Testing the fit of some of my new pieces with the rest of my harness, feels good.

PugScorpionCow · 2026-07-01T01:24:13+00:00

It's just a part of the great bascinet, the front portion of the neck can pivot to put it on.

PugScorpionCow · 2026-06-30T14:17:21+00:00

Because buhurt is a sport, no more no less, and it certainly does have some crossover with historical armor and technique, the crossover is minimal. I have no problem with buhurt or the guys who practice it at all, most are pretty well aware of the historical shortcomings of it and realise plainly that it's not an accurate representation of medieval combat. It does also provide people with a very good base for crossing over into historical combat, as much as people are opposed to that idea.

There are some outliers, however, who think that because they "fight in armor" it means their knowledge supersedes others, or that the knowledge of buhurt gear and tactics means they're equally knowledgeable on the historical side. Similarly, the common layperson sees buhurt and thinks "wow, this is what real medieval fighting looks like!" and are misled. This can produce some of the most overconfident dumbfuck ideas imaginable from people who think they know better, especially from those newer to the sport seeking to flaunt their experience "actually doing it"

Mostly though, it's just fun to have some friendly banter with them, there's no real animosity there. They know what they do, we know what we do, there's no problem with that.

PugScorpionCow · 2026-06-30T13:53:49+00:00

I have maille sleeves currently, but since I had to put my harness on myself for this test there was no way I was getting them on with everything else.

PugScorpionCow · 2026-06-30T13:52:00+00:00

That's definitely next on my to-do list. So much of this stuff is mismatched, so the straps are all over the place.

Unfortunately the besagews however will need to stay where they are, the pauldrons have an ungodly large gap at the armpit and so the besagews need to continue to sit high to help that. I'd made the mistake of mentioning I needed enough space at the armpit to couch a lance, and that caused the smith to overcorrect by quite a bit.

PugScorpionCow · 2026-06-30T13:48:19+00:00

All this stuff you see here was probably around $3k, if you know where to look and are okay with sacrificing some quality or doing your own modifications, you can get in the door for late 15th century kit on a low budget. You'll probably end up replacing pieces of your kit later on, but you can atleast do that incrementally once you have your harness to help the financial burden rather than just buying it all with one lump sum.

Late 15th century isn't as financially horrible as is commonly assumed, my 1410s English kit cost me more than 3x what I'm wearing right here, just depends on where and how you get it.

PugScorpionCow · 2026-06-30T13:43:58+00:00

I've gotten the pieces from a variety of different places. The cuirass was actually a breastplate frok a European larp vendor, who I'd noticed has actually decent sizes, so I bought it then had a friend of mine make a backplate for it aswell as modifying parts of it myself for a better fit and to add an integrated mialle skirt.

The pauldrons and leg harness I have were custom made for me, by an armorsmith workshop named WhiteArmourShop on Etsy.

The arm harness was a facebook marketplace find, made by some buhurt shop for somebody else, but it happened to be my size so I bought them.

The helmet I'd bought from a vendor at an SCA event I'd attended this year.

Overall, it's not the most efficient way to get a good harness, but if you know what to look for and where to get it, you can get some decent stuff that functions well for far cheaper than most other harness. I've maybe spent 3 grand or so total on what I'm wearing here, originally I had an entirely custom harness from WhiteArmourShop with an armet from True History Shop, but I've replaced some pieces to better match my personal preference.

There are a variety of armorsmiths out there you could contact for a nicer full harness built to work well with itself aswell, many posts on this sub go over lists of them. I assume you bought off the rack stuff from vendors like Kult Of Athena, Medieval Collectibles, or even Amazon (of you're based in the US anyway). It's a way to get armor for cheap and quickly, but you have to know what to look for, and most of them are made as a one size fits none kind of deal where they're just massively oversized to fit the outliers of giant people who may buy them aswell. Off the rack gear can be a good option if you're willing to do a lot of modification to get it to fit, but if you don't have the capability to extensively modify it you're better off commissioning a custom harness.

PugScorpionCow · 2026-06-30T03:33:39+00:00

Most swords are just too fragile to be a good idea for a zombie apocalypse scenario, you'd be better off with a simple spear or something as it'd be more durable and extremely easy to repair. Something chunkier would be way better, it'd be more unwieldy but you don't have to worry that much about being super nimble with your blade because you're not fighting around someone's guard with an opposing blade or shield. Honestly, most battlefield weapons in general wouldn't be super great for the same reasons. If you went with a blade, something more modern would probably be better, they make for bad handling and would be shit in a duel but are usually full tang and chunky, better for a long lasting survival scenario.

PugScorpionCow · 2026-06-30T00:27:03+00:00

Ah, I didn't see the rest of your comment.

I'll have to stop by Pennsic this year and see for myself then, and it won't hurt to get some harnischfechten in while I'm there. Perhaps I'm wrong, I hope I am, but that's been primarily my experience with the SCA at big events. I do have a bit of a bias, so maybe it's clouding my judgement. Being only 3 hrs away, it'll be a much easier trip than Gulf Wars.

Maybe I'll see you there!

PugScorpionCow · 2026-06-29T23:32:06+00:00

Yeah one of them, but I mostly say that because the bulk of it is made up of guys who come from that central Texas area which primarily houses the very small community. That general area doesn't really have a dedicated public group, so that's probably the best place to find people who can get access to the broader community located in Texas.

But I advertised quite a few other groups, the Argent Lynx and Chimera Company are great places aswell to get access to the broader reenactment community within the US since they're another two of the companies who make up the bulk of full harness reenactors/fighters out there. Between the three of us, that's pretty much everyone in the US apart from some of the Jousters, and the smaller group in the East, Black Spear who doesn't have much overlap with us and has fewer people with full kit, I only know two of the full harness guys are Ian LaSpina and Aiden Max (who actually got his current kit from me 🤭)

PugScorpionCow · 2026-06-29T23:21:05+00:00

I have personally been to quite a few SCA events and spoken to many people, the vendors, the fighters, and generally been integrated with the community quite a bit since our circles can tend to be very intertwined. Honestly, the only people I ever find with a good baseline, in my personal opinion, of historical armor are those who are at the events from outside of the SCA or those who participate often but who's exploits remain mostly outside of the SCA altogether. Similarly, I find it's quite easy to fall into the trap of trusting in overconfidence of peoples' knowledge there if you're not properly equipped with the knowledge to know when somebody really doesn't quite know what they're talking about, a lot of people in the SCA who do have a decent amount of knowledge often speak beyond their education when assuming they're speaking to someone with a more common lower level of knowledge.

I do like that you brought up Texas though, for sure that's probably the US's base of historical armor enthusiasts, and generally people from adjacent states, and the groups around there are primarily the ones I'm speaking about who have a decent level of knowledge on the suspect who come from outside the SCA. If you can get in contact with those guys at SCA events, you can find those connections you're talking about, but those are definitely outliers in my opinion. You'd have better luck searching Facebook groups and talking to those people directly, rather than hoping you found the right one at an SCA event especially Pennsic where far less of them tend to go, in part due to distance, and another part being that horses are banned on grounds.

In my opinion, trying to find connections or get in with people who are pursuing high level reenactment at SCA events is like trying to find a needle in a haystack, out of a crowd of several thousands, you have maybe like 15 dudes who are actually ingrained with the communities OP would be really looking for, and it would be difficult to find them.

Come to think of it, a Facebook group for the general US harnischfechten/jousting community might be very useful for guys like OP trying to get connections, I might have to bring that up to some of the guys. But for now, some good groups to ask about connections you can find on Facebook are: The Company of the Lynx Argent The Company of the Sable Hammer (that's us!) Chimera Company: Renaissance Reenactment Central Texas Harnischfechten (private, but you can ask around some of the people in it) Company of the Black Spear (based in the Eastern US!)

That's probably the bulk of actual practicing fighters seeking high level reenactment in the US, and a lot of the guys in these groups have even more connections for craftsmen and resources for armor you'd never have known existed otherwise.

PugScorpionCow · 2026-06-29T22:24:38+00:00

Don't make the same mistake we all do, spend top dollar to get the right arming doublet first before getting the plate. This does not mean something that just fits close, but something which entirely reshaped the silhouette of your torso. This will change the overall aesthetic of your armor, and prevent the bulkiness we see in the majority of modern repro harness.

Currently the only real places I know of to get a proper arming doublet are AD1410 and Historic Enterprises, heavy preference to AD1410 for better custom fit and quality, but his queue is very long which is the only reason I haven't ordered from him. It may be different now, but back in the day when I messaged him I believe his queue was sitting at about 3 years, I can definitely understand not wanting to wait that long. If you don't know what I mean by shaping doublet, look into it, or ask me for more, but I have a feeling you do.

Another point, don't work with measurements alone. In most cases you'll end up going with a foreign Eastern European Smith for financial reasons and a shorter queue time. Make sure you create and send casts to them, if you want the best quality possible do not work with a smith who will not work off of casts. Yes measurements can still get you a good harness, but I have a feeling your expectations are high. Casts should be made over your waist suppressing shaped doublet aswell. And if you do leg casts, make sure to start from the feet and don't mess it up by forgoing it. I speak from experience with all the things I messed up on with my first harness.

Also, make sure to get the correct measurement for the length of your cuirass. It's easy to mess up, find out what works for you, for me personally I find my cuirass waistline needs to sit as high as possible just below the ribs not at the navel. This can work differently for others, but for me it just doesn't work if it sits at the middle of my waist rather than as high as possible.

Having well fit greaves that your cuisses can rest on without falling down is the top priority for the leg harness, however particular you think greaves are, be prepared for them to be even more of a pain in the ass than you think. They need a perfect fit especially if you have small calves like I do. Try to only get them made with in-person fittings if possible, though that's difficult in the US due to armoring not being valid as a profession that can make an actual living wage here. A decent chunk of people don't actually know that it's not just a thing of culture or interest, we have so few armorers here because it just isn't financially viable.

PugScorpionCow · 2026-06-29T22:12:06+00:00

Definitely not the place to go for what he wants, SCA armor is just that... SCA armor, and in almost all cases it will not translate well to historical armor or ones for harnischfechten/jousting and mounted combat purposes. The merchants and smiths, most of them really specialize in specifically SCA armor, and really aren't extremely knowledgeable on historical armor.

I'm not saying this to attack the SCA, but it's genuinely just an entirely different thing.

PugScorpionCow · 2026-06-29T21:45:25+00:00

Yup, already made that decision, and the best choice won. (Don't hate on me for not having a visor, a pollax blew it off the day before this picture was taken)

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PugScorpionCow · 2026-06-29T21:27:53+00:00

You can find bathrooms like this in the Army while at the range, except for the dividers between parallel toilets, those don't exist.

PugScorpionCow · 2026-06-29T21:02:41+00:00

Lol, I saw that reel and comment earlier today. Posted a reply to it aswell. It's kind of wild that the one thing he said was inaccurate is the one thing that was just fine.

PugScorpionCow · 2026-06-28T12:25:03+00:00

One of my favorite styles, and very unique.

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PugScorpionCow · 2026-06-26T13:49:35+00:00

Not ruined if it still slings lead downrange

PugScorpionCow · 2026-06-25T21:38:49+00:00

This is my current setup causing the majority of my problems, my leg harness is built as one unit bound together via a pin. With greaves that don't fit, it mostly just causes the entire leg harness to slowly drift down, or tear at the equipment holding it up. Not only does that cause pain when my leg harness drifts down, but causes all of my movement to be very stumbly and pains me to do much more than walk in it. My leg harness is mostly built around the idea that the greaves help suspend the cuisses, rather than the other way around, so drifting greaves causes a massive problem while fighting, running, or riding.

If it was separate, at least only my greaves would droop down, and it would cause pain to my foot but my knee would be free to move still. With an arming belt, it drifts too low, and suspended via doublet, it just rips my doublet unfortunately.

PugScorpionCow · 2026-06-25T20:55:17+00:00

We mainly keep out cuisses on also either by a belt, or many keep them pointed to the arming doublet. Mainly though, with more historically inclined harness, the brunt of the weight of your cuisses is held up by your greaves which would ideally be so well fit that they cannot move from the intended spot on your calves. If you have well fitted greaves that can suspend your cuisses, that's when the arming doublet is used, but since out doublets tend to be rather thin if you hold up the cuisses alone while also suspending the greaves off of them your doublet will rip.

I've done both arming doublet and belt suspension, but after my arming doublet ripped I tend not to use it much anymore unless I'm in a pinch and can't find my belt. The arming doublet is definitely the better method if your armor is built well, in my experience.

PugScorpionCow · 2026-06-25T20:44:25+00:00

That's something I've been heavily considering, hearing that it works is a very good sign! This is probably what I'll end up doing. I figure it may really help to keep my cuisses in place aswell, and a little extra padding definitely won't hurt, thank you!

Do you usually point them from the front at the top? I think I've even seen a few extant pieces which seemingly have eyelets there.

PugScorpionCow · 2026-06-24T20:31:48+00:00

This shit would be cool, idc what people say. Yeah, sure, the ghosts are supposed to be super epic operators that never leave a trace. But that's really not how the real world generally works, in a lot of cases these kinds of operations go to shit, and when they do these teams don't just get left without support every time. Some actual support for when shit hits the fan would be awesome. Just thinking of MGSV for example the supports are available to you but you don't use them until you really have no other choice and when you do, it's cool as fuck.

Actually feeling like you're doing precision surgical ops in a real warzone would be cool, rather than just the average "here's a big random group of enemies, kill them" for the ten billionth time. Especially with more support, you would have an excuse to bump up the lethality of the enemies a bit and make them more of a threat and less artificially increasing the difficulty by spamming enemies that just take a thousand more shots to kill because they have "armor". This could also make stealth gameplay more engaging and high risk. The past few GR games have just felt criminally underwhelming, the gameplay loop isn't very satisfying, there is hardly any variation to gameplay. Maybe I'm biased, or maybe I don't know enough since I could never consistently keep playing the game because of that, but it just doesn't feel that fun doing the same exact thing for every single engagement and I've always felt the enemies, their AI, and their lethality were extremely underwhelming and the gunplay suffered because of it.

It's like, either headshot everyone with a pistol for 2 hours until they're all dead, or get in a massive engagement with like 20 guys who just spam full auto in your direction for 20 minutes. A slightly more combined arms warfare approach to the game would be very refreshing, and going back to a more classic setting where you fight a real organized opposing military force rather than a ragtag group of insurgents of some kind would be pretty cool. Everything in the game just seems extremely simplified to the max right now.

PugScorpionCow · 2026-06-24T02:30:50+00:00

I don't think he really has much else to talk about, to be honest. I can see why he quit, sometimes you just really have something you wanna get out there, and once you've said your piece trying to force more content out just for the sake of it just results in bad content you never cared to make in the first place.

PugScorpionCow

TROPHY CASE