[Maurizio D'Angelo]

[Brandon Larson]

I've been lurking on this site for a while and learned a lot, but I think I can clear up a lot on this topic. I am an Army reservist with one tour in Iraq behind me and another in Afghanistan to look forward to. I also graduated from Naval Nuclear Power School a long time ago so I have some working knowledge of nucular physics.

Depleted uranium makes great armor, but it gives off neutron radiation. It would work if you covered it with about an inch of polypropylene or similar plastic, otherwise it would do Very Bad Stuff to the wearer. Dragonskin armor may give somewhat better protection than our current Interceptor IBA, but that's with almost twice the weight. It would be like wearing a 40 lb. cuirass. The back injuries that would result from widespread issue of that thing would take far more soldiers out of action than those saved by the better protection, and I wouldn't even want to guess how many more would be killed because of reduced mobility. Most of the scandal surrounding our body armor was generated by Pinnacle's marketing department, and after reading their own testing information I would choose the standard issue IBA.

The latest thing is transparent alumina, just like what Scotty was babbling about. Most ceramic armor has alumina as it's main ingredient, and somebody recently figured out how to make a transparent glass from alumina that is far stronger than any current ballistic glass including Lexan. Right now it's obscenely expensive and only in the testing phase until somebody works out how to manufacture it economically.

If I wanted to make medieval armor from modern materials I would think something along the lines of a Kevlar gambeson with a breast and back plates of some kind of modern alloy steel. Kevlar isn't as strong as Spectra, but it is a lot cheaper and more widely available. Beyond that, it's just up to your imagination.

[Bryce Felperin]

[Matthew Fedele]

I was chatting with some California Sheriffs once while wearing my plate and they mentioned that their kevlar vests weren't blade proof. That was kind of a shocker to me.

Cheers!
Matt

[Jean Thibodeau]

[Jonathan Atkin]

I pray for the day when we have ''iron man'' suits running around in WMA and SCA the hijinx that would ensue, hey man those afgan hills are a killer work on your cardio!


Edited to add: The new interceptor increases both mobility and protection it uses a very adv. ceramic plate thats half the weight of standard plates and is better designed for the infantry private running from his corpral on the go

[Lafayette C Curtis]

Isn't depleted uranium a) much denser than steel (and therefore heavier for the same volume/thickness), b) rather brittle (which is why it makes a self-sharpening penetrator for antitank rounds), and c) flammable (though perhaps not at the level of heat generated by the impact of medieval weapons). These properties makes it ideal for high-velocity antiarmor projectiles and--to some degree--vehicle armor, but would make it quite awkward as a material for personal armor.

[Timo Nieminen]

[Adam O'Byrne]

I've wanted to experiment with new materials for heavy armor for some time, I understand that having regular infantry carrying something akin to full plate nowadays would be ridiculous - my idea would be to instead equip small response units with heavy armor, these people would be driven right to the fight and only be sent to attack areas that would give regular infantry problems - entering fortified buildings ext. Load them up to bear with the heaviest full body armor and close combat weapons and let them wade into the thick of it. If one were able to make modern armor with full coverage that could keep its user safe even with the nastiest weapons being thrown at it you would have yourself a modern knight - it would be quite a fearsome sight =)

[Nat Lamb]

[Jean Thibodeau]

[Timo Nieminen]

[JG Elmslie]

not for any practical purposes... but I'd love to see a 15th C gothic harness done in carbon fibre, with the weave visible.

I think it'd look spectacular with brass/latten trim.

[Bill Tsafa]

My favorite material for armor and shields is aluminum. Easily workable with a hammer and anvil, yet ridge enough to run a car over. Very light, very strong, fairly cheap and does not rust. It come is different grades. At the low end you have have street sign aluminum. Its really not bad at all for armor. Not too good for shields cause they will bend at the corners and crack where you bolt the straps. My shield is 5052 H38 aluminum (this is good stuff). Weighs 9 lbs strapped. Another choice is 7075 T6 Aluminum. T6 is very much loved as very good aluminum. Aluminum can be polished to a brush or mirror finish.

I would not use aluminum for a helmet. Too light. The mass is a big component of the protection as it absorbs impact. You don't want your head being knocked around too much. My choice for helmets is stainless steel. Some armorers give a life time warranty of on stainless steel helmets.

I saw a pair of titanium elbows at Pennsic. Light as paper. I would love to try them out but at $300 a pair... I'll stick to aluminum at $35 a pair. We are talking about a difference of half pound for aluminum elbows vs perhaps one quarter of a pound for titanium. I really can not feel the weight of the half pound aluminum on my elbow anyway so its not worth paying all that extra money. Stainless steel elbows (1 lb) by comparison are about twice as heavy as aluminum. That is still light. Mild steel in 16 gage is twice as heavy as the stainless. I fought in that for two years in mild steel and that is a weight you will feel in your arm a lot if you use any high guard. It does slow you down. With mild steel you are talking about 2lbs for the elbow+ 3 lbs for the sword+ 1 lb for a vambrace + 1 lb for a portion of any shoulder armor that comes down your arm. So 2+3+1+1 = 7 lbs on your arm. With mild if you want it light, you have to go with a light 20 gage and temper it for strength. Tempering means more money. The thinness means it will rust through sooner rather then later. Too temporary to be worth the trouble for me.

Using the lighter modern materials is not really cheating because in period I would have gone with the lighter gage steel, had it tempered and changed it out every year... or six months if necessary. The modern materials just extend the life of the armor. I don't want to have to buy new armor every few months.

Plastic works good too if it is cut and shaped like real armor. I like the shiny stuff though. Aluminum still comes in a tad bit lighter then plastic of the same strength. The plastic tends to be a little thicker and bulkier to maintain the same strength / protection qualities.

There is nothing wrong with getting period made armor either (thin and tempered). Its just too nice and expensive to use in practice 2 or 3 times a week and have it beat up. I would save that for special ceremonies and events.

Just for fun... how about a armor made out of Depleted Uranium. Super hard, very heavy, very expensive and radioactive

[Joel Minturn]

[J. Abernethy]

Ive heard of a new impact resistant armour that has a thin liquid layer, or impregnated kevlar. The idea being similar to corn starch and water when struck.

[Steven H]

Vassilis-

I'm not aware of any modern armour being made with (much) aluminum. Which leads me to the question of why not? Does it fare poorly against some kinds of attacks. Would it do as well as steel against halberds and lances? I have no idea.

Or is it used more than I realize

Cheers,
Steven

[Joel Minturn]

[Bill Tsafa]

[Steven H]

I had no doubt that aluminum works well in the context of the SCA. I'm curiuos how it would hold up to a lance, halber, big sword etc.

Cheers,
Steven