Hello.

Let me introduce myself. My name is Stefan, I'm an armourer from sweden. I make and use various kinds of armour in medieval swordplay.
I have quite a bit of experience in armouring, but none in composites. That is why I came to this forum, because in my sport, HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts) there are a lot of people that are uncomfortable about wearing or facing an opponent wearing metal armour. So to make the best possible armour and avoid that prejudice against traditional steel equipment I have to turn to composites. Unfortunately my experience in making composites is nonexistent so I might need a bit of help in the near future.

Cheers!

The weapons are mainly blunt steel swords, based on medieval originals. No sharp edges or points are allowed within the sport, except in test cutting where no protection is needed what so ever.

The first project on hand is to make gloves. Hands are the most exposed area of the body when swordfighting and a blunt steel sword can easily break a finger or worse, crush a knuckle joint. There are no gloves on the market today that meets all our requirements. Most use lacrosse gloves but they aren't really up to the task since there are no protective plates to disperse the impact energy.

Right now I am making originals for all the pieces from epoxy putty in order to make molds for the laminate.