with thing like that, but, as long as its historically plausible..... (dissed noob comment again. :lol: :lol: :lol: ) i am i on to something, or was there a somewhat uniformity w/ knights?

My recreations of knightly 13thC harness.

There are so many things that are possible because we were not there, and even those that were could not have seen every person that existed. The question becomes not what is possible but what is probable. If you want to portray a specific time period then you should try and use what is likely to have existed in that time period, rather than what may have existed but we have no evidence for. You do not sound like a "noob" but many of the people here have been studying this subject your entire life, and thus have greater experience (though perhaps not knowledge), if you listen to the mistakes and insights they have made over the years you can gain some of that experience. I personally agree that you should start out with a soft kit and work from there. Also, well it is fun to speculate as to what may or may not have existed, portraying an "unusual" type can make it look like you don't know any better. Have you checked out the Maciejowski Bible? It is a treasure trove of 13th century clothing, arms, and armour. Here is a website with many of the different images: http://www.medievaltymes.com/courtyard/maciejowski_images.htm
Best,
Hadrian :)
p.s. Great kit Rod!!!! Love the overall look.

Rod is my hero