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Spolas (...thorax ek dermatos...)
#76
Hmm,this is is tough question. It probably doesn' thave concrete answer. You can measure the angle in the photo of the yoke i posted in the first page of this thread. One of the problems is that the flaps aren't straight (at least on mine) but curve ourtwards so to measure the angle you have to draw a straight line from the base of the shoulder flap to the upper corner of the flap,over where it would attach to the body. I hope this makes sense, it is difficult to describe.
Khaire
Giannis

PS,if you want, post photos of your papyrothorax,and eventually photos of the cuirass in construction, in a thread of itself!
Giannis K. Hoplite
a.k.a.:Giannis Kadoglou
a.k.a.:Thorax
[Image: -side-1.gif]
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#77
I've made progress on the cardboard pattern. I now need to gather materials together.

Question: Is 18/3 linen thread heavy enough to stitch the seams and bind the edging? The twine I used to make my aspis looks too heavy (and was a bewar to work with).

Thanks for any information.
Cheryl Boeckmann
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#78
I am ressurecting this nice old thread for two reasons:

1) Any new spolas reconstructions in the community? I would like to see more pictures!

2) My reconstruction of the Spolas is now for sale - since I have not included it in the original thread, I am at least adding it in this way Smile

http://www.romanarmytalk.com/67-for-sale...-sale.html
Juraj "Lýsandros" Skupy
Dierarchos
-----------------------
In the old times, people were much closer to each other. The firing range of their weapons simply wasnt long enough Smile
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#79
I didn't want to comment in your other thread for fear of sabotaging your sale. It looks wonderful but I'm not sure about the wax. It is good for waterproofing leather - In medieval Europe it was used on bottles and containers but there are two main arguments against the use of wax on armour:

1. It lubricates the weapon and helps the point pass through more easily.
2. A lot of leather armour was decorated in paint and/or gesso; it is impossible to apply these decorations to wax-hardened leather.

It seems that leather armour was strengthened either by water hardening or by baking it in an oven. A good reference is: Chris Dobson, "As Tough as Old Boots? A Study of Hardened Leather Armour, Part 1: Techniques of Manufacture", IAA Conference Proceedings, 2003.

Personally I think that the spolas was strengthened simply by adding more layers of leather in the chest.
Author: Bronze Age Military Equipment, Pen & Sword Books
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#80
Hi Dan, thanks for commenting and clearing up the issue a little bit. The addition of wax was the idea of the leather craftsman I was working with, I have found no historical basis for such decision. The reality is however different from your description - with my level of english and craftmanship, I doubt I can describe this well, but I will try Smile

The leather is not impregnated in the real sense - the wax does not go through the whole leather thickness, but is sort of baked on top. I remember the craftsman called it "ironing" as if it was applied using an iron. The resulting effect is that the weapon should slide to the side of the tube instead of penetrating it. The only exception are the scales - they are boiled in was and are really sturdy. At each place of the scaled "belt", at least two scales overlap themselves. The thickness of each is over 50mm. The craftsman claimed that he tried this against bronze arrows during the test and they never got through.

But I have actually never tested it - it would be a shame to ruin the Spolas this way. The way you describe it sounds logical to me, so he might have been just exagerrating.
Juraj "Lýsandros" Skupy
Dierarchos
-----------------------
In the old times, people were much closer to each other. The firing range of their weapons simply wasnt long enough Smile
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#81
this is really cool i hope to do something like that one day
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