Breastplates and backplates

[Leganoth]

Where did you get yours? How thick is it? Any recomendations? Price?

[Sir James A]

Mine are 16 gauge steel. Recommendations depend completely on what style/period you're arming for and whether or not you will be doing any fighting in it, or just for fun and looking cool. In general, 14 gauge is a "heavy duty" combat breastplate, 16 gauge is a "standard" combat breastplate, and 18 gauge is "decorative / dent magnet only".

I've seen prices from under $100 for cheap generic ebay ones, to about $8,500 for a custom gothic cuirass.

[Sir Matthew]

I got my peascod from Illusion Armoury, it's 14 guage breast plate and 16 guage on the back plate and tassets. I got it for reenacting, so I went with the heavy duty. Allan at Mercenaries Tailor makes some very nice pieces for different time periods. My recomendation with armor is save up and buy quality pieces. I know they cost more, but in the long run the will last longer and take much more punishment than the cheaper alternatives. The also look better and will fit better. But this is just my opinion.

[Leganoth]

I got my peascod from Illusion Armoury, it's 14 guage breast plate and 16 guage on the back plate and tassets. I got it for reenacting, so I went with the heavy duty. Allan at Mercenaries Tailor makes some very nice pieces for different time periods. My recomendation with armor is save up and buy quality pieces. I know they cost more, but in the long run the will last longer and take much more punishment than the cheaper alternatives. The also look better and will fit better. But this is just my opinion.

I was planning on getting the Merc steel cuirass off medieval collectibles or dark knight armory, its 18 gauge and it looks great for my kit but its not durable enough as i would want it . I dont have many medieval collector friends out in Southern Cali or re-enactments here, just doing it for hobby/looks but i want somthing durable. Since its going over my chain i dont want it to be super round or make me look like a fatty, also a surcoat will go over it so the Merc was flat and great looks

[SirNathanQ]

Before you go chucking money away, what period are you doing?

My cuirass is from Merctailor. 16g throughout. Taken all the abuse I've thrown at in in stride.

[Leganoth]

Before you go chucking money away, what period are you doing?

My cuirass is from Merctailor. 16g throughout. Taken all the abuse I've thrown at in in stride.

crusades (14th i believe but i could be very wrong lol) going for a fantasy/legitimate look at same time

[Sir Wolf]

no plate in the crusades on the body im affraid. at least during the first main 4 crusades

i have a 16 guage stainless b&b, is kinda heavy and over kill i think

[Sir Gerard de Rodes]

no plate in the crusades on the body im affraid. at least during the first main 4 crusades

i have a 16 guage stainless b&b, is kinda heavy and over kill i think

As Sir Wolf said, NO PLATE !!. One thing you could get away with is a Coat of plates. I`ve seen a long version of the Wisby style C.O.P. in the Osprey books; Teutonic Knight 1190-1561, and Knight Templar 1120-1312. Both look great for early C14th. A shorter one would be great for later in the period, especially under a shorter surcoat or tabard/dupon;
http://house-excelsior.com/images/wisby.jpg
I prefere to wear one of these for many reasons.

The only thing you may wear at a push, if you`re persona is high status, and much later in the C14th, is a Churburg segmented breast plate;
http://www.medievalrepro.com/Breastplates.htm

Or a globular breast plate (I think they also have one of these at Churburg)

Hope this helps,
G.

[Sir William]

Leganoth, if you are looking to do a Templar kit then no plate for the most part; you might could get away with plate defenses on the lower arms and legs, the knees perhaps, but definitely no breastplate or cuirass.  Having said that, if you went with one of the other, longer-lived orders, then you could go plate to a certain degree.  Sir Nathan can tell you all you'd want to know about the Hospitalier and Teutonic Knights, myself and a few others can go at length regarding the Templars were you so inclined to read/listen.

First things first though...what do you ultimately wish to do with this kit?  IF it is just for show, then 18 gauge is perfectly acceptable...it will have the look without the requisite weight.  The mercenary harness on medieval collectibles is a good example.

Mercenary's Tailor is a separate entity; now Allan, the proprietor, makes all of his armor by hand to your measurements...when it comes to armor, it has been my experience that buying off the rack will only lead to disappointment as it wasn't built for you specifically, but for a range of sizes.  Armor made to fit you is much more comfortable to wear, is usually better made than the off the shelf stuff you see on line and will last longer and withstand more abuse.  Not to mention is pricing is very friendly.

[Sir Rodney]

You can find a very good breast & backplate for $277 at The Mercenaries Tailor (highly recommended).

As noted above, the 14th century saw the development of the breastplate.  The whole "14th century backplate" issue is very hotly debated by those more knowledgeable than myself.  As such, I asked Allen at Merc Tailor to just produce the globular breastplate pictured in his catalog and I even asked for a custom stop-guard.  His price was very, very reasonable at a little more than half the cost of breast & back.

[Sir William]

Yea and if you get JUST the breastplate, I'm sure you could get it for under $200 -and custom fit to your measurements.  That is a deal you cannot beat, unless you made one of your own.

[Sir Ulrich]

If you're going for the crusader era no plate was used on the bodies, except for the coat of plates. MAYBE you could get away with knee and elbow cops, maybe even schynbalds, but all that is worn over maille anyway so I'd go for maille, and later reinforce it with some parts of plate.
Heres a nice place to get a COP but it's a little more pricey than a breastplate.
http://www.wintertreecrafts.com/CoP.html
You could also make your own probably, as long as you have decent skills with peening rivets and cutting plates and minimal shaping skills.
For plate I highly suggest mercenaries tailor, I have yet to get any of their stuff but from the pics of the other members their stuff looks quite good and you can get it custom fitted. Off the rack plate armor if it doesnt fit you it can give you bad armor bites and stuff, so if you go for plate I say go for custom fitted.

[Sir James A]

Leganoth, have a look at this:

http://talbotsfineaccessories.com/armour/effigy/effigy%20analysis.html

It tells you a lot of info in a few "simple", but very useful, graphs. Remember 14th Century is 1300-1399, not 1400-1499, so as was said, minimal plate, and only for the wealthier. The crusades were over before the 14th cent, if you're going for historical accuracy.

Also, I have a breast/back from Allan at MercenarysTailor.com - custom made to my measurements, and only $211. It's 16 gauge steel, too. If you can't get measurements for top to bottom, waist, and width of the upper portion of the breastplate, don't order it unless you want to cut it up and modify it to fit - the top of the breastplate shouldn't be any wider than nipple to nipple, or you won't be able to cross your arms or move naturally without bruising or pinching. And plate armor is in no way a "one size fits all", and not even remotely close to mail fitment - it's a whole other beast to itself.

(I'm speaking from experience. I have a few pieces that I bought from a generic vendor, and I have pieces that were custom made - I'd use the generic pieces as decor, but I refuse to wear them after seeing how they "fit" - or rather, don't fit. You might get lucky, but unless you're the same measurements as whoever that "we made 50 of these, all the same" breastplate was made for, it's not going to fit right, and you'll kick yourself later.

[Sir William]

An excellent suggestion Ulrich...I've been eyeing that CoP of theirs ever since Wolf first posted it up in another thread.

Sir James, I had a similar happenstance with an OTR breast/back plate.  Ugh.  Like it was made for a short fat man, it hung horribly.  Sold that the day after I received it and paid it forward - the lesson, that is.  lol

[Leganoth]

Right now my chain and helm are functional quality but for plate i will be using for renfaires and conventions and such