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Hose: Even easier. Head
for your local charity shop and buy a pair of stretchy Ladies leggings
or Jogging trousers, although make sure that they aren't emblazoned
with manufacturers logos. Nowhere near authentic, but ok for starters. |
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Boots: A little more
difficult. For starters, you could just tie some leather scraps round
the top of an ordinary pair of work boots. Later you could try making
them by getting an old leather or suede jacket, removing the arms and
nailing or screwing them at the shoulder round the sole of an old pair
of boots. A little cutting may be required to allow the top of the
boots to fit properly and to make a tongue. Add some eyelets for the
laces and the leather laces themselves, and you are sorted! To get
started, though, a pair of horse riding boots or old army jack-boots
(as worn by the German or Italian armies) are fine, and you can wear
these under armour in the future with no problem. |
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Belt: Easy
enough, a regular belt that holds up your jeans should be enough,
ideally with a normal "pin" style buckle. |
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Pouch: Pouches are made
in a number of ways, the easiest is is to take a piece of soft
leather, fold in half twice, and cut a quarter circle where the edges
meet. Punch some holes with a leather punch, and add some leather
bindings. and you're done |
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Gloves: The Re-Enactors
best friend, next to his Sword of course. No show organisers will
allow you onto the battlefield without them. Gloves can be purchased
from Garden centres, or slightly stronger ones from heavy industry
suppliers. Welding gloves are preferred by most, and only cost a few
pounds. |
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Vambraces: Not always required, but if the leather is tough
enough, these can help protect your forearms in place of Armour. |
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Next:
Weapons & Armour
Swords & Battle Daggers:
OK, let's get one thing straight. It may be a good idea not to
go out and buy a sword before you've even joined a group. For
starters, a sword is classed as an offensive weapon, and waving one
out in public (unless you are at a show site) is going to get you a
lot of grief from the local constabulary. Don't panic if you
show up at a practise with nothing to fight with, most if not all good
groups keep a number of spare swords and the like. You can
discuss with your group leader, which sword will be best for you when
he, or she, believes you are ready. Most battle ready swords can
be purchased from dealers starting at about £60. |
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Battle
Helm: Again, essential if you want to fight in battle - just
about all shows have the same rule - "no head and hand protection- no
fight....." The best type of helm to start with, is a "Kettle" Helm.
This was worn by the infantry which is where you most likely start
from. As you can see, kettles are very close to WWII firewatch
helmets, the type worn by your Granddad if he was a volunteer. You can
pick these up from Junk shops or old military apparel shops, or even
your Gran's attic. If you don't want to damage a bit of family
history, then try Re-Enactor's markets, where a lot of the dealers
supply Helmet blanks that they have made themselves. The only problem
is that you may pay a bit more for them. |
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Lastly:
Tools
Leather Punch: Rotary head
with various sizes of hole makers. useful when making boots or pouches |
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Eyelet tool &
eyelets: Also comes in a variety of sizes, placed and hammered
into holes made in leather or cloth where laces are. Stops the laces
from ripping into your clothing |
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Hammer & File:
Doesn't need to be as big as the one in the picture, used to bang the
burrs out of swords and smooth the rough edges. Not really needed
until you own your own sword. |
If you would like to see how you put this kit into action,
then click to Dress A Knight |
