Combat Harness

Hey Guys,

Since my very first event I have seen one problem most people, myself included, always seem to struggle with over and over again. You've got your weapons, where do you stow them when your not fighting?

Obviously, stuck through your belt can work for some... but not all types of weapons and some weapons/shields just aren't really stowable. Sure the easiest weapons (short sword/blunt/longsword/blunt/small weapons) can be put through a an oversized sword frog or tankard snap strap but theres problems there too with quickly extracting your weapons in a fight. Sometimes the angle the frog rests just makes it a pain and sometimes the snap button stays stuck and you can't really get your weapon out. The point is, many folks have a solution that works for them but for every solution there are pros and cons and sometimes the cons can outweight the pros.

What do you do to handle your weapons out of combat? As for your two handers, is it ok to tie a sash or rope to the handle of a two hander so you can sling it over your shoulder? How bout a bow or a staff? It seems to me it might be safe but then again could cause a sitation where accidental weapon trapping could be an issue. How have marshals ruled this in your chapter? What creative ways are taking off that work? what was tried that's failed miserably?

Hope to get some good ideas.

Thanks,

Paul
 
I go with a wide kidney belt rig that holds and stabilizes all my pouches and frogs. Works great.

Gary
 
I helped my boyfriend make a back sheath for his sword. It's attached to his quiver, which stabilizes it some, and it's made of plastic covered in leather. The quiver has a 3-strap support system which keeps it pretty much in place. The plastic (which is actually an old cap for a jug of laundry detergent with the bottom cut off) keeps the 3-inch wide leather sheath from folding inward when he's not using it. The placement of the sheath has to be individually tailored to the wearer, but if you get it right, you can draw and sheath your weapon very quickly. One sec, let me make a drawing...
backsheath.jpg

That's how his works. I hope I drew that in an understandable fashion... You could easily remove the quiver from the design, I think. This rig could be expanded to carry multiple weapons if you want. I'm not sure how well this would work with a two-hander or a bow, though.
 
I've used a homemade highlander's sheath, which works great. I would recommend a stable U made of bent metal, not U-bolts for holding the crossguard, as mine is too wobbly and sometimes makes my sword fall out. Also, a stiff piece of pvc or something durable on the bottom "bag" that holds the tip is a good idea to make re-holstering easy.
If not adjusted well, you have to be VERY careful not to hit people when turning around, and remember how much clearance you need to get through a door!
 
You've seen the setup I use, Paul, but it's far from perfect.

As it stands right now, I carry too many bloody weapons. ;) Hazard of playing a character who is one of the guys who has one of everything on him. The way I carry it right now is thus :

Short Sword : Horizontally on the small of my back, stuck through an elastic rifle butt cartridge holder that doubles as a potion sleeve. You can get them cheaply at wal-mart.

Long Sword : I use the same thing for my longsword as my short sword occasionally, on a diagonal over-the shoulder strap rather than small of the back. Otherwise it just gets thrust through my belt. I use a scimitar-style instead of a straight blade, or I'd steal one of my groupmates' design and put it in a 45 degree belt frog.

Shield : Small center-grip round shields are nice, both for how they fight and how easy they are to store. It can either get tucked into my tabard in back, under the shoulder strap to keep it down, or be attached to my belt-ring via carabiner and a bit of cord.

Heavy Crossbow : I cheated a touch and tied a bit of braided cord around the front grip to give me something to put a carabiner on. This ends up either on the same belt ring as my shield, or stuck through the weave on my shoulder strap so it hangs behind my shoulder.

After the SoMN event next week, I'll try and throw up some pictures of my setup, as it is easier to show than tell.
 
IMO the coolest combat harness hands down, is Rob Daniel's dark elf, Vhossek. Rob is a leather worker so it looks completely period and I believe he can quick draw, 2 longswords, a short sword and a dagger. As an NPC who 'tried' to chain disarms to slow him down, I promise you it works.

I don't have pics, maybe if he see's this he'll post something. Basically it's a chest/shoulder rig, that works as 2pt armor with snaps/leather wraps to attach blades to his back. Some are under slung, some over the shoulder. The whole picture is pretty impressive with the rest of his armor.

I don't know if he could sell them, it was pretty custom. However someone might be able to reproduce it themselves.

-Joe
 
jwconvery said:
IMO the coolest combat harness hands down, is Rob Daniel's dark elf, Vhossek. Rob is a leather worker so it looks completely period and I believe he can quick draw, 2 longswords, a short sword and a dagger. As an NPC who 'tried' to chain disarms to slow him down, I promise you it works.

I don't have pics, maybe if he see's this he'll post something. Basically it's a chest/shoulder rig, that works as 2pt armor with snaps/leather wraps to attach blades to his back. Some are under slung, some over the shoulder. The whole picture is pretty impressive with the rest of his armor.

I don't know if he could sell them, it was pretty custom. However someone might be able to reproduce it themselves.

-Joe

There seriously needs to be pictures of this and clearly you did not have enough disarms
 
I am going to try making several different sheath's using duct tape or cloth and magnets... strong magnets...

my only problem is how to fit the polearm on there...

i was able to use for magnets to stick a polearm onto my chainmail, but my back curls and it comes right off. if i had a metal piece to stick it on, i could do that, but there is a safety issue... if i had the know how, i would line a leather strip with metal and use it for my polearm and put arm straps on my shield so it becomes like a backpack
 
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid= ... =506852613

This is how I did my polearm harness..it's done now and dyed, so I'll have to get some updated pics in there..this was the developmental stage ..it's basically an aluminum strap riveted to a piece of pvc pipe that was about 3" or so in diameter, fur-lined, and attached via rivets/chicago screws to the leather harness ..The clip is actually a broom-holder thats riveted on there..

Obviously this had to be made to fit this particular style of polearm, and could easily be simplified even more to fit a 2-hander, or a different polearm..but it's decent for getting that pesky spirit locked polearm out of my hands when I wanna use claws ;) Of course, like anything, it still needs a few kinks worked out, but it gets the job done for now..Ive used this in ohio before too, without any issues.

Jus' my 2 cents :D

Tsuku
 
Here is a harness i built, but i havent yet atatched a bunch of things. the only thing i have on it so far is a soft leather frog at my left hip. i plan on using the holes to atatch a sword sheath across the back on the belt for a short sword, have a long sword at my hip and a javelin on my back on the solder strap.
166338_10150373471885591_543975590_16710528_7864007_n.jpg

163736_10150373471975591_543975590_16710530_5090615_n.jpg
 
A couple things I have noticed...

As long as the leather is stiff you can draw the weapons unbelievably fast.

The weapons sheaths worn on the back must be at and angle from the shoulders at the top to the small of the back near the waistline as shown.

The short sword that is sheathed from the top must be slightly pointing forward to be in easy hand reach. strait up and down is too difficult to get because you will be reaching back too far which seems unnatural and slows things down too much.

The weapons must have strong cross guards to rest against the weapon sheaths.

put buckles on both sides of the chest harness in case you get fat like I have. It makes it much easier to put on over gear after make up is applied also.

Feel free to ask any questions on the design
 
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