Info on Reproduction Gothic Harness -- myArmoury.com

Peter Fuller · Industry Professional

Chuck:

Looking at the photo in their catalogue, its looks like they only have four finger lames. I'm pretty sure I had six on my prototype. Also, the knuckle bar looks too shallow, so it doesn't allow the finger lames to bend into the palm far enough. Without actually looking at one of their examples, I couldn't say for sure. My guess would be to correct these two problems, and then they should articulate properly.[/quote]

Jeff Ross · Posted: Sat 04 Feb, 2006 5:48 am Post subject:

Alexander Ren · Posted: Sat 04 Feb, 2006 10:16 am Post subject:

W. R. Reynolds · Posted: Sat 04 Feb, 2006 10:45 am Post subject:

Alexander,

Which armour on the site are you looking at. Your link was pretty generic.

W. R. Reynolds · Posted: Sun 05 Feb, 2006 7:20 pm Post subject:

Alexander,

Yet another site for you to look at. I am put off by a couple of the pieces there, but for the most part it's pretty good. Companye of Saynte George uses some of thier stuff and those guys are VERY critical. Again I can not stress enough the need for your own research.

http://www.armabohemia.cz/Novestr/homeA.htm

James Arlen Gillaspie · Industry Professional

The overall look is pretty ambitious, but there are some basic miskakes apparent (though I should talk, considering some of the 12 and 15 year old stuff on my website). Their early 16th c. cavalry armour, in particular, looks temporally challenged.

W. R. Reynolds · Posted: Sun 05 Feb, 2006 8:49 pm Post subject:

James,

Didn't even look at the 16th c. stuff as my area of interest and as far as I can tell from his comments Alexander's is the 15th c. Parts of the officers armours on the site look OK and some are being worn by St. George members but as for the full suits, I can't ever remember seeing a fluted bevor, or one that big for that matter. Doesn't mean there isn't a sample of one out there but it is not a common feature and LH strives for the common. The caveat of doing your homework still applies.

Lloyd Clark · Posted: Mon 06 Feb, 2006 6:12 am Post subject:

The great thing about working with Beathan at Armour and Castings is that they do customize to your specs and usually for either no price increase or a very small one. I spoke with Beathan about the Gothic suit and he told me that was one they made about 3 years ago and that the new suits would be much closer to the original.

Just shoot Beathan an email (with copious pics) about what you want and I am pretty sure that you will be more than happy with the result.

Alexander Ren · Posted: Wed 08 Feb, 2006 6:54 am Post subject:

W. R. Reynolds · Posted: Wed 08 Feb, 2006 6:49 pm Post subject:

Alexander,

That's pretty ambitious for a first suit of armour. Keep in mind that the more fluting and edge work you add, the more the price is likely to increase. A word of caution. If your ultimate goal is to get involved in LH , it might not be a bad idea to peruse some of the sites of the various groups to see what their kit requirements or limitations are. There are some sites on the current re-enactment thread that can give you an idea of where these groups are coming from in their approach to LH.

Alexander Ren · Posted: Wed 08 Feb, 2006 9:30 pm Post subject:

W. R. Reynolds · Posted: Fri 23 Feb, 2007 10:53 pm Post subject:

Peter,

If you ever got to talk to MRL about the gauntlets again, it didn't take...again. A friend of mine just tried to order a pair and knowing about the problem talked to several people about it. They first told him his hands were too big but he finally got to talk to someone in the warehouse and had him do a basic flex test on the gaunts. The end result is that he WON'T be buying gauntlets from MRL.

Peter Fuller · Industry Professional

Bill;

I spoke to MRL when I was in Atlanta last year, and gave them a clear, logical argument as to why they should re-work their gauntlets to make them more functional. However, the line of communications from Atlanta to India seems to be tenuous at best, and it appears my appeal fell on deaf ears. Dan Peterson has been working with Depeeka for years, and he travels to India and literally stands over the armourers' shoulder, telling them how to make their Roman armour. It's probably the only way to get the Indians to do anything properly.

I'm sorry guys, I wish I could've had more input into the final MRL product. I fixed Bill Grandy's gauntlets, and got them to work OK, but for everyone else, I don't know what to suggest for a functional, reasonably priced alternative.

Peter Fuller

W. R. Reynolds · Posted: Sun 25 Feb, 2007 8:54 am Post subject:

Peter,

There is no denying that the gauntlets look great, it's just a matter of functionality and I am glad you were able to fix Bill's pair. Is this an easy fix that can be done in a home shop with some simple direction? If so perhaps they might be worth the price and time to fix if you are willing to share your solution. As the gauntlets are "mass produced" it seems reasonable to assume that they all suffer from the same or similar ailment and will have a common fix. I think my friend might be willing to get a pair if this were the case as his son is a budding armourer and it will give him something to work on.

Michael Edelson · Posted: Sun 25 Feb, 2007 3:06 pm Post subject:

I have the sallet and bevoir from this set and I have to say that they are excellent. The fit is fantastic (though the visor had to be bent a bit) and the liner is very comfortable and functional (not the usual MRL leather junk). My only complaint is that the visor doesn't stay closed...if you jump, it goes up, but I'm having someone make a hook to keep it down.

Peter Fuller · Industry Professional

Bill;

The first problem was that the rivets were too tight. Replacing them helped a lot. Also, the finger lames were too straight; they needed to be curved more in order to articulate properly. However, when I curved them they worked a little too well, and gaps appeared between the lames. So I had to add an internal leather to keep them from opening up when you made a fist. When I finished the repair, I swung several weapons around the shop, and they seemed to work alright. You'll have to ask Bill how satisfied he is with the result.

Finally, I have to say that when I was in Atlanta last year, I helped MRL with a video they produced, and I wore the gothic sallet, pauldrons, vambraces, and gauntlets in a fight sequence. With the exception of the visor being a little too loose (a few taps on the inside of the pivoting rivets, Michael, will remedy the situation), everything worked fine, including the gauntlets. Everything was cracked out of the box from the warehouse; nothing was modified or altered. The gauntlets I used were a little stiff, but they didn't hinder my gripping the swords or other weapons I used. It seems to me that ultimately, it might be a "hit or miss" proposition with regards to the functionality of the MRL armour.

Bill Grandy · myArmoury Team

Peter did indeed do some very nice work on both my gauntlets and my pauldrons to make them functional. I keep meaning to take pictures and update my collection gallery here on the site, but it always slips my mind. They still aren't perfect, but considering what Peter was working with, I imagine that it would probably almost be easier to just make a new pair than it would have been for Peter to do more with these. I can now flex my hand pretty well with them, but I can't make a full fist. After Peter's modifications, I can hold a thick staff weapon without any problem, and can reasonably grip a sword, though not very tightly. This is leaps and bounds better than before Peter had modified them (and as I say, there was only so much he had to work with). The pauldrons also articulate much better than before, too, though again aren't completely perfect.

For WMA usage, I don't use these particular pieces. They are actually more for demos (teaching swordsmanship for a living means showing up at a lot of schools and such, where I usually end up taking bits off when demonstrating techniques for clarity anyway). Because of this, I can be content with what I ended up with... but if you plan on buying this stuff for WMA, stage combat, or reenactment, then clearly you need to see it in person before you purchase. If it hadn't been for Peter's skilled hands these pieces would only be pretty decorations on my shelf.

Michael Edelson · Posted: Mon 26 Feb, 2007 4:47 pm Post subject:

Peter Fuller · Industry Professional

Michael;

A quick fix for bolts with nuts is to tighten them to where you want them, and then take a center punch, and hammer a series of 'dots' around the inside edge of the nut. This will 'lock' the nut in place, and keep it from turning when you raise and lower the visor. At least in theory, anyway.

I would agree with you, though, a sneck hook or a catch pin to keep the visor closed is a good idea.

Peter