Suspending a Leg Harness

[Sir Edward]

That looks great! How much does it pull on the points? Is that steel or aluminum mail?

Part of my problem is that my chausses simply weigh so much. The weight on the points is quite nasty, even with a lot of lacing tied off around the knee, etc. I see yours are open around the back of the leg too, so I'm sure that helps with the weight.

[Ian]

That looks great! How much does it pull on the points? Is that steel or aluminum mail?

Part of my problem is that my chausses simply weigh so much. The weight on the points is quite nasty, even with a lot of lacing tied off around the knee, etc. I see yours are open around the back of the leg too, so I'm sure that helps with the weight.

I would suggest multiple points per leg if the weight of one leg is too much for one point. 

For those interested (Sir William has already found it, thanks Sir William!) I am trying to start a discussion about this on the AA.  Sometimes the AA doesn't respond well to thinking outside the box, so it may just be dismissed outright with a haruumph... like a lot of non-standard ideas are, but we'll see!

http://forums.armourarchive.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=173292

[Sir James A]

I'm not sure if I should be terrified or giggle childishly at the thought of a comfortable man-girdle-corset, even if it does have armor attached to it.

[Sir Patrick]

Well I can put those P90X DVDs away now...

[Sir Douglas]

Yeah, multiple points would probably be a good idea for full chausses. I never considered that they would indeed be heavier than my lace-up ones.
More experimentation is probably required on that front, but it actually seems like the eyelets for lacing up the girdle have more signs of stress than the ones holding up the chausses (My mistake for making the girdle a wee bit too short). I think the crossed laces over the leather reinforcements help distribute some of the stress of holding up the mail. So I've heard, anyway.

I'm not sure if I should be terrified or giggle childishly at the thought of a comfortable man-girdle-corset, even if it does have armor attached to it.

Okay, so that’s one man-girdle-corset with fancy floral embroidery and a pretty lace frill for Sir James. Any other takers?

[Sir James A]

I think the crossed laces over the leather reinforcements help distribute some of the stress of holding up the mail. So I've heard, anyway.

I don't cross my laces, but, I do have the four-hole patch style like you use. I think the biggest things are it's a firmer support surface, and distributing the weight amongst the four points (instead of a single one like on cross-lacing) helps reduce the stretching and pulling effect. It doesn't eliminate it, but it does reduce it.

I bet your leather one won't show nearly as much "tug" to it with the cross-lacing. And I'd bet if you did single-piece leather trim of sufficient enough weight on both sides of the fabric one, you wouldn't see the fabric pulling either. It's easy to pull fabric in single holes, since the nature of the fabric weave gives it some slack without tearing, whereas leather won't.

I'm not sure if I should be terrified or giggle childishly at the thought of a comfortable man-girdle-corset, even if it does have armor attached to it.

Okay, so that’s one man-girdle-corset with fancy floral embroidery and a pretty lace frill for Sir James. Any other takers?

I can only get one? I was hoping for a semi-formal AND a formal.

Sir Ian: I just got to watch the video now. Excellent! The only thing I could add to it would be that you said the garment isn't big enough to close; I would just note that it's actually correct that it is "smaller" than it looks like it should be, for those still new to the concept. Everything else is great!

I'm surprised those two-hole thin leather points actually held that 40 pound weight too. Both pourpoints I had tore them in half the first time I wore them, and in less than an hour or two (once was just at home!).

Going back a year or two, one thing finally clicked why you can point your legs to the inside of your gambeson without a headache like I had; you have slits at the bottom. My gambeson was solid all the way around (minus front buttons, of course) and doesn't "flip" up as easily as yours, it wanted to twist and bind when trying to tie something to the inside of it. You may have motivated me to revisit my gambeson.

[Ian]

Going back a year or two, one thing finally clicked why you can point your legs to the inside of your gambeson without a headache like I had; you have slits at the bottom. My gambeson was solid all the way around (minus front buttons, of course) and doesn't "flip" up as easily as yours, it wanted to twist and bind when trying to tie something to the inside of it. You may have motivated me to revisit my gambeson.

Opening up the side seams and re-hemming it so there's some slits would be relatively trivial if you wanted to mod yours.

[Sir Douglas]

So I just spent an eight-hour day walking round with my chausses strapped to the man-girdle and Holy. Cow. This is about the best piece of kit I have!

Okay, maybe that's overstating it just a bit, but seriously, this thing was awesome. It held up well the entire day, I didn't have to adjust it once, it didn't sag or slide down my hips at all, an it kept the chausses right where they were supposed to be. It didn't even feel like I had it on all day.

I'd definitely recommend that my fellow chausse-wearers at least look into the idea. I don't really know if it would react any differently with heavier, full chausses, but it may be worth checking out. Major kudos to Sir Ian for originally inspiring the idea!

[Ian]

So I just spent an eight-hour day walking round with my chausses strapped to the man-girdle and Holy. Cow. This is about the best piece of kit I have!

Okay, maybe that's overstating it just a bit, but seriously, this thing was awesome. It held up well the entire day, I didn't have to adjust it once, it didn't sag or slide down my hips at all, an it kept the chausses right where they were supposed to be. It didn't even feel like I had it on all day.

I'd definitely recommend that my fellow chausse-wearers at least look into the idea. I don't really know if it would react any differently with heavier, full chausses, but it may be worth checking out. Major kudos to Sir Ian for originally inspiring the idea!

Thank you for being the guinea pig for the idea.  I'm happy it's working out!  It seemed sound in my head, I just don't have any chausses to try it with.  Now get a historical version done before DoK *nudge nudge*

[Sir James A]

Going back a year or two, one thing finally clicked why you can point your legs to the inside of your gambeson without a headache like I had; you have slits at the bottom. My gambeson was solid all the way around (minus front buttons, of course) and doesn't "flip" up as easily as yours, it wanted to twist and bind when trying to tie something to the inside of it. You may have motivated me to revisit my gambeson.

Opening up the side seams and re-hemming it so there's some slits would be relatively trivial if you wanted to mod yours.

That's a much better option than my usual "fetch me the scissors and glue!" I was going to embark upon. Thank goodness I didn't start on it yet. I'll report back when I get it done.

[Don Jorge]

I need to build me one of these for my leg harness until my cdb gets done! It looks comfy.

[Ian]

I need to build me one of these for my leg harness until my cdb gets done! It looks comfy.

I may actually go this route and not worry about tailoring my next CdB as closely.  I have to eventually replace my CdB with a hand-quilted version... not looking forward to that.

[Sir James A]

I need to build me one of these for my leg harness until my cdb gets done! It looks comfy.

I may actually go this route and not worry about tailoring my next CdB as closely.  I have to eventually replace my CdB with a hand-quilted version... not looking forward to that.

Possibly stupid question, but, one of these over a pourpoint - any particular reason, living history in particular?

[Ian]

I need to build me one of these for my leg harness until my cdb gets done! It looks comfy.

I may actually go this route and not worry about tailoring my next CdB as closely.  I have to eventually replace my CdB with a hand-quilted version... not looking forward to that.

Possibly stupid question, but, one of these over a pourpoint - any particular reason, living history in particular?

Fabric belt under a pourpoint, not over.  It would make tailoring a CdB a lot easier, and there's evidence of suspended plate legs that disappear under the upper body garment with no visible points.

[Sir James A]

I need to build me one of these for my leg harness until my cdb gets done! It looks comfy.

I may actually go this route and not worry about tailoring my next CdB as closely.  I have to eventually replace my CdB with a hand-quilted version... not looking forward to that.

Possibly stupid question, but, one of these over a pourpoint - any particular reason, living history in particular?

Fabric belt under a pourpoint, not over.  It would make tailoring a CdB a lot easier, and there's evidence of suspended plate legs that disappear under the upper body garment with no visible points.

Sorry, poor choice of words on my part. I didn't mean wearing it over, I meant "over a pourpoint" as "as preferential to a pourpoint", or, why would you make one of these instead of using a pourpoint? (since you already have one)

I know the straps on a pourpoint are pointless for most people, just curious on your thoughts of pourpoint vs this suspension method.

edit: If you have links / pics on hand of the hidden leg suspension, I'd like to see them. I've been through a few iterations of leg suspension and it's a neat subject.