New KoA Armour? -- myArmoury.com

Jeffrey Faulk · Posted: Sat 23 Jul, 2011 2:53 pm Post subject: New KoA Armour?

So I was browsing everybody's favorite site for cheap-but-good stuff...

Turns out they've got quite the hefty selection of new items this month, and among the recently-added items are what appear to be functional armour. I haven't contacted them personally yet to verify whether these are considered 'battle ready', but what do you all think?

http://kultofathena.com/new_items.asp

They also have a fair selection of new Greco-Roman stuff. I wonder if they found a new manufacturer who's sending all this stuff their way?

Bob Burns · Posted: Sat 23 Jul, 2011 3:57 pm Post subject:

Hi Jeffrey, I can only say that the public has no idea the sacrifices made by Ryan in keeping prices so low while putting some of the small profits back into increasing his inventory. I've been there many times' it's a lot of hard work for a humble existance with a lot of overhead, things you would not even think of and yet his prices are lower than those running a 2nd income out of they're home! A 66 foot by 26 foot formal showroom with a warehouse 66 feet by 52 feet with floor to ceiling racks of inventory!! Personally I don't know how he does it, but it's taken many years of devoted work to get it where it is today!By clicking on Visit Our Showroom you can scroll down and see many photos of the showroom!
Bob

Ryan is not getting rich and staying well below suggested retail prices is a slice out of his profits. Take it from someone who has been there dozens of times, the prices are set as low as they can go, otherwise there will be NO Kult Of Athena and everyone will have. To pay retail price, regardless of vendors with limited selections or the distributor who will charge retail price!
Truly we are lucky to have Kult of Athena!

Joe Fults · Posted: Sat 23 Jul, 2011 6:34 pm Post subject:

Wondered about the new pieces myself. Not really sure who its coming from but the gauge of most of the stuff seems to be lighter than some of the typical SCA fare. I don't have a enough knowledge to really judge the shaping...some does seem to look a bit better than others...but I just don't know much about what I'm looking at. Will be interesting to see some other opinions, hopefully from some folks with a better eyes for what makes armor right and wrong. I'm learning that attention to details really does make a difference on this topic.

Christopher Finneman · Posted: Sat 23 Jul, 2011 6:58 pm Post subject:

For the price it looks good. Be it fighting or looking quiet grand for your next costume party or ren fair.
KOa has always been a great place to deal with with prices far below or more resonable than most dealers.
Many great thanks and praise for what they do.

T. Arndt · Posted: Sat 23 Jul, 2011 7:23 pm Post subject:

Has anyone used these German Style Gauntlets?

http://kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=MHA0800

I am interested in if they are suitable for WMA/HEMA use.

Does anyone know who makes them?

Christopher Treichel · Posted: Sat 23 Jul, 2011 8:18 pm Post subject:

Ordered a set of the new point tied arms as they should be good for doing WMA stuff... I'll post a review once they get here.

Joe Fults · Posted: Sat 23 Jul, 2011 8:40 pm Post subject:

I'd be concerned about sizing since nothing seems to be noted on that topic.

Christopher Lee · Posted: Sat 23 Jul, 2011 9:07 pm Post subject:

A local reseller in australia has the same italian style gauntlets for sale:
http://www.medieval-fightclub.com/products/Ar...tlets.html
The site says:

Available in Medium and Large
Medium would be 21cm ~ 23cm (roughly 8~9 inches)
Large would be 24cm ~ 27cm (roughly 9½~11 inches)
Weight: Approx 1.125kg (2.25kg pair)

I also thought that the german style gauntlets were worth a look but be interested to see what other people think.

Bob Burns · Posted: Sat 23 Jul, 2011 9:49 pm Post subject:

Joe Fults and. I met in person and I am sure he'd vouch for my sword cutting abilities! But when it comes to "plate armor" I am a NIMBNULL! Fill a huge thick plastic jug with water and I will cut it in half with an Arms and Armor Italian rapier where the impact section of the blade is 5/8 wide and 1/4 thick And Joe saw me do it in person! But plate armor, well I. Am not sure if I am even wet behind the ears on this one! But I do know this much! For a suit of armor to fit correctly it takes exhaustive measurements and thousands of dollars. Something I will never own, otherwise I'd of had it done years. Ago in Minneapolis at Arms and Armor!
Instead I will suffice with my genuine steel rivetted hauberk and gambeson from Kult Of Athena. In relation to swords I am NO instructor, I've just transferred years of formal martial arts to the execution of the various sword strikes. But swordsmanship is an art all it's own and just because I can perform exceptional sword cuts does not remotely make me a swordsman! Hell I Ain't even good enough to be rated as a novice! So, performing swordsmanship in full plate armor, I will leave that to Grand Masters like Christian Henry Tobler, Brian Price, Stephen Hand and they're colleagues! I buy their books for a reason, to Learn! Back to Kult Of Athena, I feel Ryan should raise his prices 20 percent! The crazy thing is this, already his prices are rock bottom and I have been in theRe and personally witnessed people trying to haggle prices with him! Anyone haggle with Vince Evans, Paul Champagne, Patrick Barta, Peter Johnson, etc!? People who are doing an honest business have A RIght to make money! Just my feelings! If I were wealthy and could afford the travel of myself or Christian Henry Tobler, I'd pay it in a heartbeat plus his hourly rate and luxury charges if flying him in. The last thing I would do is haggle his rate! If it's $250.00 an hour then that's the price HYPOTHETICAL! I have NOT the slightest clue what this swordmaster charges but I ave not the slightest doubt it is worth every cent! I know a Master when I see one!
What does all this have to do with plate armor? Because if the armor does not fit correctly, thus will be the intensifications. Of. Frustrations in trying to learn and perform proper. Execution of the sword! Therefore the armor becomes a hinderance to learning because it does. Not fit right! Bottom line of my advice from the perspective of 2 black belts and 1 high brown belt in Asian Martial Arts. First learn the ART of that Sword which interests you, then and only then worry about the armor. A gambeson and steel rivetted hauberk will give enough sense of reality and it will allow you to move as taught or teaching self from the many excellent books from CHivalry Bookshelf!
Personally, instead of armor, I'd get that hauberk from Kult of Athena and a gambeson and that extra money? Either on an Albion or Arms and Armor sword and books! The mainstream sword companies cannot touch Albion or Arms and Armor in quality! Some phenominal scabbard. And baldric makers out there, one's work just recently posted last name Fletcher, his work is AWESOME Christian Fletcher I think? My personal favorite is Russ Ellis. At this level of expertise it's a matter of taste, we are talking EXPERTS here! Which is what one needs for correctly fitting plate armor! Otherwise you will have blisters, scratch and scrape marks, bruises, etc.
Very Long winded but much to consider when investing in plate armor and I just want everyone to be aware of what all is encompassed in the sphere of plate armor! It's really a MASSIVE consideration!

OK as a armor novice I have "blabbed". Quite enough!

Bob
Please forgive the type errors and. Misplaced periods, my communication medium is a joke!

Tom L. · Posted: Sun 24 Jul, 2011 6:48 am Post subject:

I believe the manufacturer of the new armour we are seeing at Kult of Athena is a company called Marshall Historical. The biggest dealer of this product line that I know of is a Spanish company called " The Time Seller."

Matthew Amt · Posted: Sun 24 Jul, 2011 7:07 am Post subject:

Avete!

I can comment ONLY on the "Greek" and "Roman" items. Most of it, with the brilliant exception of the wonderful Albion gladius, seems to be movie prop repros. Better than a lot of movie stuff I've seen, no mistake, and it should sell like hotcakes. The tiny percentage of the market that is shopping for historically accurate equipment, however, should best avoid this page. (Except the Albion gladius!) Not a big deal, I know Kult has a lot of the Deepeeka and I think Daniyal items that we generally accept for living history use. I've heard nothing but good things about how this company does business, so I'm certainly glad they're going strong.

Matthew

Jeffrey Faulk · Posted: Sun 24 Jul, 2011 9:18 am Post subject:

Matthew,

So you don't find, say, the Deepeeka or Windlass Roman armour items to be accurate enough to meet your re-enactment standards? From my inexpert looking over the KoA catalog, they seem to be fairly close to the historical pieces I've seen in various books, such as the Windlass lorica segmenta.

Oh, and on that 'New Items' page, yes, many of those pieces are in fact prop replicas from that movie that came out not too long ago, 'The Eagle' or whatever-- I'm definitely aware of that... I guess I'm asking about the other items they have in their 'Roman' section of their website.

Bob Burns · Posted: Sun 24 Jul, 2011 10:32 am Post subject:

Even though I am currently displaced here in Indianapolis temporarily until we get back to thr western suburbs of Chicago, I feel extremEly lucky for having lived 25 minutes from KOA and hAving been there numerous times. I thought it might. Interest And I miss the Bristol Faire 2 miles some members to know that the Roman and the ancient Greek hAve they're own section in the SE corner of the showroom. Truly the showroom is totally "Outstanding" and no doubt beyond expectations! I really miss going there 2 to 4 times a month. I sure miss the Bristol Fair 2 miles into WI. Once in a while there would be. Several guys in RomAn armor. Unlike a 15th century knights armor, Roman armor is quite forgiving to the person suiting up. I always thought the Roman guys looked really cool!

Bob

Jason Daub · Posted: Sun 24 Jul, 2011 11:29 am Post subject: Roman and Greek items

Jeffrey,

No group that I know of will accept anything from Windlass, it is almost like they have gone out of their way to make their products more inaccurate every time they revise them. The "Trooper" helmet is infamous, the lorica is terrible, the pugios are a joke, the pilum the same, the swords nearly as bad. The Deepeeka stuff is mostly good, their newest series of helmets, where their part numbers end with N, are the most accurate, as I understand it the RAT board was heavily involved in verifying the designs. The Daniyal Greek bronze stuff looks really good to me. I haven't handled any of it, but I have heard it is excellent.

Joe Fults · Posted: Sun 24 Jul, 2011 1:57 pm Post subject:

W Luth · Posted: Mon 25 Jul, 2011 4:33 am Post subject:

If not mistaken a friend of mine has the german gauntlets.
They are not bad, decent fit, decent functionality. Details are so so, very wide cuff among other things.

Go for it if you need decent priced, functional gauntlets. Don't go for it if you want a historically accurate piece.

Matthew Amt · Posted: Mon 25 Jul, 2011 10:02 am Post subject:

T. Arndt · Posted: Mon 25 Jul, 2011 10:05 am Post subject:

Christopher Treichel · Posted: Fri 29 Jul, 2011 5:43 am Post subject:

Received a set of the German point tied arms in the mail yesterday from KOA... they are from Marshal Historical. The vambraces and elbow couters are pretty nice especially if you consider the cost.... the rearbrace needs a little help... I am 6 foot 2 and could tie them off at my shoulder joint... considering its so cheap I'll consider it a keeper. On the other hand I could have spent a little bit more and had another set of arms from Merctailor. I will probably end up cutting down the rearbrace to make it match the rest of my light kit (Tony Swatton German collar and munions).

T. Arndt · Posted: Fri 29 Jul, 2011 10:15 am Post subject:

It looks like KOA has updated their website to have a Marshal Historical historical icon next to the items that looked to be from Marshal Historical. Also, make sure to look under new items as at least some of these items have not been added to their proper category pages yet.

If anyone else has had experience with Marshal Historical products, please share your experience. The only review I could find on this site was this one.
http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=22779