Main > The Armoury

Pointing for maille?

(1/7) > >>

Sir Ulrich:
Is there any ways to reduce the amount of weight distribution for maille, cause I had only a 20 pound hauberk and by the end of 4 hours I was totally out of it and my back was killing me. Is there a way to point maille so that it more evenly distributes the weight across you?

Thorsteinn:
Yes.

Aside from a belt which you then blouse the maille above you can also put a tie at the neck and one above the bicep, elbow, and at the wrist. There is also some evidence that the Hauberks at Hastings were pointed and sewn onto the gambesons, especially at the neck, wrists, and bottom.

Also, there is a reason it was thought a good idea for all knights to run a mile in their Hauberks once a day. ;)



EDIT: Full Intensity/Speed/Power sparring burns 880 calories per hour before adding in the armour. A wise man said that a fight may be won on the field but it can be lost in the Gym.

Sir Wolf:
Looks like your gonna neex to eat your wheeties annd get bigger man. I dunno what else to tell you. A thin gamesom may help but choosing lighter colored clothing may help with the suns heat a lil.

Sir Edward:

Mail will also more evenly distribute if it's tailored well. This is the part that no one does... basically, the shoulders should have a slight slant to them instead of just a pure straight edge, since the tops of your shoulder slant. There should be expansion areas over the shoulder blades, and the body should taper in a little at the waist (if you're thin, which you are), and then flare out again over the hips.

This is such a pain to do well, and still be able to get in and out of it, that it's completely understandable to skip it.

Short of that you can of course simulate a better fit with ties, which they would have used anyway back in the day, as others are pointing out. I'd consider having a lace to cinch in the waist if you don't want to pull it up over a belt (the belt trick works great, but you have to make it reasonably tight, depending on how well the armor fits you, etc).

Sometimes I cheat and wear foam pads over my shoulders, inside the gambeson. It helps quite a lot. I just cut out elongated trapezoids of blue camping foam, and shove them in.

Lacing in a variety of other places as people have mentioned above will help a lot too.

Joshua Santana:
I am getting a lot of great info here and although I won't be wearing mail, the same principlles to apply to plate armor.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page