Good day everyone, I'll cut to the chase here. I'm a metal fabricator with a background in blacksmithing. I am toying with the idea of purchasing blade blanks and then finishing the rest of the swords thereafter.

I'm curious what brands of blades you think would be worthwhile using and if my "products" would even be allowed to be used.

Sorry if any of my questions are silly I'm very new to the sca but have family that has been involved for a while

I do plan on getting some steel armor in the future when the funds come in, but is aluminum armor a good start for getting into combat practices? I've seen a lot of good stuff on Bokalo's Armoury in terms of prices, but wanted to know others thoughts before ordering a basic kit.

I'll definitely be doing a steel helmet though, not too crazy there.

I’m thinking about getting involved but the closest meeting place is about 50mins away and meets on a week night.

Realistically I’m looking for something that I can go to a couple of big events a year with my brother who lives a few hours away, and otherwise staying connected online.

Is that a realistic expectation or do groups want you to be more regularly involved?

EDIT:

Thanks for all the replies that makes me feel a lot better and something we can definitely do. The driving force behind this was that the other thing we were looking at was reenactment groups but most of those groups require a certain level of engagement per year.

We’re both new parents whose spouses have absolutely no interest in our nerdy hobbies so that’s why a few times a year is more realistic for us I think.

Hi all. Several years ago someone in the Kingdom made faux stained glass windows for our 12th Night outta flexible plastic sheeting and translucent pens. And I was wondering if anyone knew of a make or model of pen? Because all I can find are opaque ones. Thanks.

Curious if one could find out the percentage of fighters that become knights then the percentage of knights that have won crown

For those that are unaware, Ken Thomas (Hjarmarheim Armoury) is currently running a 30th Anniversary Sale. He only sells on FB to save on overhead. I just picked up a 14ga greathelm for $100+ postage.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/P5P651WfDrGGAgB6/

Good morning!

In episode 3 I review arms and legs ordered and make commentary on the vendors they were purchased from. How good can $72 legs and $90 arms be for beginners and returners? Tune in to find out!

In this episode I also unbox 3 new arrivals from my other addiction - TEMU-ROULETTE!

It is my goal, with Countdown2PENNSIC, to create a resource for both new members and return members alike. Both of those groups will be in need of everything from Armor to Garb. I am documenting my personal journey of re-outfitting with the goal of being ready by PENNSIC in 2025.

https://youtu.be/boiwp-e66YQ?si=aZo6bAERnV8CmRkR

New to the sport looking to build a cheap kit for a event coming in two weeks basically need everything lol so if anyone has any for sell or old stuff to give away It would be greatly appreciated

So, I bit the bullet and ordered a 4mx4m square canvas tent. Red and White (big surprise) is the color scheme, but the important part is that I get everything but the Poles... Err.. poles.

Gathering info on how space is allotted and I have found that the length of tent ropes is part of the space allotted. To work around the size of tent I ordered, and since I have to provide my own poles, I have decided to create and internal frame for the tent to, hopefully, make the guy lines for the tent unnecessary.

The materials -

Bottom Frame - 4x 2"x8"x13' (cut to length from longer length) Wall Poles - 8x 2"x2"x6.5' Center Pole - 1x 4"x4" of appropriate height. Wall "Top" - 2x4 measured and hung from pole to pole for stability. Ceiling - 2x4 measured and cut to go from corner to center mast. Floor - Joist mounts on sides of bottom frame to allow for 2x4 placement. Ply to drop on top.

The plan -

Once the tent arrives, build frame with tent in hand, make adjustments, complete the fitting, label each part, disassemble and pack for use.

Logic -

1. Internal frame will give added stability and form factor while eliminating tent ropes.

2. The corner to mast support will allow me to easily hang a "room divider" to section off a small area for my sleep space.

3. The raised bottom sides and extended wall poles will allow the corner to mast poles to be at a height that will not require me to duck while in the tent.

4. Floor setup will allow for 3-4" of elevation to help prevent flooding.

The question - other than the weight, cost, and hauling of wood (Grand Caravan with fold into floor seats), what other things should I be looking at?

Has anyone out there put together an interior tent frame before? If so, and it was more simple, how did you do it?

Thanks in advance for any comments/advice!

Banners - Is there a business/person that anyone can recommend for custome banner creation. I have two wants-

1 - Small banners that could be affixed to small masts I am creating for the top of tent poles.

2 - A 3'x5' banner with a coat of arms on it to hang on the outside of my tent on a horizontal pole.

Swords -

I have been hunting for either a Hussar Szabla or Hungarian Saber to complete my armaments for my garb, etc. I have found one or two, but I am not going to spend more on a "carry for costume" sword than I am on my entire custom heavy kit...

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I'm a 6'4" 24 y.o. fencer. If I'd fence on real smallswords, against whom would it be riskier for me to fence?:

1. A guy around my height - has equal physical parameters and can stab me into the head/shoulder

2. A girl around ~5'4" - is weaker, but quicker and a smaller target, can dodge or squat and open up my belly

Hey there!

I’m an avid rapier fencer, but also getting right into heavy armoured combat and some stuff in the local HEMA scene. (Sabre, primarily.)

I’m looking to start gathering kit for heavy and HEMA, and I had this vain hope that there might be some good overlap between them.

Obviously the helm and gorget requirement is going to be really different, but does anybody do both and use (mostly) the same protective gear for both, or are they just too incompatable and I’m going to need yet another hockey bag?

What did you end up buying? Any caveats or words of warning to share?

New article up as well as some updates about my book. Would love to hear your thoughts on what metaphors tend to work for you and which ones make your eyes glaze over.

-Maestro Raphael di Merisi
https://fool-of-swords.beehiiv.com/p/burn-your-metaphors

So I decided based on the feedback from my last post to make my own shields. My question is to those of you that have aluminum shields, what type of aluminum, how thick, and how do you make it keep a curve?

Thank you!