Globose w/ Fauld

[Sir Edward]

We need to get you and Christian Cameron together for some photos.

[Sir James A]

Huzzah for plate! Very awesome picture!!

[SirNathanQ]

Looking superb, Sir Ian! You truly are an exemplar for any hopeful late 14th century types!

[Ian]

Thanks guys!  Bob Charrette was helpful in pointing me to what I need to work on to make some improvements, so I'm trying to work my way back on to Jeff Wasson's schedule for some work in a few months.  I am hoping to replace my sabs with some more historically correct ones, and then I will be happy with all my hard kit pieces.  Eventually I will need to replace my jupon with a more accurate interpretation and obtain a plaque belt.  I think I'm going to bite the bullet and place an order with Lorifactor for a plaque belt in my heraldic colors of Argent and Sable... 

[Sir Edward]

Awesome! Yeah, Bob is always good for some advice.

What's wrong with your sabatons? I thought they looked pretty good.

[Ian]

The method of construction and fastening of the heel on my sabs is ahistoric.  Instead of building a hinge, he just floated the heel/foot interface on a piece of leather.  Halberds also used modern (aluminum I think) grommets for the toe pointing holes, and the top opening is too large and not closely fitted to the ankle so they wind up outside the bottom of the greaves.  I didn't know enough about sab construction when I ordered them 3 years ago and so when I asked for historically accurate, I just didn't know any better and assumed it was good to go.  The general shaping is just a little off too.

They should have a metal hinge construction to attach the heel plate, and then a small leather strap to secure the other side, though some examples seem to use a small hook/clasp assembly on the side opposite the hinge.  The top of the sabaton must interface with the greaves and provide seamless coverage between the top of the sab and the bottom of the greave while not impeding movement.  The sab should be inside the greave, not the other way around.

They should look like this:

[Sir Douglas]

That's interesting about the sabaton construction. I must make a mental note of that in case I ever get around to making something other than helms.

When you say a leather strap to secure the other side, would it be secured with a buckle?

[Ian]

When you say a leather strap to secure the other side, would it be secured with a buckle?

Yes, you can see it here:

[Sir Edward]

Well dang, then I guess I shouldn't order sabs from the same place you got yours.

I don't mind cheating a little, as long as I know why/how it's cheating. But might as well aim for as accurate as possible once you know better.

[Sir Douglas]

Ah, okay. I see. Thank you!

[Ian]

Well dang, then I guess I shouldn't order sabs from the same place you got yours.

I don't mind cheating a little, as long as I know why/how it's cheating. But might as well aim for as accurate as possible once you know better.

Halberds does good work, and he's pretty much specialized into and known for his sabatons, but he caters to the SCA as far as I know, so I suspect that the research into construction is not as exacting as the guys who cater to very accurate historical reproduction.  My goal is to one day not have to explain why any piece of my armor may not be as accurate as we can get it in the modern day, so I'm really just being very nitpicky with the sabs.

[Sir James A]

I'd say you could replace the leather with a hand made hinge, but that still doesn't take care of the ankle/heel area. That's one thing that I had a hard time getting satisfactory too. The "churburg" sabatons by GDFB are more or less hopeless at my skill level. The ones I got from Mad Matt were pretty good, though it's more coincidence that they happened to fit well with my HammerBreaker greaves. I ordered them unstrapped and unhinged so I could do it myself and trim off any extra in the back so the heel plate would sit close to the back of my foot. They make that nice "pocket" effect where the sabs sit right inside of the greaves, as you're describing.

Found a good pic of a view from the bottom and side too:

[Lord Dane]

My God James, you mean your wife let you seat that oily plate on the living room couch?!? Must have left quite the stain.. Oh wait, that isn't oil, is it??? LOL

[Sir James A]

My God James, you mean your wife let you seat that oily plate on the living room couch?!? Must have left quite the stain.. Oh wait, that isn't oil, is it??? LOL

Pfft, oil? Eh. I think my wife took that pic? Anyways, it was the riveted mail fauld that left a few holes in the cushions. Flipped 'em over, no big deal. Still less furniture damage than the cats cause.

I didn't have any other decent shots of those sabs & greaves together, as I just got those greaves a year ago.

We're wandering a bit. Should we split this thread to sabatons / accuracy?

[Ian]

James, for 16th century have you considered getting those big bear paw square-toed sabs for your kit?