The Mystery Knight

Here are some pictures taken at Bristol of a mysterious knight, who kindly posed for the camera person. Geez, he's a real goofball isn't he? Where do they get these people anyway? Okay, okay, its me :) I've wanted to don a suit of armor for years now, and I finally got my chance a few days ago.

After speaking to BJ at The Noble Armory booth, she allowed me to come back during the week to try a suit on (this particular piece is nicknamed 'Sunny' due to the brass suns emblazoned all over). Unfortunately, I am apparently just the wrong size, so she obligingly bent the backplate a bit, and got a larger gorget from another suit for me to wear (the one from 'Sunny' is much prettier being brass trimmed and all, but was designed for someone with a much smaller neck than mine, and it dug painfully into my flesh as she and her assistant tried to close it up). The helm was also a bit too small for me, but was a really nice piece, similar to this one, but all trimmed in brass (I forgot to take a picture of Sunny's helm when I was there).

Anyway, after BJ and Lyon (sp?), spend about 20 minutes strapping me in, we were ready to go. Unfortunately, I neglected one tiny detail, and that was to wear appropriate footwear, which is why all the pics of me here have me chopped off at the knees, rather than show me in armor and white tennis shoes. Next time, I'll do it right (if there is a next time anyway). Okay, enough patter for the moment, here are the pics. Click on any one of them to see an enlarged version.




		Oops, closed my eyes on that shot. :)

All in all, the day was a blast, and BJ and crew couldn't have been nicer or more accomodating. Now before you go running off to your local renaissance faire to model for the camera, keep in mind that I made special arrangements with The Noble Armory in advance. Not every armorer would go to the trouble that BJ and Lyon (sp?) went to, so be sure to ask very nicely, and don't get upset if the armorer says no. You may want to offer to come in on a low attendence day/time, like during the week to make things easier, and it would be a good idea to offer compensation to the armorer for taking time out of their busy day to suit you up.

The particular piece that I am wearing in the pics runs about $3500 for the complete outfit (including the proper gorget and helm and all the pretty brass trim), and before you gasp and choke on your tongue, this is a completely reasonable price for the piece I tried on. It is a functional and nice looking piece of armor (wish I could say the same about myself), which is hand made to your measurements. This is not the cheap mass produced display junk from India that you see in some of the mail order houses, but a suit of armor meant to be worn and used (though I suppose you could just put it on a stand and let it sit there on display. I don't know why...).

If you are interested in more information, and a price list for various armor pieces, you can contact BJ, Howard and crew at: