Improving my kit for Days of Knights.

[Sir Brian]

I'm pretty sure I got the size-L as well, and I didn't need to modify them either. They worked just fine. IceFalcon is one of the better ways to go for mail these days.

You guys with your big legs...guys with skinny legs like me and Ulrich, always need to tighten things up a bit to get them to fit. 

More beer and pies!
or Donuts!

*fixed*

[Sir William]

Liars!  I tried that already, mixed in beer and spirits as well to augment said properties- hence the, uh, waistbelt issues.  lol

[Sir Ulrich]

I can't gain weight, theres like something wrong with me I swear. I hope these fit me though cause I am looking forward to having a full set of maille. Maybe I should get a coif by him too cause my current one don't match and I want it all to match. Actually I'd like to get it attached to the hauberk so I can fight in head to toe maille similar to the maciejowski bible.

[Sir Edward]

If the chausses are a little loose, be sure to tie some laces into it and cinch it down in a few places, like the ankle, and right below the knee. It'll help enormously.

[Sir Ulrich]

He called me today and said he's shipping them today so i'm gonna be getting them soon. The polish company got back to me about the gambeson and said 100 bucks for the shipping for padded chausses and gambeson. So once I get this stuff all there will be satisfied with my kit other than my sword belt.

[Sir Edward]

Excellent, I'll look forward to seeing some pictures of it all together.

[Sir William]

Same here!  What's wrong with your swordbelt?

[Sir Ulrich]

It doesnt have a decent attachment to it and it forces it to be on my RIGHT side when I myself am right handed and it should be on my LEFT side.

[Sir Ulrich]

Well digging through my closet I found an OLD double wrap sword belt from the Christmas of 2005 that I never used because it needed a scabbard sword to fit it. Needless to say it fits the Tinker Norman rather well, I am not sure if this is exactly period but it looks a LOT better than the unsightly sword frog I used to always use.



Never thought I would actually find a use for this but I rather like it, it doesnt even weigh me down either, it's a LOT more comfortable to wear than the sword frog with the regular belt. Saves me some money too cause I was ready to get another frog that looked better. Personally to be honest I HATE sword frogs, every time I buy one I am NEVER satisfied with the final look, it always looks modern or out of place. This belt actually fits in pretty well.
I was wondering if any of this would look better than this http://www.theinnerbailey.com/sword-frogs.htm But I am running out of time and need to get this done by the end of September. It gives the illusion that the sword scabbard is part of the belt which I like so maybe I will pick up one. I just want to look as historically accurate as possible.

[Lord Dane]

I have that same double-wrap sword belt in black leather, stainless buckles, with a celtic trim that I use for my formal attire with my great/long sword. Works great. I hide mine under my knight sash so it's not noticed. Looks good, Sir Ulrich.

[Sir Ulrich]

The only problem with it is it's really tight, like SUPER tight, i'm not sure if I could fit it over my maille and my belt for my maille chausses. Shame really cause I really like the look better than that stupid frog I use that looks like something out of a BDSM store or a Hot Topic.

[Sir Edward]

The problem with those triangular frogs is that they're not period. Also, they're not adjustable, in that they hold the sword in just one position.

The double-wrap is closer to period, and usually you can play with adjustments on them. If you need to add holes for the belt buckle, that's easy to do with a leather hole-punch. They're cheap and easy to use.

BTW, the loops that hold the scabbard should have the upper one going to the front of the belt, so that it prefers to slant the hilt forward. It looks like you should be able to just switch them around.

Having the waist-belt nice and snug is good, so it doesn't move around on you, but like I said, if you need to add a hole to let it out a little, that's not hard to accomplish. Though I see you don't have a lot of belt left, sticking out of the buckle.

[Sir William]

Ulrich, generally speaking you'll want to stay away from frogs in general as they're not very historical, as you've been able to tell just by looking at it.  How you ended up with a lefty frog is anyone's guess.  I bought one of the Inner Bailey Swordbelt of the Circle options for my wedding, it isn't bad if you don't already have a scabbard set up with an integral rig.

If you're in need of a good beltrig, I'd send that Norman out to the Crusader Monk (www.crusadermonk.com) - he can build you a scabbard with an integral suspension system for around $200, and there's a good number of color and design options to choose from, including tooling, stamping and accent work under the leather itself.  He did my HT Bastard, including a custom grip (he can do that as well).  Now, he isn't completely historical in that he doesn't sew the back seam of the scabbard and he doesn't line them like some of the upper echelon scabbardmakers do but other than that, in looking at them, it is hard to tell the difference.  He currently has a one week turnaround time.  Here's mine:

[Sir James A]

Sir William, that came out nicely. Congratulations.

[Sir Ulrich]

That stuff you linked to Sir William, thats nice stuff. It's also in my price range more than the other custom stuff. I am considering getting my grip done as well as get a belt thats attached to the scabbard. I wonder if he could redo my Tinker scabbard for a cheaper price than the regular ones.