Abbrasions

[GaryGrzybek]

Hi all,

It's been a while since I've posted. Life has been quite complicated lately but I'm earger to get back in the social realm of WMA's

Anyway, my question for you armored guys is this. Do you suffer from abbrasion while wearing you kit? I have a breast and back plate from Mercenarys Taylor and began wearing it for traininig last week. The first thing I've had to really ajust to is the restrictions of not being able to bring my shoulders in towards my chest normally. In the area directly above my armpits I have suffered heavy abbrasions from rubbing against the edges of the plate. Even over a gambeson this is still happening. Do I need more padding or is the armor improperly fitted? This is munitions grade stuff so I don't expect it to fit perfectly.

[Matthew_Anderson]

Hi Gary,

I would say the breastplate probably doesn't fit right. Unfortunately "tweaking" a harness to fit and function well is sometimes a process of trial and error. If everything fits well, you shouldn't have any spots that rub, bind, pinch, etc. The arming coat or gambeson is part of the comfort equation, but proper design and fit are really important. The best solution is to work with a custom armourer so you can try the fit as the pieces are made. Otherwise, you'll just have to experiment and adjust. Make sure your breastplate is not riding too low, this is common with modern replicas, it should really only come down to around your navel area. Maille or faulds/tassets should protect your lower torso. Hope this helps, I'm continually tweaking my harness to work out the bugs of fit and function.

[GaryGrzybek]

Thanks Matt!

I'll try doing some ajustments and see how it goes.

[Shane Smith]

It does sound as if it doesn't fit right. Matt nailed it when he says that we are always tweaking things. The armourer that made my harness made numerous adjustments as I worked in it to get everything fitted well(yours sounds like it may be wearing high or the breastplate is too wide between the shoulders for your chest and therefore your front deltoid binds there). I think that unless you are lucky enough to have a local armourer to do likewise, you must become a very handy fellow with grinders, files, a railroad section and a hammer. Albions stuff looked pretty good to me when I saw it in NY and I do intend to have a 15th century kit made by them when finances allow. I think that MT's work is quite nice for the price and Albions customer service is second to none in my own experiences with Mike and the gang.Either way, I'd fault the armourer not in the least unless he fitted your armour to you in person. Anything else is educated guesswork. Good luck Gary! <img src="/forum/images/icons/cool.gif" alt="" />

[GaryGrzybek]

Hi Shane,

Yes I think your both right. The breast plate seems too wide which limits my forward reach. The edges then dig or rub into the area slightly below my delts. I didn't even notice what was going on until I took my shirt off that afternoon. I would'nt be afraid of doing an alteration is it wasn't for the rolled edges which I doubt I could duplicate. I may talk to Alan directly and see what he recommends. This is certainly no criticism of Mercenarys Taylor since I think their armor is great rough and tumble stuff and also inexpensive.

[Allen Johnson]

I have this exact same piece and while I dont have the problem of abrasions I can not do a right ochs. The breast piece is too wide for my chest. Thats just what happens when you get munitions grade stuff.