Coat of Plates

Hello Blog, Long time no see :)

So I had a fair break from the SCA. I'm starting to get back in. The first step was to complete my long held dream of having a Coat of Plates to replace my plastic chest armour that no longer worked for me and hadn't for a long time. The inspiration came from the coat of plates that Sir Rufus wore. I did a lot of researching for images and how toos but I didn't have much luck. Sir Rufus gave me some ideas. I sewed the coat itself with an inside layer of black drill, two inner layers of canvas and an outer layer of velveteen that I got on sale a few years ago.

The coat then hung complete for a while as I tried to work out how to do the plates. My good friend Will came to the rescue and helped me draft the shapes for the plates. We then sketched them out onto galvanised steel and set out cutting them out.

Below are some images of Will and I having some fun cutting out the plates. I am suitably dressed in a Rowany festival shirt.

The next fun step was drilling four holes on average through every single plate. Some of the larger plates had extra holes. After the holes were drilled I cleaned the sharp edges off all the plates on a bench grinder. Then used a steel file for the final touches. See the image below of all the plates with the holes drilled.

The next step was to punch a hole through the four layers of fabric and rivet the plates onto the coat. Brass washers were also used in a hope that the rivets wont pull through easily. See the image below for the layout of the plates inside the coat.

See the two images below which show the final product front and back:

I am very happy with how it turned out. I can't wait to use it :) I owe Will many thanks as if would not have been possible without him :)

Unfortunately when I pulled my armour bag out of the shed after a very wet summer it seems the damp has invaded my bag. Everything was mouldy. I spent most of Sunday firstly washing all my kit down with a water and vinegar mixture, then all the metal which instantly started to rust had to be cleaned with WD40 then coated in a fresh coat of lanolin. All the fabric gear such as knee pads, gloves, aketon, chauses etc were thrown into the washing machine with vinegar added. Hopefully that will keep the mould at bay for a while. It still has not stopped raining.