Going Teutonic

[Sir Edward]

There are some on Etsy. A few options show up with a google search.

[Sir William]

Checking now...

[Sir James A]

Excellent. Yeah, you'll find that the surcoat doesn't seem quite as long and roomy once you put it on over armor, and then bind the center with a belt. It still look like you have plenty of room, so taking it in a little might still help. Looks good though!

As on FB, Sir Edward is spot on. The end shape you'll want is sort of )( but with straight lines >< so that it brings in the waist a bit and makes it look bigger at the chest, smaller at the waist, and flares out towards the feet. That should be easy for any seamstress to do, but make sure you do it over the padding and armor, with a belt, so it gets fitted properly - if it fits right without armor on, it's not going to fit right with it on

[Ian]

I need to get one of those...a paternoster.  Where did you fellows get yours?  As a Templar I'm pretty sure mine'll just be wooden beads.

http://www.revivalclothing.com/glasspaternoster.aspx

[Sir William]

Ian, thanks for the link.  I went with this:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/88720903/paternoster-of-black-wood-and-horn-with?ref=af_you_favitem

What do you think?

[Sir Edward]

Ian, thanks for the link.  I went with this:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/88720903/paternoster-of-black-wood-and-horn-with?ref=af_you_favitem

What do you think?

Looks great! Oh, and I just started a thread to discuss these.

[Sir Ulrich]

Got my full Teutonic knight kit together, seems the surcoat does NOT need tailoring now that I put it on over my maille and whatnot it fits just fine. This is hot though mind you, I actually prefer it with the topfhelm rather than the kettle. Still have yet to get my gambeson from badass garb, hope I get it soon cause linen is a LOT better than cotton with poly fill. Any suggestions on how to get my hair not caught in everything. I constantly have to put on my MRL padded coif simply to keep the maille out of my hair when I put it on so I got 2 layers of arming cap over a coif. Maybe I should cut my hair but I like having long hair too much to cut it.

[Sir Edward]

I have the long-hair problem too. What I do is fold it up over the top of my head before putting the padded cap on. As long as I tie it tightly enough, my hair will mostly stay up there.

[Sir William]

Ulrich, you're looking quite dashing there my friend...one thing, I'd move the sword to hang at the side of your hip rather than the front.  I know the images show it that way but you might find it more comfortable and less annoying to not having it bang on your leg every time you take a step or the pommel bite into your stomach when you go to sit down and forget you're wearing a sword...until that happens.

Sir Edward's suggestion for your hair is probably the best one...he normally sports a pony tail and his hair's quite long.  Wish I could do it.

I have a personal question though...why do you look so unhappy?

Oh, and one other thing- you'd mentioned earlier that you didn't feel the name Ulrich suited a Templar and I've been meaning to tell you that the Templars weren't just English or French in origin; a good number of them were recruited from the Levant and so they would've been a melting pot mix of Arab, Italian, German, African and other nationalities.  Just a thought.

[Sir Ulrich]

Yeah I guess that would work better, I sorta threw this all together rather quickly so I wasnt thinking about the sword hanging. My hair is like half down my back and I dont know if I could put it in an arming cap as those almost always come off when I put my maille on.

I look unhappy because smiling isn't period. I looked at tons of photos of people from the 1800s and they all looked rather stern and unhappy so I would assume people in the medieval period would be the same. I sorta try to emulate that rather than look all happy. I am also rather dark and gloomy myself as were the medieval ages which were a dark gloomy time period full of death and destruction I doubt a knight in battle would smile. Plus when I smile I look rather sadistic or crazy as seen here and no it isn't intentional it's just how I smile:

Now you know why I never smile.

[Ian]

People aren't smiling in old photography and paintings simply because of the fact that they had to hold poses for a long time.  Long photographic exposures require you be incredibly still, and it's hard to hold a smile without moving for 5 seconds.  The result would be a blurry photo.  Paintings required the subject sit for hours, and holding a smile would be uncomfortable.  It has nothing to do with people being stern or unhappy, or hardened by their lives etc... it was just a necessity of the medium they were using to capture an image.

[Sir Ulrich]

Yeah, I just dont think it's normal for a knight in battle to smile for a pic, unless it's a smile of victory in the end. I prefer to look stern but it comes off as angry. I actually was trying for a neutral expression but the brightness of the sun makes me squint and look angry. Oh well, no one will see it anyway with my topfhelm on.

[Lord Dane]

Ulrich, you're looking quite dashing there my friend...one thing, I'd move the sword to hang at the side of your hip rather than the front.  I know the images show it that way but you might find it more comfortable and less annoying to not having it bang on your leg every time you take a step or the pommel bite into your stomach when you go to sit down and forget you're wearing a sword...until that happens.

Sir Edward's suggestion for your hair is probably the best one...he normally sports a pony tail and his hair's quite long.  Wish I could do it.

I have a personal question though...why do you look so unhappy?

Oh, and one other thing- you'd mentioned earlier that you didn't feel the name Ulrich suited a Templar and I've been meaning to tell you that the Templars weren't just English or French in origin; a good number of them were recruited from the Levant and so they would've been a melting pot mix of Arab, Italian, German, African and other nationalities.  Just a thought.

I agree with Sir William. You might want to angle that scabbard slightly especially where it looks as long as your legs. A suspension system would help slightly better than a frog and not make it so clunky banging into your body while you walk.

[Sir James A]

Yeah, I just dont think it's normal for a knight in battle to smile for a pic, unless it's a smile of victory in the end. I prefer to look stern but it comes off as angry. I actually was trying for a neutral expression but the brightness of the sun makes me squint and look angry. Oh well, no one will see it anyway with my topfhelm on.

Point taken, but you're not in battle, so don't be afraid to at least crack a smile. You don't have to show teeth. I'm not sure why, but it's hard to peel a smile off my face when I get new armor.

[Sir William]

And then there's the maniacal look of glee while you're burying your blade into the gullets and bellies of your enemies...not that I'd know what that looked like on me, per se, but I figure it can't be too far from Jack Nicholson's in The Shining. 

Seriously though...don't be afraid to smile, especially at women.  Makes you look more inviting, hence lessening their fear of approaching you.