The fight starts before the armor, before you pick up your stick, and before you step onto the field. It begins with an individual that is devoted to himself and understands the gravity of taking up arms against his fellow man.

Monday, December 27, 2010

On 5:47 PM by Unknown     No comments
The Warrior


“It always happens that way. If one seeks to train under him, first he asks them to fight me, he does not give them a motive, or an outcome, should they win or loose. And I fight to loose, you saw, I swagger, I ignore openings, I allow myself to be beaten down. There have been many outcomes to this test. Some men berate me, call me a fool and insult the old man as they win. Those I am given permission to do with what I will, when they have gone too far, or show no promise. Some question the man’s stability and choose another path believing me a weak pupil, and thus the master weak as well, these men walk away. Others walk away for they would not fight a female or an assistant; they are the saddest of all. But some, like you, realize that it is cruelty to hammer a beaten opponent, you question the master, and thus, the test is won. And you saw, I am none too worse for the wear, for I can act and fool a man to believe me beaten. But there are a rare few too, who ask to start ‘why?’ they question why they should blindly fight an opponent with no motive those men have become some of his greatest pupils.”

Thursday, December 16, 2010

On 11:47 PM by Unknown in     No comments
As we all know our armor is always in a state of constant disrepair, and when we let this lapse for a long enough period of time it can lead to injury and disqualification from the tourney field.  This week I spent a brief period of time updating and upgrading a few pieces of my gear.   Remember these waxed leather bazubands: 

In regard for my arms metal slats were added for more protection.










(Note the effort used to hold said leather in shape.)

Taking a blow to the shins is an uncomfortable and somewhat irritating experience.  So, On To Greaves!

 After cutting my greave pattern out of 3/8s leather I realized it was really rather ridged in smaller pieces and needed to be shaped.  Standard simple soaking procedure is as follows:
 
(1) soak leather piece in water until saturated.
(2) place leather piece over/in mold and secure.
(3) let leather dry in mold and remove.



Materials
After soaking my leather I needed a way to attach it to my mold.  Some inquiring yielded a fairly simple solution.  While forcing my leather onto the mold I diligently fought embarrassment to cover it in plastic wrap.  This plastic layer protects the leather from the duct tape used to secure it in place on the mold.  Picture as follows. 


Leather secured on mold with tape

Friday, December 10, 2010

On 10:28 AM by Unknown in     No comments
With the completion of my fall academic term, and gradual recovery of mental fortitude after finals, it's time to dust off my helmet and step back out onto the field.  As glorious as my return is in my own head, queue cheers and banners waving in the air as I defeat one knight after the other, the reality will be much more like this.

Anyhow last night at practice a few of us discussed custom shield bosses available in Germany.  They are not accepting orders again until the end of January, to prevent large backups, but this gives me ample time to create a wish list.  enjoy!
http://www.rudis-kuenstlerwerkstatt.de/gallerie-helm-engl.htm