In addition to spacesuits, one of my areas of specialty, is historic armor.
Real medieval & renaissance armor was very mobile and lightweight, not the cumbersome two hundred pound silliness many people think it was.
When I first got started in making armor, some 45 years ago, I though I knew a bit, about how armor was made. Turns out, I didn't have a clue.
Now, 40 years later, I have had the opportunity, to have armors made by some of the best smiths alive today. (I say "smiths" but, armourers were not "Blacksmiths". They were highly skill master armourers. Calling them a "Blacksmith", would be like calling a hydraulic engineer on a jet engine, a "plumber"!)
With any craft, the true skill is in the subtle, or invisible elements, such as in the case of armor, Tailoring, sculpture, geometry, and mechanics which takes in-depth studying of extant pieces, and the making of many pieces, to fully develop these skills.
My most recent collaboration, has been on the recreation of a late 16th century Greenwich (English) garniture. (A garniture, being an armour, with many interchangeable pieces)
My YouTube series on this armor, has gotten nearly 30 million views.
There are only 4-6 armourers, worldwide, with the skills and experience today, to make something of this quality, and I was lucky enough to have 2 of the best, building the plates for this piece, Robert MacPherson and Jeff Wasson. I did the decoration and final assembly.
But the real skill here, is the skill and technology in the shape & function of the base armor, otherwise my decoration would have been just "A candy apple paint job, on a Yugo"
So I want to share, this opportunity, to see some of the very best historic armour made in the last 500 years by 2 of the best skilled, alive today. (Trust me, there has been nothing like this, or even close in movies)
Because of the interest on YouTube, I have had numerous requests on how this, or that, particular piece was made, so that it functions so fluidly.
So I have started a new series on my Diligent_Dwarves channel, where I'll explain and demonstrate the various techniques used on late medieval & renaissance armor.
Many of these techniques can be used on any type of rigid costume, not just medieval armor.
While there are already a few video posted on this armor, the first in the "articulation series" is the "Armet" or helmet, the second, which is more in depth, is on the "Gorget", or collar. I will be covering most of the pieces, which have a wide variety of articulation methods.
Hope you enjoy, and come away with a new appreciation of how sophisticated medieval & renaissance armour really were. (Yes, everything you see in these videos, is exactly how real armour functioned.)
Real medieval & renaissance armor was very mobile and lightweight, not the cumbersome two hundred pound silliness many people think it was.
When I first got started in making armor, some 45 years ago, I though I knew a bit, about how armor was made. Turns out, I didn't have a clue.
Now, 40 years later, I have had the opportunity, to have armors made by some of the best smiths alive today. (I say "smiths" but, armourers were not "Blacksmiths". They were highly skill master armourers. Calling them a "Blacksmith", would be like calling a hydraulic engineer on a jet engine, a "plumber"!)
With any craft, the true skill is in the subtle, or invisible elements, such as in the case of armor, Tailoring, sculpture, geometry, and mechanics which takes in-depth studying of extant pieces, and the making of many pieces, to fully develop these skills.
My most recent collaboration, has been on the recreation of a late 16th century Greenwich (English) garniture. (A garniture, being an armour, with many interchangeable pieces)
My YouTube series on this armor, has gotten nearly 30 million views.
There are only 4-6 armourers, worldwide, with the skills and experience today, to make something of this quality, and I was lucky enough to have 2 of the best, building the plates for this piece, Robert MacPherson and Jeff Wasson. I did the decoration and final assembly.
But the real skill here, is the skill and technology in the shape & function of the base armor, otherwise my decoration would have been just "A candy apple paint job, on a Yugo"
So I want to share, this opportunity, to see some of the very best historic armour made in the last 500 years by 2 of the best skilled, alive today. (Trust me, there has been nothing like this, or even close in movies)
Because of the interest on YouTube, I have had numerous requests on how this, or that, particular piece was made, so that it functions so fluidly.
So I have started a new series on my Diligent_Dwarves channel, where I'll explain and demonstrate the various techniques used on late medieval & renaissance armor.
Many of these techniques can be used on any type of rigid costume, not just medieval armor.
While there are already a few video posted on this armor, the first in the "articulation series" is the "Armet" or helmet, the second, which is more in depth, is on the "Gorget", or collar. I will be covering most of the pieces, which have a wide variety of articulation methods.
Hope you enjoy, and come away with a new appreciation of how sophisticated medieval & renaissance armour really were. (Yes, everything you see in these videos, is exactly how real armour functioned.)
