Custom ancient greek spolas -- myArmoury.com

Aris Kritikos · Posted: Wed 16 Jun, 2021 5:33 am Post subject: Custom ancient greek spolas

Hi !

I just received my leatherthorax/spolas and thought to share it with you.

Few months ago I commissioned a guy in Greece who handmakes ancient Greek armors to make one for me.
On his website ([url] www.hellenicarmors.gr) he has quite a few examples of his earlier works so I chose as a template one that I liked and we proceeded. I also told him what decorative items I would like on the thorax like lionheads, eyes, etc. and I sent him my body measurements so that the armor will fit me well. During the construction we were in often contact where he kept updating me with photos and I could adjust things to my taste (if at an early stage of course).
I received my thorax around 2 months later and I am fully satisfied actually. This thing is a beast ! It feels really sturdy constructed, the leather is a 2-layer 1cm thick and it weighs around 12-15 kilos. Everything on it is hand made, all the stitching is on hand, and all the metal parts are hammered or casted by him. It smells leather and it is fantastic !

I can only recommend him actually. The total price was 1500 euros plus 100 euros that I paid for shipping it to Sweden where I live

PS. The xiphos you see in the photo is the deepeka one which seems to fit really well with the thorax Happy

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Dan Howard · Posted: Wed 16 Jun, 2021 4:47 pm Post subject:

Very nice job but it looks too long to me. Hard to tell without someone wearing it, but the rigid part of the cuirass should stop at your navel, which is where the pteruges start. The ends of the pteruges should be hanging no lower than mid-thigh. The pteruges are meant to cover the stomach and groin (to allow flexibility for the wearer at the waist), not the legs so much.

One thing that is nice to note is the weight. Proper leather armour is a lot heavier than an equivalent item made from bronze.

Aris Kritikos · Posted: Thu 17 Jun, 2021 3:31 am Post subject:

I havent put it on yet actually, I need a second person to help me with that because the spolas is too heavy to handle.
But by standing next to it it seems that the pteryges finish at my fingertips. It could be a bit shorter than that but its not too long either i think.

Dan Howard · Posted: Thu 17 Jun, 2021 11:23 am Post subject:

Aris Kritikos · Posted: Fri 18 Jun, 2021 3:04 am Post subject:

It is where it is supposed to be. Millimeters didn't matter. We are not talking about the Parthenon.
A lot of the equipment were passing to relatives, friends etc. with not exactly the same body measurements.
Of course it couldnt be a lot oversized/undersized otherwise it wouldnt be functional.