Armour photos

[raito]

www.j-armour.com/armour_photo/

I finally got the time to take some pictures.

And yes, there's a lot of well-worn stuff there. I do fight quite a bit, and while it holds up very well protectively, it doesn't always hold up aesthetically. For example, the knee armour chews up the hakama, the kabuto messes with the pain job on the (stainless, doesn't hold paint fer squat) men. The kote hold up better, but I've had that covering for a couple years now, and it's getting beat up.

[BigMek]

wow that looks great! and I kinda like the worn look

[Hiroyuki]

that looks great. lotta battles in that, makes it look cool.

[Otagiri Tatsuzou]

Your gear does look battle-hardened!

I like the kabuto and the rolled edge on the visor. I bet that adds some strength to it. I particularly admire the lines of your menpo.

How do you handle the opening in the back? Does someone else 'tie' you in? Does it overlap? Do you have an extra-piece to cover the spine?

I hope I don't offend, but you've got to find yourself a squire with some extra time on his hands.

[BigMek]

would it be possible to see some pics of you in it all? would really like to see that!

[raito]

First, for Otagiri-dono:

The kabuto was really a hurry-up job 15 or so years ago. I had been wearing a kabuto and so-men combination made by Master Giles (long story there that I really should post somewhere). The so-men was mild steel, and in the course of 10 or so years of use, it had rusted out from the inside -- twice. So I contracted the other armourer in his shop (who is no longer in the armour business) to make a specific so-men and kabuto to replace both (the kabuto was 16 ga., and badly in need of replacement). The first so-men he made of 18 ga, which was not what we agreed, so I had him make it over again. He never did finish the kabuto, but the so-men is very nice. As I'd already paid him half, we agreed to just let the commission lapse. But I still needed a kabuto, and Giles had this weird hachi just sitting on the shelf. Zunari style, with a more formal peak, and exposed rivets. Well, I traded him some pas armour I wasn't going to wear anymore (stainless breast and back, and arms) for it. He mad a good profit on them. Then I put the shikoro on and I was ready to go.

As for wearing it, I wear it with the bowl tipped back on my head, such that even with a laced shikoro pushed as far up as possible, and my head bent forward, there's no way to get a weapon in. On the side, the so-men goes far enough back that at the maximum, you mioght be able to weasel in a thrust to the back part of the side of my neck.

My nodowa is a standard side-opening european type, covered in leather, printed, but so water-damaged at this point that it's hard to see the pattern.

No one has to lace me in. I 3 lace points in the kabuto, somewhat lower than in period examples. The lace runs from the back point to one of the front points, across the brow to the other front point, then back through the back-to front point loop it made (same on the other side) (I feel more photos or diagrams coming on). When the kabuto os worn, that loop follows the jawline, and pulls the back of the kabuto down and in. The so-men lace goes through 6 holes, 3 on each side. The lace goes through the hole at the top, going out the back, and there's a knot with the other side's lace some inches back. I've never been able to get the thing to hold still without the knot there. It keeps it on my head while I put the kabuto on. Then it criss-crosses through the rest of the holes. When I put it on, the laces come around front and tie under the chin.

And I do have a single squire, the redubtable Kagemori. And in fine tradition, he is 'the loyal retainer', as opposed to 'the good retainer', 'the stupid retainer', and 'the insolent retainer'. He's busy enough with his own kit.

And to Ronin:

First, git yerself a master! ;D

Here's some links to photos from NS's second Crown (I hope they work, it's a registration site, but I don't think the internals are protected).
Baroness AEsa and me
www.melm.org/NSGallery/album19/AesaRaito
I just beat Lyulf, using the FSO (fan-shaped object)
www.melm.org/NSGallery/album18/LyulfRaito2
Me fighting Tarrach, who won the tourney (but not this bout)
www.melm.org/NSGallery/album18/RaitoTarrach2
Good view of the kabuto/so-men combo
www.melm.org/NSGallery/album18/RaitoVlad2

[BigMek]

wow looks great!

baah, its a little hard when Im the only japanese-freak in danish LARP who wanna do something about it

[Otagiri Tatsuzou]

Otagiri said:

How do you handle the opening in the back? Does someone else 'tie' you in? Does it overlap? Do you have an extra-piece to cover the spine?

My aplogies, Sir Raito, I did not make myself clear. These questions were in regard to your dou.
j-armour.com/armour_photo/DouBack.jpg

You bring up an interesting topic. I also use 3-loops for the helmet cord. The middle of my cord is in the backmost loop and then each end passes through a loop near the temple. I cross the cords behind by neck and tie them off under the chin of my menpo. This pulls the men tight against my own face and I use padding in the chin and forehead to adjust the distance from flesh to steel. (with additional padding in the rest of the men in case of failure.

[raito]

Ah, I understand better now.

While I can wriggle into the dou with the toggle at the upper back, er, toggled, I usually find someone with a free hand to do it.

As far as men stuff, min is equally padded across chin, jaw, cheek, and forehead. I've never been hit hard enough to worry about face damage. It's my opinion that my neck would break first. Really, the men sits on my whole face, except for the nose and eyes, and the support comes from all the bony bits against the padding.

I find your helmet cord tying to be odd (but then, I've been doing it my way for more than a couple decades). I don't find it necessary at all to wind the helmet cord around my neck. The men is held securely to my face by the loops in the cords, which cinch up pretty tightly.