[Isaac H.]

We've all been there.That season where we make fools out of ourselves because we have absolutely no idea what we are talking about when it comes to weapons and armor.We are new to the site,and subject.We try to fit in and sound like just another expert,but things just don't go as planned....
What burned you?

For starters,they know you're new when: You spell "chain maille" like you're going to take it to the post office.

Oakeshott who?

What do you mean stainless steel is bad for making swords,that's what mine
are made of.


Hopefully I'm not coming up with something that's already been posted. Have fun

[T.F. McCraken]

I've always followed the thought- "Better to be silent and thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.!"

Keeps my ignorance to myself!



Murphy

[Jeremy V. Krause]

Or you use "chain" in connection with maille.

Respond eagerly to threads about developing "realistic" video games.

Weapon X vs. weapon Y.

Soldier X vs. Soldier Y.

Seeking a "quality", "accurate" sword for less than $200.00.

etc. . . . .

[Stephen Curtin]

Another one is calling a piece of armour plate/ring/scale mail

[Paul Greathouse]

I guess this is the perfect thread to use as a first post, since I have been lurking for the better part of a year, and a bit of a noob. Whenever I do Q and A's at the local faire where my group performs, people ask if our swords have "tang" and are fully thrilled when we reply that our swords would all be broken if they were just glued to a handle.

[Nathan Robinson]

I know you're posting this to be in fun, but this is verging on being elitist. Any responses here really need to avoid such attitude. This site intends to be a place to educate, not a place to ridicule.

Thank you.

[Larry R]

Hello all,

This IS my first "season" and just wanted to say thanks to myamoury members for answering all my "old" questions. I am the first to admit when I don't know about a subject and will not B.S. my way through a post. I know your just teasing and having fun, but I just wanted to let you know that I really appreciate this site and am very grateful to its members for being so kind and willing to share thier knowledge.

If any of you want to know about: hunting, fishing, butchering game, shooting, archery, survival, electrical work, hobby farming, just P.M. me and I'll share too!

[David Huggins]

Hi

I've never understood what makes someone an 'expert': 'informed opnion' seems a more appropiate term. My four year old boy asks very earnest questions, but this doesn't make him silly...just less experianced, better to ask then not to learn, worse to be told to be quiet and not ask daft questions and then be afraid to ask again.

best
Dave

[Simon G.]

I would add that I don't think foolishness can be assessed based on purely technical knowledge. Foolishness may be sometimes determined on things like logical deductions (or failure to make them), but certainly not on technicalities like knowing who Oakeshott is or what the properties of stainless steel are. If that were the case, then we all are fools, for there are many, many things we don't know about.

It's also interesting that the best of medieval bladesmiths would also be a arms & armour fool/newbie by these standards, since he wouldn't know about Oakeshott or stainless steel... or our present days' love for such orthographic pedantry as chain mail VS chain maille, poleaxe VS pollaxe, etc.

Technical knowledge can be good but it's a sad day for a community when it starts defining pecking order according to it and only it... Look where it often gets the academics.

[Isaac H.]

Well maybe some of you don't understand precisely where I'm coming from.I don't want to encourage ellitism here,but just the opposite: to share funny stories that might let all those hesitant people know that we've all been there.In absolutely no way do I consider my own self to be elite,I am constantly hit with moments of "ohhhh...so that's a longsword is"
Sorry,Nathan,for the confusion. (or maybe I'm the one who's confused,who knows..)

[Tony Brass]

I found myArmoury by doing a web search on who would win in a fight: Samurai or European Knight.

I'm no expert now, but I do recognize how ridiculous this subject is.

I think that I often just crave discussions about medeival weaponry and its uses, early methods of manufacture, and one thing I will say about this site, no matter how silly the initial question may be - the end result is always an intelligent and educational discussion.

So noobs, ask anything you want - it will always lead to a good place.

[Stephen Curtin]

I think that one of the best things about this forum is that everyone here always tries their best to answer a question in ernest, and new-comers are never ridiculed for asking a question which may seem trivial to someone with more experience with these things. We all have to start somewhere, I myself got into historical arms and armour though a book I read about the weapons used in the Lord of the Rings movies. This sparked an interest which has grown and grown, and through fora such as this, I have since learned more and more about historical arms and armour, and come to appreciate them far more than their fantasy counterparts.

[Benjamin H. Abbott]

[Bennison N]

If you really want to see this sort of thing, bring up a list of all MY posts, and then go back to the beginning. There'll be a lot of "less well informed" questions and remarks there, some of them quite entertaining indeed.

I came here as a martial artist who wanted to find out about why my sword looks the way it does, and why yours looks the way IT does... And to be honest, to find people to spar against and see who was better. Samurai vs. Knight, Ninja vs. Viking... I joined them all. Hahahaha!

[Simon G.]

Ninja VS viking... now that's a good one.

Plus if you read the sagas you see that one of the favourite things of the "vikings" (medieval scandinavians) is in fact assassination... So yeah...

Perhaps the ninjas were founded by some vikings whose drakkar came all the way to Japan ? They did come to America, so why not Japan ?