Thursday, October 11, 2012

Well, it has been over a month since my last post, but Open Shop keeps happening every week.  Here are a few highlights:

 Wyllow has been sewing up the corset for her new Elizabethan outfit.
 Marita returned to open shop after a long abscence to get help with a weaving project.
 Daniel has an armour plan.  It is good to have a plan.  I find that a head-to-toe plan for a kit and how it will be made/acquired really helps folks stay on track and get out on the field in a nice kit they can wear with pride.  See my armour planning article with sample plans at  pages.suddenlink.net/egrim/papers/armour.doc

 Grain'e has new splinted vambraces, used for both cut-and-thrust and armoured fighting.
 Dietrich came by for a visit and showed his sketches for a new late 14th century kit inspired by armour from the collection at Churburg.  See http://www.mallet-argent.com/images/churburg_harness.jpg

 Wolf finished his body armour, meant to be worn under a Mongolian "del".  See http://www.thescorre.org/literature/Mongol_Garb.htm

 Ben is working on some armour of scales interwoven into mail.  He has also nearly completed a gorget of hardened leather with steel re-enforcement in the front.

 One method for doing steel repouse is to work the steel into a pitch backing.  If some of the pitch sticks to the work piece you can just burn it off with a torch.  This really is as much fun as it looks!


 Diedre's Vendel helm is nearly finished!  4 more rivets and then she can pad and strap it.

 For Grain'e we made an aluminum back-of-the-head protector to wear with a mask for cut-and-thrust fighting.
 Fun and cookies!

 Troy is making a coat-of-plates with plates of 18g. stainless.
 Here he is drilling holes in the plates with the drill press before attatching them to the cloth shell with rivets made from roofing nails.
 Wolf is dshing some knees for Grain'e as part of a complicated exchange that I believe involves lasagna.
Grain'e's knees are a perfect fit for her son Peter to wear as a skull cap.