Armoring up

[KatherineJohnson]

So me and my girlfriend went by the MRL store today and tried on some of their armor....and it was all way to big.

I'm not a small woman at 5'10" 145lbs so I had hoped at least something would fit, but alas, thus was not the case.

My girlfriend is only 5'6" and weighs 125lbs.

We both seriously want to get into harnisfechten and money is not really much of an issue, I am prepared to throw top dollars at good equipment. Totally Period accurate harness isn't paticularly important, it just needs to fit properly and look reasonably medieval apprpriate, we both dig the gothic style of armor. We also both want fingered gauntlets.

Can anyone point me in the direction of someone who can maybe provide armor that will fit us while still being reasonably historical looking?

I know there are SCA armorers out there that could possibly accommodate. but the more historical the better and i am hoping my fellow ARMAteers would have some ideas. We're not interested in SCA style fantasy armor. We want to look like badass gothic knights....just kind of small ones

[KatherineJohnson]

I'm thinking if I can keep it below the $6,000 range (each) that would be fantastic.

[Lorraine Munoa]

Have you tried asking the fellows over at http://www.myarmoury.com/home.html ? I know a lot of ARMA guys, SCA types, and reenactors from many groups frequent that site and the site's focus is on armor and equipment.
Likewise to the ArmourArchive: http://www.armourarchive.org/ , what looks like a very fine and generally historical site.

[KatherineJohnson]

Tried the myarmory site, got a lot of good info.

[Jaron Bernstein]

Matt Anderson and Shane Smith of the VAB study group do a lot of armored fighting. They might be able to suggest some resources.

[Shane Smith]

The MRL store is not a decent place to buy armour at all although they do have a few decent weapons from time to time in among the less desirable stuff. The problem is, they seem to stop making things that martial artists like and make fancy-looking things for the masses who certainly out-number us. Also, most of their plate is 18 gauge.

Mercenary's Tailor makes okay stuff at a decent price but none of mine fits just right which is to be expected as they make standard sized stuff. It is quite nice though for what it is. I've been waiting two years for a pair of custom greaves though.

I'm guessing you may well need to go the custom route for really good-fitting stuff in your case since girls have all of those curves where men (whom off-the-rack armour is made to fit) don't. My first harness was made by an SCA armourer because he would do it on the cheap and he would actually call me over for test fittings as it progressed.He also was thrilled to have a guy who wanted fairly-accurate armour. He didn't succeeed to a a "T" but the stuff he made me looks okay and wears even better than expected. That crummy $1200 harness still fits me better than any other more-expensive pieces I own but it looks marginally historically-accurate. If you find the right person, they can do a passable job at a bargain price...and it will fit!

You don't want 18 gauge armour if you're really going to train in it. Since most modern replica amour is not properly heat-treated, it will be beat to pieces in no time flat. You also don't want 14 gauge SCA armour...it is too heavy for historically-accurate training. I use 16 gauge for all but gauntlets (which can be lighter in my experience) because it is light enough while still being stout enough.

An SCA armourer can do a good job if you find one who would love a chance to do good, historically-accurate work and has the knowledge to do so(big challenge there in my opinion). Be sure to check his/her work for quality by looking at other pieces they've made. If you want it to really work and fit for you, someone has to put their hands and a tape on you. If you want it to look cool, pick from any of the upper tier makers 0ff the rack or find a top-tier maker near you who is interested in your project and will understand your concerns and needs.

[Shane Smith]

One more thought;

Brian Hunt has been making a bit more armour of late and if anyone knows what a martial artist needs AND can make nice armour to meet those needs, it's him. I've seen a few of his pieces and while not super high-end, they are nicely done. Maybe he could be talked into such a project? I don't know if he'll do an entire harness of not, but I do intend to contact him the next time I'm considering something like that myself. I respect his work and his fencing skill.

[Jaron Bernstein]

Tried the myarmory site, got a lot of good info.

Peter Svard and David Lindholm suggest this one http://www.viaarmorari.com/ in their Ringeck translation/interpretation

[Randall Pleasant]

Kat

I would also sugges that you take a look at Crescent Moon Armoury. The owner is ARMA member Parker Brown.

http://www.crescentmoonarmoury.com/home