Monday, December 14, 2015

Armor Update - Plate Arm and Leg Harness

In a momentary lapse of judgement a couple of months ago - the last week of October to be precise - I stumbled upon a site offering free shipping on all of their product. So, rationalizing the cost of what I "needed" as costing less than six months worth of speeding tickets I should've gotten, I pressed the order button. Lo and behold, the stuff arrived today - it only took them about 30 days to make the pieces using measurements provided. It was hammered out by craftsmen in the Ukraine and arrived to the US late last month. It hung around US Customs for about two weeks, likely due to the holidays and possible bias towards our Crimean brothers. Here's the box after opening it.
The pieces were packed in those "sand bags"-  leg and arm harnesses for each side in each bag. Very cleverly packed within each other and bubble wrapped. Here are the pieces laid out.
Even though I got home from work late in the evening, I knew I just "had" to try the pieces on to ensure the fit. I was able to put everything on by myself - not like my wife was in any mood to help me anyway. As I was straining to buckle each strap, I was thinking "this has to one of the stupidest things I've done." Well, at least recently.
Once everything was on, it was clearly evident the next thing needed will be an arming jacket to tie up the harnesses from wanting to drop down. Wearing more padding will also help fixing the armor in place. Sabatons would also be nice - until then house slippers will have to work.
This armor is made for full contact combat and definitely feels like it would handle more hits than the wearer inside of it.

24 comments:

  1. There's no escaping it now, this is a fully fledged obsession!

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    1. Lol! Thanks, Michael - these last pieces have made me re-think this whole "obsession." As I mentioned, when strapping on the pieces, I was really started to think - wow, I'm in deep now. Merry Christmas! Dean

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    1. Indeed it is. Thanks, Fran! In any case, it can be a display piece - wearing is just the icing on the cake. Merry Christmas! Dean

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  3. Cool additions to the suit Dean!

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    1. Thanks, Rodger. These should be pretty much it - except for maybe sabatons, and also an arming jacket just to hold the pieces in place better. Merry Christmas! Dean

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  4. Nice additions...hope there is no heat wave in your country!

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    1. Thank you much, Phil. It is cooler right now, but I don't think it's so much the heat with these leg and arm pieces. It's more the weight and proper distribution of the weight. Now the padded gambeson - with synthetic fiber instead of cotton, does get pretty uncomfortable after awhile. Merry Christmas! Dean

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  5. Dean you are becoming the Very Model of a Modern Metal-General!

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    1. Lol! Thanks, Jonathan! I have a very understanding, if not perplexed, wife. Every time I put the gear on she cracks up laughing - then I beg her to snap of few pictures :) Merry Christmas! Dean

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  6. Awesome!
    Right - ok - I will put together an outfit myself as a Cross bowman to support you! :o)

    cheers,

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    1. Sounds great, Phil! Thanks! It's always great to have fire support. Merry Christmas!

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  7. You look awesome!!Great armour! What a historical details!

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    1. Thanks, Mike! Merry Christmas to you and yours! Dean

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  8. Excellent! If you're gonna have an obsession why not make it about armor!!

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  9. Now you get to spend the rest of your life scrubbing rust of them :-)

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    1. Lol!Well I didn't get stainless steel and this is the Pacific NW. Merry Christmas!

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  10. How's the quality compared to the Indian stuff Dean. Personally I'd always go Ukrainian.
    Regards HGA.

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  11. The Ukrainian stuff is definitely better - combat ready and still relatively inexpensive - a fraction of what armor would cost made in the UK or US from what I understand. That said, the Indian stuff is what got me started - and the Churburg #13 harness (combat worthy or not) is a really nice piece. Not like I plan to do combat, but it's nice to have something that really could stand up to it. Merry Christmas!

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  12. Be careful if you start reenacting!

    Looks good though.

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    1. Thanks, Ken! Reenacting & combat aren't in the cards, but it is quite stout - 16g mild steel. If I knew how thick & heavy it would be, I would've looked for something lighter like 18g - that said, it was a bargain. Merry Christmas! Dean

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  13. Still going heavy metal, my friend?? :D Have fun!!! - and Merry Christmas!!

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    1. Thanks for the visit and kind words, RM! Yes, this last addition has really put things in perspective - i.e. wow, this is serious. Merry Christmas!

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