[Jean Thibodeau]

Just ordered yesterday at 10:30 a.m. some stuff from them and got a reply 2 hours later that my purchase had been shipped. Now that is fast service: Will see how long it takes to get to me. ( 3 to 5 days estimate. )

Getting their linen Gambison and linen arming coif, also their 14th century shoes.

Books purchases at the same time "Fighting with the German Longsword", "Medieval Sword and Shield", "Swordsman's Companion".

Really needed the Gambison to make wearing all the Armour I have bought from Mercenary's Tailor recently practical: Just added a full set of leg armour and their breast & back plate to the plackard and 14th century arms I bought a couple of months ago. ( Very happy with it all. )

Learning how to put all this stuff on without the help of a Squire is a whole topic by itself. interesting learning curve

[Blaz Berlec]

Good to hear that - at least somebody's quick. I ordered books "Fighting with the German Longsword" and "Swordsman's Companion" from Amazon.co.uk (I guess only Amazon in Europe that sends to Slovenia), and waited, waited... After 6 weeks they sent only "Swordsman's Companion" (great book BTW), and I waited for another 2 months for them to give up on sending the "Fighting with the German Longsword".

Now I have no idea where should I order it from. I don't know if Chivalry Bookshelf sends books to Europe, and I guess the shipment could be quite expensive.

[Jean Thibodeau]

Blaz;

Hope this helps but they do ship to Europe and almost anywhere in the world according to their site: you might try sending them an E-Mail if you have questions.

Below, copied from their site:

EU - In general, we have had good fortune sending books and accessories to Europe, although the track record in some countries is far less pristine (Belgium, Germany and Portugal, chiefly). All products are sent insured, however, though tracking is only available through the more expensive courier services such as FedEx and DHL.

EU Air Shipments: 3-10 days
EU Ground Shipments: 2-6 weeks

[Anton de Vries]

[Jean Thibodeau]

Anton;

Yes will give my impressions of the Gambison, but keep in mind that my previous experience with these is nil so I'm learning what is good or bad about them.

There was a previous topic thread that talked about this Gambison and others in general.

A friend of mine directed me to this Gambison because a very "Large" friend of his had good things to say about it.

Apart from armour use I will probably wear it around the house a lot to get the feel of it and to see if it does breathe the way they say its supposed to: It is linen shell with cotton fill so I shouldn't have the "polyester green house effect" to worry about

Will probably also use the 14th century shoes around the house also to see how comfortable they are.

So, I guess I will have a first impression and maybe a follow up a few weeks later: General comfort and comfort when wearing armour.

[Jean Thibodeau]

Well good news / bad news:

The good news is that the gambison & arming coif arrived about 10 days after I ordered it and is very well made: When the arms are lifted strait up there is absolutely no tugging on the body of the gambison.

So far I have only tried on my breast plate and arm armour and it feels rock solid i.e. no annoying shifting. It also does not get too hot just wearing it.
Next I have to try it with my hauberk and see how well that fits and moves and if the sleeves of the hauberk are not too tight.

The BAD news is that the books have not arrived YET: This is a postal service or a Canada customs caused problem in all probability.
Our Canada Customs guys are in negociations for a new contract and are at times slowing down service to a crawl.
( Or the package got lost or stolen? ) ( Frustrating when I paid extra for Air Mail ! )

If the books don't arrive by the 8 of April " Chivalry Bookshelf" has told me in an E-Mail that they will make a LOST claim with their insurance Co. and reship that part of the order. ( Books and 14th century shoes. )

The order was filled from two locations which explains why it was split into two separate packages.

Since I received timely E-Mails from "Chivalry Bookshelf" when I asked for information I am still pleased with their service and any shipping SNAFUS are out of their control. And the product received so far is of high quality, I would recommend this gambison as a good buy.

( Oh, sorry, just noticed now BOOKSHELF not bookself: A case of selective blindness I guess, as I keep seeing in my mind's eye the missing H. )

[Aaron Schnatterly]

Jean-

Sorry to hear about the difficulties - hopefully they will get sorted out quickly.

Thanks for the review of the gambeson. I had been seriously contemplating using one of these as the fouondation for my full harnesses. Keep us apprised - glad the initial thoughts were good, will be interested to see how it works out with the rest of your gear and under pressure.

[Anton de Vries]

[Lancelot Chan]

Good for you. I am an affiliate of them and they didn't reply my email about my account's problem once, though. I emailed them with 2 different accounts to avoid their spam list and I also PM Brian on SFI, whom never check the message despite I've notify him on a public forum.

I don't know what I can do except calling them, which I don't prefer to because I'm located in Hong Kong and English conversation overseas isn't the best I can handle.

I has been more than a week (approaching 2 weeks) already.

[Jean Thibodeau]

Lancelot;

Well it did take a few days before they replied and they said they hadn't received my first two E-Mails

So at this point I am giving them the benefit of the doupt and they said that if the package doesn't arrive after a month they can consider it lost and send a replacement. ( As I mentioned. )

So assuming they do what they said they would do at that time, I can still blame the problem on a "Postal service / Canada Customs glitch ". Now if I have trouble getting a reply from them in the future I would re-evaluate the quality of the service.

I don't want to judge prematurally if this is just bad luck !

Lancelot, I would E-Mail them a few times again before giving up and phoning.
Maybe you can get someone from the Forum who lives close ( No long distance charges ) to phone them and transmit your concerns ?

[Patrick Kelly]

While I think very highly of the products being offered by Chivalry Bookshelf I have had a few problems with their process. As I see it Chivalry Bookshelf has the same problems that I've encountered in every other nitch market. The business is being run by people who have a genuine love for what they do, however, they aren't business people. In other words, spread sheets and profit margins aren't their "thing". Consequently, from time to time the customer runs into glitches in the process of delivery and communication.

I'm only mentioning this as an aid to putting things into perspective. I don't think anyone at CB is trying to rip anyone off, and they'll get the product to you in the end. Their process could be more efficient though. At heart they're just a bunch of sword geeks like the rest of us, and they're trying to make a living at it.

[Jean Thibodeau]

Patrick;

Thanks for the feedback, and since I started this topic on a very possitive note I think I have the obligation to follow it up to make sure that people can judge for themselves.

And I do want to be fair as shipping problems can happen anytime with any compagny: What makes a difference is how fast the shipper gets back to you when you need questions answered and doesn't leave you hanging ! Fast replies to E-Mail just inspire confidence while even short delays does the opposite.

As you said these people hearts are in the right place but may have a little trouble with communication at times.

ON THE PLUS SIDE:
The ordering process was O.K. and I got an E-Mail within hours that the order had been processed, also the next day they sent me an E-Mail telling me that the color I wanted was not available and gave me the options to cancel or choose the natural colour gambison instead of the red that was out of stock, and in a following E-Mail though of asking if I wanted to also change the colour of the arming coif the same colour.

I sort have been spoilled by Albion and A & A as their service was so good as to make anything less than perfection look bad.

And, yes the product is very good.

[Lancelot Chan]

No worry, they finally get back to me after the last barrage of emails as suggested by Jean.

Issue solved.

[Gary Venable]

I have used Chivalry Bookshelf / Revival enterprises a couple of times and have had no issues at all. The orders were prompt and correct. I think Patrick hit the nail on the head with any issues people might have had.

Jean, I have been looking at getting one of their gambesons. I would love to hear more about how it works for you and your impressions.

[Jean Thibodeau]

Gary;

Well, I've been wearing the gambison on and of by itself just to get the feel of it and it does feel comfortable and mobility seems unaffected by it: Arms move as easily as if I was wearing nothing.

As underharmour there seems to be enough thickness to give some padding without feeling like the "Michelin Man ".

A little thin as stand alone armour or as a gambison that would be worn over maille. It does seem well put together.

Heat doesn't seem to accumulate too much keeping in mind that I haven't put on all my armour on at the same time yet and that I haven't done any physical activity with it on. Also we are not into our high humidity summer and I am not standing in the Sun

Glad to hear that your experience ordering with them was a good one and I don't think half the order getting stuck somewhere in transit is something they can control and they seemed very frustrated themselves when something goes wrong. ( Again, my only real concern was that it took 4 days for them to reply to my E-Mails, but when they did their response was very good. Also, my first two E-Mails somehow didn't reach them and they did reply the next day to my third one. )

Just hope the package arrives this week and I can stop looking out the window hoping to see a mail truck

[Jean Thibodeau]

The second part of the order finally arrived: Well, almost as they tried to deliver it around 6:30 P.M. and I was out of the house after spending the day at home

At least I can pick it up tomorrow at a post office outlet close by.

Total: 3 weeks from shipping day, and this was Air Mail ! NOT blaming Chivalry Bookshelf AT ALL about the slow delivery.

When possible, I find using a shipping method with a tracking option less frustrating as I would have been able to know for sure that it was stuck at Canada Customs because of sloooooooow customs clearance.

Assuming no unfortunate surprises I will be able to comment on the 14th century shoes I purchased and the books.

[Aaron Schnatterly]

[Jean Thibodeau]

Picked up the package today, everything fine and nothing missing: The package was posted the 8 of March, the same day I ordered and was sent air mail as requested, so THE problem WAS our Customs service holding on to it for almost 2 weeks for no perceivable reason as the package was not opened for inspection according to the Canada customs form attached to the outside of the package

So, in conclusion, the service by Chivalry Bookshelf was excellent after all, the worse one can say is that replies to my E-Mail requesting information may have been delayed a day or two, and I guess when something unknown happened to my package my level of patience got a little thin

Aaron;

I'm wearing the shoes as we speak and I can give you my first impressions: I wear size 10 street shoes although 9 1/2 would work as I too am somewhat between sizes. These 14th century shoes are also size 10 and they feel just a little bit loose, the pointy toe extending and inch past the big toe contributing to this I guess. Heavier socks or an odour eater type insert should make them feel perfect.
The leather seems a bit thicker than regular shoes but softer. ( Nice leather. ) The shoes feel almost like a thick glove more than a thick shoe. The new leather soles are a bit slippery new. A vibram thread can be ordered as an option.

The very flat sole without a heel may take a little getting used to. The soles, when wornout should be easy for an oldtime shoe cobbler to repair. ( There is one close to where I live. )

Now if used outdoors on pavement I would think these would wear out faster than a modern vibram sole, but I think these are SO comfortable that I will use them inside as I would slippers and they should last a long time like this without need of repair. The occasionnal wear outside for special events should be rare in my case.

The high and tight on the ankle top should make my metal greaves comfortable to wear when combined with the arming chaps that Allan of Mercenary's Tailor was nice enough to send me at no charge. ( He had only one set left from a limlted production run. )

So I guess you would have to say that I like these a lot and think that they are also a good buy
I have no expertise about how historically authentic these are, but they are a 1000% better than wearing running shoes with armour.

[Aaron Schnatterly]

Thanks for the info, Jean! That really helped out a ton - though it cost me about $700 . I'll be ordering a gambeson, a pair of the 14th C shoes, and a pair of the long boots as well.

I have had experience with similar boots (flat soles, anyway) and found that they were quite durable. I think they will wear quite well. I had read somewhere else that they can be resoled easily by someone skilled, and I believe this is the case. You mentioned finding the soles slick. Though it sounds odd, if the soles are firm and thick, if you scuff them up on some concrete a little bit it probably will help. Mind you, I'm not saying abuse them, just roughen them up by a half dozen good grinds on the course surface should do the trick. Also, adding some spongy inserts will make for day-long wearing infinitely more comfortable. Rocks suck.

[Konstantin Tsvetkov]