kody tench Report post Posted December 23, 2011 like the topic says Im trying to make/design/get tips on designing a gauntlet for use in my HEMA group, atm we use lacross gloves but they are too bulky for realistic sparring some times. I have been to armor archives and found a few gauntlets but most of them seem to be either steel or made to be costume gear and Im looking for something that can take a hit from a steel longsword I have plenty of sued and leather to use. I have tried making a few designs in the past but so far I havent come up with a good model that isnt super difficult/expensive to make. please all help is appreciated and if you happen to have any patterns I could use it would be a godsend. Thanks in advance. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
amuckart Report post Posted December 23, 2011 Hands are just difficult to armour; "something that will take a hit from a longsword" and "not expensive/difficult to make" are pretty much mutually exclusive as far as I've seen. Lacrosse gloves are about as good as it gets. What you want are steel finger gauntlets with some decent low-profile modern padding inside the gloves, but finger gauntlets are expensive for good reason - ones that fit well take a lot of practice to make. Leather isn't really the right material for this job, it's strength/thickness ratio means it's very hard to get something that will provide reasonable protection without being even bulkier than lacrosse gloves. Not much help, I know, but there are reasons everything you've seen is either steel or costume accessory. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kody tench Report post Posted December 25, 2011 The best ones are made of leather by a company called ensifer but they are $500+ a pair which is why I was asking for any patterns I know it works just don't have a template. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrdabeetle Report post Posted December 26, 2011 The best ones are made of leather by a company called ensifer but they are $500+ a pair which is why I was asking for any patterns I know it works just don't have a template. Google "mitten gauntlet". Steel patterns often work for leather with little alteration. The Armor archive has a few gauntlet patterns. If the pattern has an area that needs to be "dished", that is where you need to stretch the leather. For the hands, you would have better results with using small articulated sections. If padding is needed, you can use a yoga mat cut to fit and smoothed with a dremel. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
amuckart Report post Posted December 26, 2011 The best ones are made of leather by a company called ensifer but they are $500+ a pair which is why I was asking for any patterns I know it works just don't have a template. From what I've read the ensifer ones are made of hard rubber. They're just articulated with leather. I've got enough experience with WMA and leather to say I've never seen any leather, even hard rolled sole bend, that I would use for hand armour for bouting with steel swords that wouldn't end up as bulky as a lacrosse glove or worse. I'd use it for shinai, sure; rattan, maybe; steel no way, no how. The only things I've seen that will give you adequate protection and enough hand mobility to not stuff up the subtleties of technique are steel or equivalent metal, or kydex and the kydex is a bit dodgy IMO. By all means find a Milanese mitten gauntlet pattern and make it out of leather, but test it really really well before you trust it to protect you from someone else hitting you in the fingers. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kody tench Report post Posted December 26, 2011 Thanks for all the tips Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
