Acquiring Arms & Armor

[Timothy Gunther]

I skimmed over the forums and did a few different searches and could not find any threads pertaining to the acquisition of armaments,armor, or the quality of such items as a whole, so I thought a Thread pertaining to the subject might be a good idea especially on such a site as this.

So as the name suggests if anyone has insight or information on the acquisition of arms, armor or the quality of such items please post them here along with any questions one might have regarding things such as budget arms/armor and the like, not just the best of the best.

On that note however I will start off with two sites that review the durability of the rather loosely used term "battle ready" swords, that won't leave you selling your organs on the black market.

the first one has reviews on the durability of a fair few swords of numerous makes and manufacture along with information on them, along with information on acquiring budget swords.

NOTE: if you plan on buying any of these swords do check out the "buyers directory" page as it gives you sites and online coupons to get some of these sword for as much as 15% off

Sword Buyers Guide.com

the next is similar to the first however only deals with durability not acquisition.

Sword and the Tire-Pell

NOTE: if there is a thread or potion of the main site that does pertain to such things as this thread is intended tho for whatever reason has eluded me(quite masterfully I might add), please by all means delete it as it will be of no real use to anyone and just be a waist of space.

[ChristineChurches]

Timothy -

It's true, there are not many threads dedicated solely to the acquisition of the items vital to our craft on this forum, mostly because
1) this is a research and training forum
2) the subject matter is so vast and diverse that it is easier/better for individuals to post questions about specific training tools

Having said this, I recommend http://www.myarmoury.com for weapons review.

Also, on the subject of "budget arms/armor" - I am a firm believer in getting the best I possibly can, or waiting until I am able to afford it - quality over quantity every time. While durability is a factor, so is handling and historical accuracy. IMHO, at least 2 out of three of those criteria do not get met when you look for "budget" items.

[Timothy Gunther]

handling and historical accuracy are indeed a part of a good weapon...and from what I can gather two of the criteria that the reviews of the first site take into account on swords are just that, the handling and historical accuracy.

basicly the review criteria are-

Historical Accuracy
Fit and Finish
Handling
Structural Integrity
Value for Money

all done on a 1-5 scale and then applied to an overall score of 1-5

I don't know how exactly competent the reviewers are on the historical part however I find that the guy who runs the site and his friends use a multitude of factors in there discerning of a historically accurate blades other than just the look of it, however there main point of interest is durability, and a good point of interest at that on sub 300$ blades.

quality over quantity is always a good thing to uphold as a value(as it has kind of kicked the bucket in the bast 50 years), and is exactly what I made this thread for. For people to share there ideas and knowledge about what they think are the best quality armors and armaments whether that pertain to the durability, handling, historical accuracy, material quality or just a conglomeration of them all resulting in something that is more than the sum of its parts.

plus it's nice to have that wealth of information in one thread for people to look over instead of searching the whole forum, say for instance some one values your opinion highly and therefor they go get reviews from www.myarmoury.com or some one els suggest a different site and so on giving people a multitude of options and opinions in one thread, and those people can always make there own thread asking more in depth questions about specific arms and armor after they find out what is out there to be had or (leaning more toward the armor part) perhaps they just figure that trying there own hand at making it might be a better idea altogether, there are many options once you find what you are looking for, or at least something close.

LOL its funny you should suggest myarmory.com since thats one I was going to post today

I hope that all makes sense and is spelled correctly

[Benjamin Smith]

Some of those are more important than others

#1 Historical Accuracy- or accuracy of approximation in the case of training weapons (no point trying to practice a historical craft without a realistic tool)- 3 pts
#2 Handling Characteristics- 3 does it handle like a real weapon should
#3 Durability-2 how long you can expect to train hard with it
#4 Fit and finish -2 this refers to how well such things as the cross & pommel are put on and the quality of the initial polish, etc... not the eye candy on the tool

10 pts total with the understanding that you can rate something a 0.

The end result of those four will get you a score, then post the price tag behind that. Let the value for money judgment get made by the viewer. Differences in financial circumstances will make considerable difference in how good the value of x is for the price.

One example: if we were to use John's old Talhoffer Review as a starting point

He'd probably rate it
#1- 3
#2- 3
#3- 2.5-3
#4- 2

Total 9.5-10, Price tag $722 plus shipping and handling. He'd probably say it's a very good value.

If I were to rate my old Blunt, a Cas-Iberia model that they don't sell anymore
I'd rate it:

#1- .5
#2- .5
#3- 1.5
#4- .5

Rating 3, $90

The wood in the handle split from a cold peened assembly, but still holds together without the leather wrap which I haven't bothered to replace because I'm saving up for a quality weapon. It doesn't handle to my liking, or as well as other swords of the same model, the pommel has a square top (it's a wheel pommel too) that I find uncomfortable without gloves. And I know of no historical blunts with training blades like it.

I paid $90. A 3 sword for $90 compared to 9.5 for $722 is a better fraction, but it's a bad buy. I'd never recommend someone getting a sword like mine when there are so much better available. Result, perhaps I didn't rate mine low enough, though a 3 for 10 is an F grade tool if ever there was one.

End result, any poster needs to make sure that their opinion of their tool is expressed in a nice clear paragraph, not just a numerical rating of the value for the money.

[Timothy Gunther]

those are good points thank you, however I think you misunderstand my post, the criteria are not for those posting there thoughts and information on this thread but rather the criteria that the people at sword-buyers-guide.com use to scale there reviews of blades.

[Bernie Wright]

I am brand new to ARMA, so I don't have much to add on arms, but having done SCA for quit a while and having started to make my own armour I would add this.

If you are looking for armour, I'd go for quality and fit over price, if you decided to do any thing in armour and it dosen't fit or function properly it will hinder you. Also I go with period examples of form and function over modern form (SCA example here) as the period form/construction works and there was usually a reason for it.

In closing I would say make sure what ever you get fits you, the body is not a series of tubes, but rather some complex forms and curves that need to be taken into account.

-bernie

[Steven Blakely]

For armor i would suggest illusion armory.
one of our instructors have a full suit.
like all things though they have pluses and minuses