Techniques of medieval armour construction; the 14th century.
By Brian R. Price.

http://www.amazon.com/Techniques-Me...../dp/1581600984

If you want to learn how to make transitional period plate armour, this book is for you.

Seriously.

Its that good.

I got a copy in paperback form a little while ago, and while I went into making armour know a little already, I came to know how much I still had to learn from this book.

Its a fantastic source for not just the history of European plate armour in the 14th century, but also what tools you need, how and where to look for them on the cheap, and how to set up a shop to use them.
He goes into metallurgy- both modern and medieval. The art of talking to museum curators about their collections, and copyrights that museums hold on their collections, and how to find sources for research.




On the armour archive site, its simply called TOMAR, and theres no more recommended book on how to begin learning the trade.

There are many, many step by step tutorials on everything from dishing elbow and knee cops, to raising helmets and making finger gauntlets.
With photos to show you the steps.

It was too expensive for me to acquire a copy when I first heard of it- but its now out in a paperback form for around half the hardback cost- and worth every penny.
(I'm not sure how long its been out in paperback...But I got one as soon as I knew it was available.)


Even if you are not looking to make armour, its a nice general reference book.

It was written in 1999, and I do notice a few minor points that Brian Price makes that seem to be contradicted by other experts here and there- but he himself says no armourer knows everything, and most or all of these points are in contention among scholars, near as I can tell.
A minor quibble... One I can live with in return for the knowledge offered throughout the book.

Be warned this thing is the size of a phone book....But most of it is photos rather than monolithic blocks of text.

Some of what he talks about assumes a basic working knowledge of metalworking to begin with- but usually its not that hard to pick up the meaning quickly.

I rate it 5 stars out of 5 as a priceless source of information if you wish to learn how to make historic styled plate armour in steel.



-Badger-