10/15/2004

A Little Show-and-Tell

As I mentioned in my inaugural post. I'm pretty active in the medieval reenactment community. So I thought I'd take a break from all of the heavy political discussions and show you a few of the things I've managed to manufacture in my basement for that hobby.

(all the pictures are links to larger versions that will launch in a new browser instance btw)

The first item is a belt and pouch ca. 1450. You see in the middle ages, you simply didn't have pockets in your pants to carry your personal effects. So all the best dressed people wore a pouch suspended from their belts. This one is constructed from top grain cow hide. I hand manufactured all of the fittings. The little heraldic plaques on the belt are etched and enameled.


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A very dear friend of ours is a duchess in our organization. Being a duchess requires a coronet. Here is the one I made for her. Again all pieces are hand manufactured. The picture is a little blurry because it was taken with our old camera that had been dropped once too often. If it were clearer, you would be able to make out that the four small joiner plates are actually etched into the metal and then the etching is filled with enamel work.

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The next piece is a piece of armour called a spaulder. A spaulder fits over the tip of the shoulder and protects it from blows. Pictured is one of a set of two that I made as gift for our group's king.

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We actually do wear and fight in our armour. Here is a picture of me in in one of my sets of armour. If you notice that the ground is white, that's called snow. There was a lot of it that day and the temperature was about -20o!

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Moving right along. I mentioned in my inaugural post that I could drive a sewing machine. This next piece proves it. It's an Elizabethan doublet. A doublet is a vest, like the vest from a three-piece suit. This particular one is made of glove leather with black satin detailing. What you don't see are the sleeves. The sleeves for this doublet can be removed. They're laced onto the shoulder of the doublet body. The ones I made for this particular doublet are slashed and puffed at the shoulder to reveal some of the black satin.

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Obviously, if you're going to sword fight, you need a shield. Here is mine, freshly painted, but the leather edging has not yet been applied.

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Here I am once again in another set of armour I made, looking mean at a public demostration for our group.

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Here is a collection of various bits of armour I've made:

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And if anyone is wondering what I really look like, here is a picture of me, armoured & close up. (by the way, the squinting is because we were training when this picture was taken and I had sweat running into my eye!)

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This is certainly not everything I've made, just those things that I could find pictures of on the quick. Well, drop a comment and let me know what you think of my handiwork!

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Blogger gecko said...

I once saw this in the desert when I lived in 29 Palms. It was pretty cool, but seemed to be alot of work, which I already had plenty of! I enjoyed the battles.

10:29 PM  
Blogger G-Man said...

it is indeed a lot of work, but it is fun work. I'm the odd-ball type that can't just sit still, I have to be working on something. Besides, it's a great activity for the family.

10:32 PM  
Blogger Angela said...

G-man,

You and my husband would get along so well. It seems that you are interested in the same things. He doesn't make the stuff like you do but we have some interesting pieces in our home. When I find some time I will snap some digitals and share them with you. :)

7:41 AM  
Blogger Kat said...

G-Man...this is awesome. I had no idea you did the Medieval re-enactment thing. Seriously, which organization do you belong to?

Can't believe I came over and found out you do the medieval thing. I am right now reading Ivanhoe (third time). Love this stuff.

digging the armor and doublet as well.

3:49 AM  
Blogger G-Man said...

I've done just about all of them... But since we moved to Montana, there isn't much to choose from, so we've been limited pretty much to just doing the SCA.

2:05 PM  
Blogger X said...

Hey, our politics don't meet up, and it happens. But I love the outfits. My friends and I used to go to the renaissance faires and I love history. It's cool to see you have other interests.

keep blogging

4:24 PM  

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