sunandsword:

New gear, happy people. People keep calling our matching gear “adorable”. Hah.

Not the most flattering photos from tonight, but it shows off our new armour well so that’s what matters. We’re both 110% exhausted – it was a night of hard fights, and we’re still adjusting to wearing so much armor! I’ve been out of the game for a few months, and Kieran is used to wearing minimal stuff, usually little more than a gambeson.

After Pennsic I decided to start designing a set of armor. I wanted to make something with unique etching, and is both beautiful and functional. What I’m wearing here is kind of an alpha version of what we might end up selling on ArmStreet.com, especially the breastplate and gambeson. Field testing is going well so far, I’m finding the breastplate is a bit restrictive around the arms compared to other breastplates I’m wearing, so we’ll see if we can work on that.

You’ll also notice I have a sword *gasp* in this photo. I didn’t put my shield in any of the photos because it’s still unfinished and needs more paint, but I’ve temporarily retired the halberd to try and gain back my shield skill. It’s pretty scary being out there in the wall, feeling so noobish. I got back into the swing of things, though. I put away my trust Calimacil Long Novice sword to try out their Rob Sharp, which is bastard length. It’s a super attractive sword with decent balance and a more realistic blade. I’m not a fan of bastard length for sword and buckler, but in the shield wall with my heater I really enjoyed the additional length. More tests to come I suppose.

You’ll also notice my other new friend, Calimacil’s Percefer. It’s a tiny, realistic cavalry hammer which fits our 14th century time period! I love it already, it’s my new favourite weapon. It’s not the most useful of offhands, but it looks excellent and is generally a beautiful piece. I’d love a full length warhammer in the same style, but hey, I’m happy.

If you’re confused about my change in fashion, we’re running with a new group: Chesterwick, the same warband we ran with at Quest. We’re looking at the possibility of recruiting soon, so if you attend Swordcraft and dig our 14th century style, stay tuned ?

Great examples of armor for men and women side by side with additional cuteness, what more could anyone ask for?

As we’ve mentioned many times before, and will mention many times more, if you’re curious how armor actually works and and why then reenactors and larpers are perhaps the best people to talk to.

– wincenworks