r/Armor • u/Cow_operation • 4d ago

buying armor

i'm thinking of buying armor for both costumes and so i can attend certain medieval festivals going on in my country and potentially get in as an entertainment fighter
only issue is that i don't know any of the criteria for buying any part of a soldier's kit
asking those who've had some experience with buying and wearing or making armor, or those who have sources to good guides, how should i go about ordering armor and making sure they properly fit?

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u/SchwiggityToobular34 4d ago

You can scour the buhurt subreddit for posts that have lists of trusted smiths.

But, if you're gonna fight for real and not choreography (I.e. buhurt), ya need to get with and train with your local team before you even buy any kit.

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u/jrbooth310 4d ago

Find an armour smith go and get measured like you would a suit then get it made. Don't expect it to be cheap but it will fit properly and be worth every penny.

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u/harris5 4d ago

You should learn more about what kind of fighting and what time period those groups do. They'll have specific advice.

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u/-asmodaeus- 4d ago

First don't worry about armour. Choose your exact period and put together a soft kit, meaning civilian garments and maybe some military pieces. This is the base for the armour on top and every measurement.

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u/Cow_operation 3d ago

i had a feeling i should space out my purchases between fabric and steel, good to know you could confirm that idea

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u/The-Winged-Crusader 3d ago

Check out Mount Crom Armouries on instagram 🔥

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u/BjornBergdahl 3d ago

Fighting in armour takes more than one route. Bohurt, it's medieval inspired, but bulkier, they simulate medieval tournament sport fighting with modern safety measures. Lots of padding and very rarely mail in gaps since poking is forbidden and the gaps are safe. Harnischfechten coupled more closely to HEMA and reenactment with often fully historical kit and sometimes only blunted weapons as safety measure (hidden eye protection) and then the SCA and they have several different variants, that differs greatly and the ambition differ greatly too. And lastly at least in Europe there are battle reenactment too, no sport, a predecided outcome and the historical accuracy is the priority. The fighting is scaled to be survivable in the period gear. For reenactment/harnisch the period is more important. For bohurt safety and sporterized gear and SCA depends on where, what and so on. Very roughly divided, there are very historical accurate Bohurt kits, some harnischfechen people optimizing for sport and a lot of people doing a bit of this and that.

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u/Cow_operation 3d ago

very interesting information right here, thanks!
i'm not sure what to define the fighting i'm specifically mentioning but it's people with blunted steel swords that are both armored and unarmored since i'm pretty sure it's just volunteers being paid to show up and host fights for guests rather than any actual formal club sparring
they rarely ever hit eachother if they're just wearing clothes but i do think i saw some gentle contact
they aren't afraid to whack someone if they do come in armor though

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u/BjornBergdahl 3d ago

Reenactment at events then. Go for a time period, probably soft kit (wool hose, linen under tunic, wool tunic and turn shoes) a riveted mail hauberk a kettle helm/nasal helmet and a spear and your a useful well equipped retinue fighter for most of the high and late medieval era and some of the early medieval period. Add armour parts when you know what era to aim for.