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Author Topic: My Collection of Arms & Armor  (Read 7353 times)

Sir James A

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My Collection of Arms & Armor
« on: 2010-10-27, 20:46:33 »
Finished my other 4 armor stands, and took a few pics. Snapped a few more of my collection and thought I would post them up.

Left to right > retired SCA armor, repro samurai armor, repro 16th-ish century gothic armor (MRL)


Japanese Weapons - half functional carbon steel, half SS SLO/Wall-Hangers



European Weapons - half functional carbon steel, half SS SLO/Wall-Hangers



Jan/Feb I should be getting a nice package in the mail with my pseudo-historic 16th century field combat harness. I already have the stand ready for it. :D

I'll have better pictures, when I can get around to fabbing up a display area for them.
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Sir Edward

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Re: My Collection of Arms & Armor
« Reply #1 on: 2010-10-27, 20:48:53 »

Nice! Yeah, displaying them well and getting good pics is always a challenge. I have the same problem. I use software now to keep track of my weapons list. It's crazy. I noticed you added a link to your site in your signature, and have a nice little spreadsheet sort of thing there too. Very cool.
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Sir William

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Re: My Collection of Arms & Armor
« Reply #2 on: 2010-10-27, 20:57:19 »
*drools with naked envy*

I don't even aspire to such a wide and varied (and eye-catching to say the least) collection...I love how you displayed them too, sort of like an ordered chaos to the whole deal.  LOVE the armor, too.
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Sir Wolf

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Re: My Collection of Arms & Armor
« Reply #3 on: 2010-10-27, 22:07:38 »
very cool! a war room indeed!!!
any pics of you in your harnesses?

Sir Wolf

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Re: My Collection of Arms & Armor
« Reply #4 on: 2010-10-27, 22:09:27 »
hey, i didn't know you were from charles town WV! only 2 hrs from me (mineral co wv)

Sir Ancelyn

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Re: My Collection of Arms & Armor
« Reply #5 on: 2010-10-28, 01:11:35 »
Oh WOW! That is an incredible collection James.

Sir Patrick

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Re: My Collection of Arms & Armor
« Reply #6 on: 2010-10-28, 02:43:43 »
WOW!!!! :o :o :o
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Sir Ulrich

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Re: My Collection of Arms & Armor
« Reply #7 on: 2010-10-28, 03:44:55 »
That's one huge collection you got there.

Sir Brian

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Re: My Collection of Arms & Armor
« Reply #8 on: 2010-10-28, 13:47:21 »
WOW!  :o

Excellent collection!  :)
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Sir Edward

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Re: My Collection of Arms & Armor
« Reply #9 on: 2010-10-28, 14:03:50 »

You're probably one of the few people I've met who lives up to the "age rule". That is, the sword count should be the same as your age or higher. :)
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Sir Wolf

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Re: My Collection of Arms & Armor
« Reply #10 on: 2010-10-28, 14:10:07 »
hehehe i've sold a few so i don't think i can make that rule anymore Sir Edward.

but man, now I wanna clean the basement and set all my goodies out like that!

Sir William

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Re: My Collection of Arms & Armor
« Reply #11 on: 2010-10-28, 14:33:19 »
Hell, I need at least 20 more to reach my age!  lol
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Sir James A

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Re: My Collection of Arms & Armor
« Reply #12 on: 2010-10-28, 16:19:47 »

Nice! Yeah, displaying them well and getting good pics is always a challenge. I have the same problem. I use software now to keep track of my weapons list. It's crazy. I noticed you added a link to your site in your signature, and have a nice little spreadsheet sort of thing there too. Very cool.


Yep, the spreadsheet is a MS SQL database, and I have a whole admin-side section that I just flip a switch to list it on the "public" side of the website. Behind the scenes, I tag purchase price, purchase date, blade length, hilt length, crossguard length, etc ... and I add links for what I want to buy as a "wishlist". When I get it, I click a checkbox and poof, it shows up on the page. I also have a private link that shows the "wish list", and I can just email that link as my Christmas list.

Unfortunately, I'm still horrendous at taking pictures, though I just have a point-and-shoot cheapie digital that was something like $49 on closeout.

very cool! a war room indeed!!!
any pics of you in your harnesses?

Not yet, I am still working on pointing the arming coat for the plate harnesses and making voiders, and I've been a bit shy about modeling the samurai armor. :o I will definitely post up pics when I do have some.

hey, i didn't know you were from charles town WV! only 2 hrs from me (mineral co wv)

Been here for about 3 1/2 years now, but born & raised in northern virginia. I like Charles Town; much more calm and less obtrusive than northern va is. And far cheaper! Commuting is rough though. :(


You're probably one of the few people I've met who lives up to the "age rule". That is, the sword count should be the same as your age or higher. :)


I hope not! I'd have to be somewhere around 40-45? I'm not that age, yet. :D If you take out the SLOs and only count the real swords, it's a much closer match though. :lol:

hehehe i've sold a few so i don't think i can make that rule anymore Sir Edward.

but man, now I wanna clean the basement and set all my goodies out like that!

It's actually my hallway from the bedroom, they were just there for pics. I laid them out for some quick pics since I was in the process of moving the european weapons from the master bedroom walk-in-closet to my office closet to keep my wife happy, and testing out a stand I made for my katanas. It's infinitely easier to make a katana stand since they're relatively the same size and design. The european swords are tough since they run 30-56" and have crossguards from 5-12", different blade widths, etc.

In the next year or so I hope to make a small addition to my house, "decorate" it like an armory, and devote it strictly to the arms & armor. The room they are in is currently my office / pull-out-sofa guest room / armor room. It'll be interesting to see how my mother-in-law and sister-in-law sleep this weekend, with those harnesses staring at them from the foot of the bed all night.
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Sir William

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Re: My Collection of Arms & Armor
« Reply #13 on: 2010-10-28, 16:32:14 »
Oh boy...forget waiting, I'm gonna get started on displaying some of my swords in my war chambers stat!  lol

Ok, eventually, I will.
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Re: My Collection of Arms & Armor
« Reply #14 on: 2010-10-28, 18:01:51 »
Unfortunately, I'm still horrendous at taking pictures, though I just have a point-and-shoot cheapie digital that was something like $49 on closeout.

Even the cheap-o cameras can do a pretty good job in the right lighting and with careful use. The trick is to use a tripod, and never, ever use the flash. Under poor indoor lighting, ideally you want to use the camera's white-balance controls, though on a real cheap one it may not have much capability there. So without that, you have to adjust the color balance in software later (like photoshop or paint shop pro). The nicer cameras have manual modes where you can set everything and get a nice picture right off the camera.

The easiest way to get good shots of individual pieces is to shoot them outdoors on a cloudy or overcast day (indirect lighting).

Somewhere on myArmoury there was a thread about this with some good advice.

I hope not! I'd have to be somewhere around 40-45? I'm not that age, yet. :D If you take out the SLOs and only count the real swords, it's a much closer match though. :lol:

The key part of that is "or higher". Basically, to have at least as many swords as you have years. So you're good. :) My sword count has been in the 40's for several years, and I'm still in my 30's. :)
« Last Edit: 2010-10-28, 18:02:46 by Sir Edward »
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