Gotta keep it interesting! When you say to curl the plates from the inside, do you mean with a cross peen hammer? If that's the case, I've done that with a few pieces before like some neck plates for a bevor, and you're right! It is pretty fast and easy.
My favorite Wisby type! The video is wonderful. Also, do you think it will be a good idea to make a coat of plates without a cloth layer? Maybe on leather straps underneath? It will look odd for sure, but plausible. There's a Churburgh breastplate dated the same period and without cloth layer over it. What do you think?
Heldar1989 Hmmm sounds possible but coat of plates are covered in cloth to catch the striking blades, one without it could make blades glance off too easily. But it could look like lamellar armour, wich is historically accurate ... you could try it !
Thanks! I think there are some manuscript images of what could be coats of plates without an external covering, so I suppose that as long as the structure is the same then it'll function the same way. I'd definitely be interested in seeing someone try it sometime.
You should try it if you have some steel left. It will be quite the project! Just imagine this cold steel look, true plate armour which costs less that brigandine
Hey JD, 1. There were about 25(?) unique coats of plates found at the Wisby excavations, and they had differing levels of plate coverage. Most covered the entire front of the torso and had plates that wrapped around the abdomen, not unlike what Alex and I reproduced here. Others had more complete coverage with plates that covered the upper back and shoulders as well, some had tons of small plates and others had few large plates. There was at least one where the plates only covered the left side of the torso. Though the majority of them seem to be of that first way I mentioned, with several plate layouts of course. Though I'm not sure where you're looking if you don't see them very often, I know I see the things *everywhere* 2. The particular sheet of steel we took out from under that loft was taken from a commercial kitchen as it was being stripped down, I was lucky enough for someone to save it for me. Though usually I get my steel from a local machine shop. I hope that answers your questions!
The coat of plates looks so much easier to make than a thick breastplate :( I realized that the metal we use should be as thin as possible : a very thick armour would stop any blade or arrow but would be too heavy to be worn effectively. So i think that my next armor will be made of 1mm or 1.5mm steel : it will be easy to hammer out and it will be very light to wear. In fact i realized that the point of armor isn't to be indestructible, it's to protect the wearer while allowing them to move freely and easily. What are the gauges you are using ? Do your armors bend or scratch often during fights ?
Coats of plates are definitely more forgiving since there isn't as much shaping of the plates and no surface finish to worry about. And you're very right about the purpose of armor, it'll never be 100% protective as long as the wearer still needs to be battle effective. For this coat of plates we used 1.5mm for the front and 1.2 for the sides and back. Though for other parts I'll use different thicknesses. I make helmets, for example, thicker, usually between 1.7 and 2mm. But for greaves I can get away with thinner stuff like 1.2. Of course that's all in mild steel, armor can go thinner if it's been heat treated, but I haven't gotten there just yet.
Living Manuscript that's interesting, i also watched some of skallagrim's videos. He tested some helmets a while ago, all made of mild steel, and when the 2mm one only bent without getting pierced at all, the 1mm norman helm got mashed up quite badly, but interestingly engouth, the zgb head wasn't broken and the arming cap stood up without being scratched. So this really proves that armors dont need to be thick to be effective, even unhardened. Bending is easily reparable with a trusty hammer. The thickest plates should be the helmet and the breastplate as a heavy piece will absorb the shock more easily than a very light one, but the rest should be as light as possible. I mean, adding 5 kilos to your legs will slow you down for no benefits. A 1.2mm leg harness will be very comfortable and it's not really a matter if it bends, the padding underneath will protect the leg.
Very true. Similarly to a heavier piece absorbing more force, I was talking to someone about buhurt helmets a little while ago, and he recommended using mild steel instead of a hardened steel for helmets because it will dent and therefore take even more of the force out of the blow, which I found interesting.
Typically I use 16 gauge for the majority of the plates on something like this. though more recently, I've been using 18 gauge plates for the sides and back to save weight since those parts are usually hard to get to.
Armour from the Battle of Wisby by Bengt Thordeman, he published two books in the '30s about the excavations, including patterns for each and every coat of plates recovered :)
Check out Bengt Thordeman's "Armour from the Battle of Wisby". There are two volumes, one of them has the plate layouts from the excavation of the coats of plates :)
So if i use leather as a fabric backing for the plates, then sewing, seamless allowance isnt required? You could just rivit the plates onto the leather backing? Also i really appreciated the response
@@Lamellae-d1v it would be possible to use leather and not sew anything at all if you use one big piece, though one difference from fabric is that you don't need to sew the edges; on fabric it'll fray and come unwoven, but with leather the edge is solid and doesn't need and finishing :)
Yea.. authenric leather is way above my pay grade. But if i get some fabric as sturdy as leather, then sewing or lacing isnt required? Like i can just attach the lamellar plates onto the fabric using rivets and nothing else right?
@@Lamellae-d1v That's definitely possible to do with just the rivets :) We did this with two layers of canvas to make it sturdy enough, and sewed the edges shut because we liked the way it looked and figured would make the whole thing last longer.
We used the same pattern as one of the coat of plates found at Wisby, so there must be something to the design considering there were several that shared a similar shape, size, and number of plates.
It's happened to me too haha. I kept using it though and now there's a giant missing patch on my right side. Usually my first indication is the smell since I wear so many layers in the winter.
it is just me or are we watching a great youtuber growing here
1:20 ...that's genius, am so doing that when I work on my next vambrace
1:03 - That's called a "spark job!"
Looks like you guys had fun
Definitely! We usually do :D
Amazing stuff dude
Nice work men!
that is a... interesting way to do it! you should get an anvil some day and curl the plates from the inside, it's actually really fast
Gotta keep it interesting! When you say to curl the plates from the inside, do you mean with a cross peen hammer? If that's the case, I've done that with a few pieces before like some neck plates for a bevor, and you're right! It is pretty fast and easy.
now that's some improvement right there!
nice vid as always
What kind of fabric is that? Also it's 👌
My favorite Wisby type! The video is wonderful. Also, do you think it will be a good idea to make a coat of plates without a cloth layer? Maybe on leather straps underneath? It will look odd for sure, but plausible. There's a Churburgh breastplate dated the same period and without cloth layer over it.
What do you think?
Heldar1989
Hmmm sounds possible but coat of plates are covered in cloth to catch the striking blades, one without it could make blades glance off too easily.
But it could look like lamellar armour, wich is historically accurate ... you could try it !
Thanks! I think there are some manuscript images of what could be coats of plates without an external covering, so I suppose that as long as the structure is the same then it'll function the same way. I'd definitely be interested in seeing someone try it sometime.
You should try it if you have some steel left. It will be quite the project! Just imagine this cold steel look, true plate armour which costs less that brigandine
I'll look into it some more, see if I can find some more primary sources about it or something. Could be very educational!
@@Heldar1989 a coat of plates is plate armour too, it is litterly in the name "coat of *PLATES"*
👍 for MCMAP belt.
2 things John. 1. how effective is the wisby at Protection and why is not seen very often. 2. did you nick that giant ass steel plate!?
Hey JD,
1. There were about 25(?) unique coats of plates found at the Wisby excavations, and they had differing levels of plate coverage. Most covered the entire front of the torso and had plates that wrapped around the abdomen, not unlike what Alex and I reproduced here. Others had more complete coverage with plates that covered the upper back and shoulders as well, some had tons of small plates and others had few large plates. There was at least one where the plates only covered the left side of the torso. Though the majority of them seem to be of that first way I mentioned, with several plate layouts of course. Though I'm not sure where you're looking if you don't see them very often, I know I see the things *everywhere*
2. The particular sheet of steel we took out from under that loft was taken from a commercial kitchen as it was being stripped down, I was lucky enough for someone to save it for me. Though usually I get my steel from a local machine shop.
I hope that answers your questions!
it does as always man thanks
Nice build but it looks a bit long since in the middle there is 1 solid plate and note a few ones i was wondering if he can bend properly
In hindsight I think you might be right, though it doesn't seem to bother him too much, so perhaps it's not too bad.
@@LivingManuscript still it was a great build your videos are amaizing keep it up
The coat of plates looks so much easier to make than a thick breastplate :(
I realized that the metal we use should be as thin as possible : a very thick armour would stop any blade or arrow but would be too heavy to be worn effectively. So i think that my next armor will be made of 1mm or 1.5mm steel : it will be easy to hammer out and it will be very light to wear.
In fact i realized that the point of armor isn't to be indestructible, it's to protect the wearer while allowing them to move freely and easily.
What are the gauges you are using ? Do your armors bend or scratch often during fights ?
Coats of plates are definitely more forgiving since there isn't as much shaping of the plates and no surface finish to worry about. And you're very right about the purpose of armor, it'll never be 100% protective as long as the wearer still needs to be battle effective.
For this coat of plates we used 1.5mm for the front and 1.2 for the sides and back. Though for other parts I'll use different thicknesses. I make helmets, for example, thicker, usually between 1.7 and 2mm. But for greaves I can get away with thinner stuff like 1.2. Of course that's all in mild steel, armor can go thinner if it's been heat treated, but I haven't gotten there just yet.
Living Manuscript
that's interesting, i also watched some of skallagrim's videos. He tested some helmets a while ago, all made of mild steel, and when the 2mm one only bent without getting pierced at all, the 1mm norman helm got mashed up quite badly, but interestingly engouth, the zgb head wasn't broken and the arming cap stood up without being scratched. So this really proves that armors dont need to be thick to be effective, even unhardened. Bending is easily reparable with a trusty hammer.
The thickest plates should be the helmet and the breastplate as a heavy piece will absorb the shock more easily than a very light one, but the rest should be as light as possible. I mean, adding 5 kilos to your legs will slow you down for no benefits. A 1.2mm leg harness will be very comfortable and it's not really a matter if it bends, the padding underneath will protect the leg.
@@jeanladoire4141 keep in mind that deforming of parts can ruin the articulation and make moving impossible altogether
Abel Babel
Yeah indeed, but in the case of a floating leg harness, even if one of the pieces are deformed, the straps allow the leg to move freely
Very true. Similarly to a heavier piece absorbing more force, I was talking to someone about buhurt helmets a little while ago, and he recommended using mild steel instead of a hardened steel for helmets because it will dent and therefore take even more of the force out of the blow, which I found interesting.
John If i Post a Video on my channel about my medieva Equipment would you see it?
What gage of steel do you use for you coat of plates
Typically I use 16 gauge for the majority of the plates on something like this. though more recently, I've been using 18 gauge plates for the sides and back to save weight since those parts are usually hard to get to.
Where can I find that template?
Armour from the Battle of Wisby by Bengt Thordeman, he published two books in the '30s about the excavations, including patterns for each and every coat of plates recovered :)
Where’d you get the pattern?
Check out Bengt Thordeman's "Armour from the Battle of Wisby". There are two volumes, one of them has the plate layouts from the excavation of the coats of plates :)
1:53 did he just punch a hole with a drill press? Didn't know that was possible
The Alex side of the drill press is a pathway to many abilities some consider unnatural.
@@LivingManuscript what was in the chuck? Just a cut off nail?
Ah it was just a normal drill bit. Alex was just pressing really hard so once it drilled through it looked like a punch.
@@LivingManuscript oh ok, that makes sense. Well, I guess as long as you've got enough WD-40 you can do just about anything with your drill press
cool
I still dont understand why sewing the fabric is required. Could you bog that down for me lol
@@Lamellae-d1v leather is another option :)
So if i use leather as a fabric backing for the plates, then sewing, seamless allowance isnt required? You could just rivit the plates onto the leather backing? Also i really appreciated the response
@@Lamellae-d1v it would be possible to use leather and not sew anything at all if you use one big piece, though one difference from fabric is that you don't need to sew the edges; on fabric it'll fray and come unwoven, but with leather the edge is solid and doesn't need and finishing :)
Yea.. authenric leather is way above my pay grade. But if i get some fabric as sturdy as leather, then sewing or lacing isnt required? Like i can just attach the lamellar plates onto the fabric using rivets and nothing else right?
@@Lamellae-d1v That's definitely possible to do with just the rivets :) We did this with two layers of canvas to make it sturdy enough, and sewed the edges shut because we liked the way it looked and figured would make the whole thing last longer.
Who's gonna tell em that it's better if they made it with more (tinnier) plates?
We used the same pattern as one of the coat of plates found at Wisby, so there must be something to the design considering there were several that shared a similar shape, size, and number of plates.
first hehehe nice vid
i burned a hole in my hoodie while cutting with angle grinder once
Same. that's why I got a welding apron, really cheap and stops any sparks without problems
It's happened to me too haha. I kept using it though and now there's a giant missing patch on my right side. Usually my first indication is the smell since I wear so many layers in the winter.
@@LivingManuscript you should probably get a welding apron. The cheapest one will do
I've been using a welding jacket for a while, actually. I like the arm coverage.
@@LivingManuscript I didn't know there were welding jackets! Thanks man!