Dura scale armour. Thigh Guards.

[Valerius Valentinus]

Hi
I would like to show you a reconstruction of the Dura scale lamellar thigh guards.
I've almost finished them. I used the cuir boilli method to make the scale plates. I decided to use beeswax to harden them. I did use the water hardened method for some but the results were not good. I mixed carbon powder in with the beeswax. I found it best to boil the leather at a low temperature. I made lots of mistakes when the wax got to hot. The leather I used was veg tanned and on average 3 to 4 mm thick. I made the plates larger than the Dura scale plates. After boiling in wax they shrunk and thickened to the Dura size.
The lacing technique is different to normal lamellar and normal scale armour. It is a hybrid technique, very strong and flexible.
I'm making these for John Conyard for his cavalry impression. Knowing John of Comitatus the thigh or leg armour will end up being put to the test. Perhaps at a later date he will tell you about the good and bad point of them.
Anyway I enjoyed making them. It took ages to make make all the plates as I had to flatten and polish all of them. The lacing up took a few evenings for each one of the guards.

Paul Carrick

[Valerius Valentinus]

How do I add photos here?

Paul Carrick

[Iagoba]

Click in "post reply"
there is a section down where you write (marker in red) where is a label saying "add an attachment" You link the photo directly from your computer, and it´s stored at RAT´s.

I don´t write this in a PM cos I´m sure someone would find it useful...we don´t always read the how to sections... :wink:

[Iagoba]

Four spelling faults in a post... :oops:

And if you link them from a web ("Img" button, before and after the link) there is a maximum of three photos per post.

[Valerius Valentinus]

I hope this works. Thank you for the advice.

Paul Carrick

[Valerius Valentinus]

Another photo of the back showing the lacing.

Paul Carrick

[Robert Vermaat]

Welcome back Paul!

[Valerius Valentinus]

Thanks for the help Robert. I've been wanting to come back for some time.

I have a couple more photos.

Paul Carrick

http://www.quintagallorum.co.uk

It's my old website. It's not perfect but it was free!

[Matt Lukes]

VERY cool Paul- those are really excellent reconstructions. Man, assembly must have taken forever...

[Robert Vermaat]

Thanks for the help Robert. I've been wanting to come back for some time.

My pleasure Paul, glad I could help.

Wow, that armour looks STURDY! How much does it weigh?

[Valerius Valentinus]

Hi

It took ages to make the scale plates. I opted for the wax method so that the Armour would be waterproof for the British weather.

At first I did lots of experiments and made many mistakes until I got the temperature right and the timing. I thought the water hardening technique was good at first. The leather plates set like concrete. I hit them and they broke. They were brittle. The wax technique makes the leather hard. The plates can still crack if bent, the leather can be sliced more easily but...the waxed boiled leather plates are more absorbing to impact. The next time I make a pair of leg Armour I'm going to use rawhide and wax each scale. Some years ago I made a few scales out of rawhide and covered them with black beeswax. They were strong. I poured water over them to test for dampness. All the water ran off. All this showed that rawhide could survive being used in the rain when covered in beeswax.

Regarding the ones I've just made, I also painted the front smooth face of the leather with a black paste. Water + Carbon powder. This dried quickly. Once dried I placed the leather plate into a pan of melted black wax. I kept the heat low. After 6 seconds I pulled it out of the pan. The next stage I re-heated each scale over a candle. This helped to flatten and polish the scale. It took a few to 5 minutes for each one. The next process involved making the 6 holes and the slot in each scale plate.

The lacing was quick. Following the examples from James' book. It showed me that 2 lacing technique were available. I opted for the more complex. First using small lace, I laced the the scales from left to right to make a row. Once all the rows were constructed I used a thicker lace which went through the slots to connect all the rows together.

One thing I noticed about the original is the size of the finished Armour, very huge. Probably fitting from the waist down to the shins. It reminded me of the Parthians and early Persians. I decided to make my overall size a bit smaller based on John's leg measurements. Hence if you notice the number of rows and number of scales in each row differ from the original.

Weight - My scales could not measure them. Very light.


Paul Carrick

http://www.quintagallorum.co.uk

It's my old website. It's not perfect but it was free!

[Robert Vermaat]

Hi Paul,

What did you use for lacing - how does that hold up under wet conditions? I mean, if constantly sweated through, does it need replacing every season?

Weight - what's the weight of each thigh guard?

[Dan Howard]

Water hardening is more likely the way it was done historically. If wax was used at all it was as a light waterproofing coating aftewards. If water is used, don't boil it. As you found out it becomes too brittle. A more gentle heat is best. Another option is to simply bake it at low temperatures in an oven.

[Mithras]

Great work, Paul. I think we're lucky to have this find so well peserved and documented.

I'll look forward to seeing your work in person!

[FAVENTIANVS]

IMPRESSING.