15th century harness project

[Dragonlover]

 I drilled the holes around the opening of the sabatons so that I'll be able to pad the lip,
then lace leather around it. Hopefully, this will keep the edge from eating my boots, or
poignards, whichever I decide to use.

 The second pic shows where I perforated the lower half of the bevor. Be a little cooler,
plus give me a little more visibility.....

The spikes on pic 3 are actually bolts holding the bevor plate to the front of the cuirass.
When the harness first arrived, they were actually fitted with wing-nuts. No kidding, ask
Sir Brian.....sportbike aftermarket dealer took care of that......

  All the straps supplied had to be taken off and replaced since they didnt include any strap
keepers in the assembly....major pain in the ass!!!

 Enjoy everybody!!!!

[Sir Brian]

Excellent Excellent work my man! It looks great! Love the spike-bolts! Very cool touch!
Looks like you'll have it ready for the NCRF at the end of March! You did a lot great work
here Sir. Can't wait to see it in person!

[Sir Edward]

Excellent! Man, NCRF won't know what hit them. I don't think they're used to having a lot of armored knights walking around. Actually, now that the Fiat Lux folks are there, they probably are, but you still don't see gothic harnesses walking around very often... at any faire. You'll knock their socks off!

[Dragonlover]

That's the idea! Lol! Actually, I've been there in my 15th cent. rig from Icefalcon
several times. Always gets kudos. have to remember not to startle the little ones
though. I can already hear the "vader" score in the background.......
I hope it'll be ready by NCRF.......

[Dragonlover]

think "poulaines" (shoes) was the word I was looking for.....

[Sir Griff]

The sabatons look like they can kill. And the fact that the whole harness is somewhat darkened only makes it better. I don't see you in a good light when a blazing sun is out, though, what with all the black you're sporting on you. Tends to attract the rays of the sun and absorb them.

[Dragonlover]

The photos are just somewhat dark. The harness is actually a mirror-polish
stainless.the straps are black but arming doublet and other accoutrements will
be red....you won't be able to look at it in full sunlight.......

[Sir Griff]

You know, if I wanted to start up on medieval kit project (something of a half-armour, so to say) what piece should I start with? The arming vest that would go beneath the cuirass?

Actually, if you could give me a step-by-step process of how things should be acquired and in what precise order I would greatly appreciate it. Some links to shops with advantageous prices (preferably European ones) would also be quite nice.

[Dragonlover]

Sir Griff,

 The first thing to do would be to decide if this armor is for combat, or display. A lot of times,
you can get a suit to do both by purchasing "beefed-up" items( gauntlets,etc.) as extras.
 After that, picture what time period you're looking for. Then, get the idea set in your mind.
 If you are just purchasing "half-armour" you already know what you won't need, right?

 You might want to purchase, or make, (as I'm doing) your arming vest or doublet after you
purchase your cuirass or breast-plate. That way, you'll know where you will have to tie,(or point)
 your vest to your plate. As far as order, there really isn't a set guide as to what to purchase
first. I DO recommend using the same armoury or armorer for ALL your pieces since armorers
have a tendency to create different finishes on their product....Wouldn't want a satin finish
thrown with a high-mirror polish finish....
  I used to have a list of several armouries in Poland, Czechoslovakia, etc. but lost them when
my computer went down. Money-wise, I'd go with Armstreet out of the Ukraine if you don't mind
a bit of machining to fine tune your rig. The cost for my suit was very good for the total package.
 I will just have to supply my own undergarments and shoes(boots) and I'll be good to go. They had a pretty good delivery time here to the states so I don't think you'd have a problem. Good luck with
your project and let us all know if you need assistance.

[Sir Griff]

Thank you for the great advice and yes, now that I think about it, first ordering a breastplate then having an arming vest actually be tailored to the size of the breastplate so it can fit is a very good idea. Thank you for the novel advice.

And the suit will eventually be used for combat so it has to be resilient enough to defend the lump of flesh beneath it.

I have a few European providers at hand such as Kovex Ars and Steel Mastery since their prices I've deemed to be quite advantageous thus far. I will check out Armstreet too since by the sound of it they are very trustworthy manufacturers.

Oh, and the period is middle Fifteenth Century. About 1450s or thereabouts.

[Dragonlover]

You're most welcome Sir Griff.
Steel Mastery was one of the outfits I was checking into. I never could get a response
from them so I just went elsewhere. They have some stuff that looks good, and some that looks kind of hokey...They could have made some serious cash off me! Lol!

 Good luck and if we may be of assistance, drop a line....