[Rod Walker]

My post was lost in the crash so re-posting it.

This is a harness I have been working on for a live horse show we are doing called The Horse Lords. Whilst the armour I am making is functional and is based on period armour it is fantasy. Still waiting on my new Roman style sports cavalry helmet with face plate to arrive.

[Rod Walker]

And here it is pretty much finished and having a run in the forest. New helm to come and changing the underclothes.

[Kai Lawson]

This is great--I was hoping this thread would come back

[Colt Reeves]

Nice.

I'm curious though, can you explain what this Horse Lords thing is about? Google didn't help much...

[R. Kolick]

thats a nice piece of armor im jealous and for the name are you referring to the Tolkein's horse lords of Rohan or another group and id love to see the full set up when you have it complete. are you planing on adding maille underneath the armor or just underclothes?

[Rod Walker]

Thanks all. There won't be any info up about it at the moment as this is a project in the works. Website etc. is in progress.

I have been involved in historical re-enactment for nearly 20 years and have been doing jousting comps and shows for about that long, see our site www.jousting.com.au. For a change 2 years ago we did a jousting show on motorcycles and quad bikes called Full Tilt KnightRiders. Lots of fun and popular. We folded it as it was just getting too dangerous, the impact was a combined 180kph with only 200mm between the wheels of the quads. I was also doing things like this in the show.


Anyway, we decided to replace that show with a new horse show that had stunts, jousting, horse archery, melee and firejumps with the horses. We enjoyed doing something non-historical so much that we went with these new kits for it as well.

The Horse Lords name comes from a series of books by Peter Morwood that I first read years ago. I have always wanted to do a show using that name.

I won't be using mail underneath. I actually just finished some new underclothes for it. Pics later.

[Jean Thibodeau]

Very attractive design and workmanship.

Just a design question: I notice that the steel lames are in two bands with a leather band in between. Would't this reduce the metal reinforcement coverage and it would be more protective if there was metal from upper chest to hip level ?

Now for a cut to get through the middle leather band it would have to be a horizontal cut as a diagonal cut would in all probability be intercepted by the above and below metal lamelar armour.

A thrust would also be a threat if aimed at the leather band.

Oh, on the middle leather band a few narrow vertical metal strips even if spaced many inches apart it would still be enough to stop most cuts. Rings or even small disks would also work and these could be decorated or embossed in a compatible aesthetic style.

Oh, not a criticism of your very fine work here and just asking questions and giving suggestions, for maybe another project in the future.

A pattern of spaced small bars and plate can give great protection from cuts with very minimal coverage: A few example in the pics below: Rivets and large staple like bars in a pattern making the surface of a padded or leather protective garment more cut resistant.

[Rod Walker]

Hi Jean, the tooled sections of leather are two pieces of 4.5mm thick leather, this give me 9mm of leather in those sections. The steel lames are alos laced to a 4.5mm thick leather backing. All in in all it is a pretty sturdy piece of gear and more than protective for what I am using it for. I have been doing some steel foot fighting in it the last 2 weekends and it has stood up to that ok. It will mainly be used for our show on horseback though.

Some fresh video and pics.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHbh9ymc37E&feature=youtu.be

[Raman A]

Fantastic harness, I wish more fantasy armor had this much thought put into both its functionality and aesthetics.

Does the visor interfere with archery at all? How's the field of view?

[Peter Lyon]

Looking fantastic there Rod. How do you get the time to make all this? Is sleep optional?

[Rod Walker]

The field of view isn't too bad. I will have a new face plate made with slightly larger eyes and that will fit my face better. None of the gear gets in the way.

Haha, sleep is optional at the moment Peter. We debut a section of this show April 20 so I am madly working on gear and practicing.

[Dan Howard]

Rod will get plenty of sleep when he finally works out how to kill himself. He's been trying pretty hard for years now

[Jean Thibodeau]

Rod, so how is the availability of air through the small nostril holes and mouth opening ?

Probably O.K. when one gets used to it but might be an issue if one has claustrophobia where the perceptions of lacking air are more psychological than any real lack of oxygen.

Does the face plate get really hot if you are in the Sun for too long ?

Great work on the gear again.

[R Ashby]

That looks awesome! Cool!

[Rod Walker]

Plenty of air circulation. Even the most restrictive of helmets has more than enough air getting through them. My jousting helm has no breath holes at all and it is fine. It is really just a mental thing. I'm not even remotely claustrophobic (ex coal miner).

[Rod Walker]

Now that is is pretty much finished I threw it all on quickly.



Also for SCA I wear a pair of hidden knees under my pants. The bazuband elbow section, the knee section and the cuisses are all lined in blue foam covered in thin leather. Makes them very comfortable and protective.




Usually I would have a pair of long leather boots on under the greaves.


The steel elbow that sits under the bazuband.


When I do horse archery and our show I change the SCA gorget and helm out for a mail standard and this Roman helm. It is a 1.2mm thick Indian made helm that is pretty good for the price though I would like the same helm but made in thicker metal so I can fight in it.

[Patrick Kelly]

Rod, that's got a very Horseclans look to it. Very creative and high on style points!

[William P]

[Rod Walker]

Thanks Patrick.

Changed the front plate on my SCA helm. There is a 2mm thick plate under the leather. In hindsight I should have extended the leather to the brass sections on the cheek plates. I can easily add another piece in there though.

[David Lewis Smith]

Wow,
errr
and to say it again, wow. I think that is some of the nicest work I have seen in a long time. I am not normally a fan of leather armor but this really is 'next level'