Greek Sandal reproductions GDFB and others?

[Pericles of Rhodes]

Hi everyone,

Has anyone seen/does anyone own a pair of these Greek sandals from Get Dressed For Battle? - http://www.getdressedforbattle.co.uk/aca...Roman.html
(2nd from bottom) / http://www.getdressedforbattle.co.uk/aca...93800.html

What do you guys think authenticity/comfort wise? Are there any other manufacturers that you would recommend over this? I have used GDFB as a company before and they have been fine to deal with; it's more the sandals specifically. I've read the various historical threads on footwear on the forum and have done a bit of research looking into vase depictions of sandals and they seem to look ok to me. I don't know about the cleft at the front of the sandals though(where the gap between big toe and rest of toes would be) would this be accurate?

Feel free to PM me re this if you would prefer

[caiusbeerquitius]

AFAIK getdressedforbattle is not GDFB, i.e. "Get Dressed For Battle". "getdressedforbattle" is a company name, "Get Dressed For Battle" is a brand name. "getdressedforbattle" sells, like Armamentaria or Armae or Aus Omas Truhe etc. Deepeeka / DSC stuff, so I suppose those are the same shoes as the ones e.g. here:
http://www.kayserstuhl.de/altertum_gewandung.htm

[Pericles of Rhodes]

Thanks Christian,

After a bit of a poke around they appear to be made by DSC http://daniyalgreekcollection.blogspot.co.uk/

Question still stands though - what do people think authenticity wise? Does anyone own a pair and would recommend or warn off from going for them? Also I have since been in contact with Al-hamdd Trading Post re their sandals of similar type (without cleft and hobnails) as here - http://www.romanarmytalk.com/rat.html?fu...&id=307575
So same questions re these! Would anyone be able to share their views/experiences on either of these options? As I said feel free to PM if you prefer.


Many thanks in advance

[Gaius Colletti]

Here is my experience buying products that you don't know who manufactured them... I bought all my items from "name brand" suppliers/manufacturers, with the exception of my first helmet (a trooper helm) and my Roman balteus (belt).

I figured ok, the belt is questionable in authenticity, but it was cheap on ebay and I was new to the hobby looking for an inexpensive entrance. By the time I got the belt, the thin leather had a foam backing and paper thin brass riveted on. No big deal, it was real leather and it is real brass. Well it turns out that leather comes in different layers and grades. So apparently my balteus was made of a lesser grade of leather and is completely falling apart, one of the danglies has already torn off. Thankfully I should have one of Rusty's SOTW balteus hopefully next week to replace it.

The moral of the story is: Good reproductions are not cheap and cheap reproductions are not good. Contact the seller, find out who made the sandals (there are a lot of knock offs in Roman/Greek products). If they are made from DSC go for them, if they are made by some "Nautical Museum Replica" or something similar, avoid. No point in saving $40 to have something that will literally fall apart on you.

[Pericles of Rhodes]

Hi Matt,

I'm sorry to hear that you have bought dodgy kit in the past from suppliers who you didn't know anything about but this isn't really relevant - the whole point of this thread is to get advice from people about their experiences of products and companies specifically so as to avoid buying shoddy kit! If I get some replies I hope this thread might even be helpful to people other than myself who are looking to buy this kind of kit in the future.

Even buying kit from suppliers who you have used before can be problematic as not everyone who is good at armour/weapons is necessarily as good at clothing/shoes etc. or make some of their own products and outsource others. I'm sure that some members on here have bought Greek style sandals from one company or another and I was hoping that they might tell me what they thought of the product and the company specifically to help inform my decision. Failing that those with historical knowledge but without the practical experience of buying such items could confirm my thoughts that these sandals look authentic from the images that we have, or instead might be able to pick out details (e.g. the cleft between the toes in the DSC ones?) which may not be authentic or confine the style to a certain region or time period etc.

You say 'go for them' if they are DSC, are you recommending the company because you have used them for some other equipment and are recommending their customer service? Do you assume that their sandals will be of good quality based on the quality of other kit that you have of theirs or have you got a pair of DSC sandals yourself or handled a pair yourself? Or is it just that you assume that a company is good because you know the name?

Any helpful comments would be greatly appreciated.

[jkaler48]

The sandals from DSC were developed with the help of A RAT member.
http://www.romanarmytalk.com/rat.html?fu...755#258780

If I were to rate the "Commercial Manufacturers" on quality and getting kit historically
correct I would rate them:
DSC
Al Hamdd
Deepeeka (a distant third but improving)

But by all means ask here first from the experts before buying as new knowledge and improvements by the manufacturers makes some older gear "obsolete" after a few years but retailers continue to sell it. The manufacturers are expert at MAKING gear but depend largely on the reenactment community for gear development and updates.
Bear in mind ordering items from abroad can take a long time whether thru one of the RAT retailers or directly ordering.

[Gaius Colletti]

You say 'go for them' if they are DSC, are you recommending the company because you have used them for some other equipment and are recommending their customer service? Do you assume that their sandals will be of good quality based on the quality of other kit that you have of theirs or have you got a pair of DSC sandals yourself or handled a pair yourself? Or is it just that you assume that a company is good because you know the name?

Any helpful comments would be greatly appreciated.

I mean 'Go for them' if they are DSC because 1) I know Giannis helped developed them 2) I know what the historically accurate ones should look like 3) I have only had pleasant experiences with Alauddin & Vijay from DSC customer service-wise in addition to owning DSC pieces presently and in the past

[Gaius Colletti]

Hi Matt,

I'm sorry to hear that you have bought dodgy kit in the past from suppliers who you didn't know anything about but this isn't really relevant - the whole point of this thread is to get advice from people about their experiences of products and companies specifically so as to avoid buying shoddy kit! If I get some replies I hope this thread might even be helpful to people other than myself who are looking to buy this kind of kit in the future.

Was this paragraph meant to sound condescending? KOA carries the exact same balteus: http://www.kultofathena.com/product.asp?...an+Balteus

Apparently you are new to the hobby if you are unaware that even excellent suppliers sometimes carry junk kit. My first post was completely relevant, I bought a product that I was not sure of who manufactured it when I first started in the hobby, but it looked comparable to other manufacturers. Seeing how you are lacking overwhelming replies, I recommend you take what advice you can get with some gratitude. I'm not the one checking out a website that sells plastic centurion worthy LARP helmets: http://www.getdressedforbattle.co.uk/aca...-LARP.html

If you are not satisfied with an answer, you might ask next time that the others are more specific to your question.

Rule # 1 If it is cheap, no one is familiar with the item, but the item looks good, there is a reason that the item is cheap and unfamiliar to the rest of the hobby

[M. Demetrius]

If I were to rate the "Commercial Manufacturers" on quality and getting kit historically
correct I would rate them:
DSC
Al Hamdd
Deepeeka (a distant third but improving)

Remember this is the opinion of a member, not any official list by RAT. It is probable that other members might have a different opinion. Of late, there has been some negative commenting and slanderous posting about specific suppliers, and that is not in the best interest of the RAT community.

[caiusbeerquitius]

Thanks Dave. I also think this comment to be very little helpful. Maybe it would make sense to rather look at the specific items, not by company. Also, I wonder what makes John an expert in accuracy? Could you enlighten us, John? Thank you. :-)

[jkaler48]

Thanks Dave. I also think this comment to be very little helpful. Maybe it would make sense to rather look at the specific items, not by company. Also, I wonder what makes John an expert in accuracy? Could you enlighten us, John? Thank you. :-)

Being mean to me again? LOL No expert here just opinion based on RAT posts read and observations by reenactors at events. Certainly others may hold contrary options are I welcome their opinions also!

[Pericles of Rhodes]

John- many thanks for the RAT link, that’s a great help! I had a feeling I had once seen it a while ago, but couldn't find it again!

Matt – Apologies, no offence was meant. Not quite clear as to the point you were trying to make about KOA, the company sells good and bad kit on the same site, much of it outsourced.

‘Apparently you are new to the hobby if you are unaware that even excellent suppliers sometimes carry junk kit.’

Nope, been reenacting a fair while and never disputed this point – in fact I said exactly this in my previous post –

‘Even buying kit from suppliers who you have used before can be problematic as not everyone who is good at armour/weapons is necessarily as good at clothing/shoes etc. or make some of their own products and outsource others’

I have been pretty clear about this throughout and have consciously asked about the products AND the companies as I am fully aware that some companies can have great kit but be terrible to deal with and vica versa or have variable kit quality. My first post –

‘I have used GDFB as a company before and they have been fine to deal with; it's more the sandals specifically’

Just FYI GDFB is one of these companies that we are both aware of- those that sell some excellent kit and some poor kit, as many suppliers do. They are widely used for their re-enactment quality kit but do also stock LARP and lesser quality kit (although, as you can see it’s clearly labelled as such on the site). As I’ve said the whole reason I’m asking on here is to get a feeling of people’s experiences of the particular kit in question, get recommendations etc. so you’re preaching to the converted on this one . I see that your original post was kindly meant, there are many similar looking bits of the same kit out there made/sold by different suppliers and so of variable quality, and I appreciate your explanation of your DSC opinions in your second.

Thanks also to those who have contacted me via PM, I know that discussing the merits of suppliers can be a delicate issue and I appreciate your informed opinions .

[caiusbeerquitius]

John, you may perceive this as "mean", but since you seem to have an opinion about almost any object under discussion, I was simply wondering where/how you got your expertise. I think what is needed here more than opinion is expert fact-based information. I am not saying that I think (your) opinions as such are bad, but they might be based on little knowledge opposite to actual fact-based or knowledge-based information. Hence I wondered where and how you learned so much about ancient artifacts, as well as how you are able to judge overall quality. Did you buy or personally look at all the objects, perhaps? Have you personally handled all items for sale by the companies above? Did you hold specific bonds to one specific company, which might blind your judgement? e.g. me working with AER, I am trying not to talk a lot about the other companies since I am cooperating with AER more extensively.

[Robert Vermaat]

I agree with Christian. Anyone's opinion is an opinion, but when we start rating items or companies, I'd like to hear on which grounds.

[jkaler48]

Of course one should research and get advice from experts on individual items before purchasing rather than relying on any "rating" opinion from someone who is not an expert like myself.
(perhaps posters can rate themselves on expertise every time they venture an opinion)

One reason research and advice is advisable is because the commercial companies produce what is requested and what is selling and that evolving knowledge and research will make some products obsolete and no longer suitable for reenactment (depending on the the group and venue of course). The company which is trying to stay in business and make money may continue to produce those items as long as they continue to receive orders for them. I believe an example of one product like this is the trooper helmet.

It is my (non expert of course) opinion that because of influence from the reenactment community including RAT members the commercial companies have made an effort to produce new more accurate products and upgrade older products. One company can be better
at this than others overall and still have a product or product area where they lag behind. Also this quality and accuracy relationship can change over time.

The competition between the companies is beneficial to the reenactment community resulting in more variety more accurate products and somewhat lower prices and should be encouraged.

Opinions expert or not are in my opinion valuable feedback for the companies
involved and should not be discouraged.


Disclaimer: The poster of this post is not an expert and knows almost nothing about anything particularly ancient artifacts, history, reenactment, business, writing and, debate.