# The armour thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 20, 2009, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-armour-thread/510778 "2009-09-20T01:41:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2009, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-armour-thread/510778/21 "2009-09-22T22:22:55Z")
> [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](#): > > That armour looks like a badass C-3PO. Yes, a lot of helmets made for cuirassiers (heavy cavalry of the early 1600s) were downright bizarre. [Here’s one with a smile](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3247/2916684342_ee502426b7_o.jpg) [Another friendly-looking one](http://www.cullodenantiques.com/images/cuirassier_armour1.jpg) [And another with a very impassive look](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2278/2073155772_3d6a9a7459.jpg) [This one has a nose, and a big grin](http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1420/1357891588_8028810904_o.jpg) [This modern one even has a mustache](http://www.nigelcarren.co.uk/images/Siege%20weight%20Cuirassier%20armour.jpg) \*\* Earthworm Jim\*\*, which one are you? And who made your armour? ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-armour-thread/510778/22 "2009-09-23T01:55:44Z")
Leon Paul FIE Level 2. What? It protects me from swords… ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-armour-thread/510778/23 "2009-09-23T06:44:14Z")
I like how some of the cuirassier armors have bullet indentations. Looks like they worked! ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-armour-thread/510778/24 "2009-09-23T08:00:25Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > [Armour of King Henry VIII.](http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1121/1219493318_c74ebe87fe_o.jpg) (Italy, 1544) King Henry was a very fat man and this armour reflects that. The entire defense for the torso is highly articulated, probably to make it more comfortable for his giant stomach. I don’t think it is – the breast plate is banded to match the articulated sections of the arms and legs, but if you look closely, it seems to be a single unarticulated plate. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-armour-thread/510778/25 "2009-09-23T10:09:22Z")
> [@EvilTOJ](#): > > I like how some of the cuirassier armors have bullet indentations. Looks like they worked! Breastplates of the period were often shot a couple of times before sale, by the armorer, to prove their quality. As for myself: maybe it’s the infantryman in me, but I’m a big fan of [brigandine armor](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigandine). It’s the exact opposite of the heavy, ostentatious armors depicted above; a true armor for the working day. ---
**Author:** ![Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uosdwis_R.Dewoh)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-armour-thread/510778/26 "2009-09-23T11:41:35Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > Yes, a lot of helmets made for cuirassiers (heavy cavalry of the early 1600s) were downright bizarre. How many of these armours saw actual combat? Looks to me like they were more of a status symbol to show how wealthy the wearer was. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-armour-thread/510778/27 "2009-09-23T18:23:52Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Breastplates of the period were often shot a couple of times before sale, by the armorer, to prove their quality. When these armours were “proofed,” they were deliberately shot with underpowered loads. The kind of gunfire that they would have faced in combat would have been significantly more powerful, especially if it came from musketeers. But the cuirassier’s armour would still have given decent protection at least up until the point in the mid-1600s when muskets became more powerful (and cheaper.) ---
**Author:** ![Woeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df705f/32.png) [@Woeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Woeg)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-armour-thread/510778/28 "2009-09-23T20:23:32Z")
I’m a big fan of the Churburg 13 and its variants, like the [one seen here](http://www.medievalrepro.com/Images/Churburg%20Armour%2001%20044%20copyedit.jpg). It’s very close to what my current suit looks like (I fight in a bar grill as opposed to the pig-face), save that I use heavy leather for the legs and arms (with stainless steel elbows and knees). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-armour-thread/510778.md?page=1)