Self nocked arrows

By Stephen Francis Wyley

Self nocked arrows are how arrowsmiths in the medieval period nocked their arrows, and in combat an arrow was often only used once.

For the historical re-enactor today arrows are used repeatedly for a range of activities such as: target, clout, wand, roving and projectile combat.

Bearing these facts in mind you must ensure:

- that the gap in the nock for the string is not overly tight or the nock will split and the arrow is not repairable (note; bow strings come in a range of thicknesses and the nocks must be made to fit, to increase self nock size use a small file or sand paper).
- that the nock, let alone the rest of the arrow, is inspected before use for cracks or loose heads or fletches, and if found to be flawed the arrow must be repaired or discarded as appropriate.
- that the plain self nocked arrows are only used for bows under 60 pounds at 28 inch draw. If you are using a bow that is over 60 pounds at 28 inch draw you must re-enforce the nock with a binding of an appropriate fibre.

Very informative, well researched and useful article by Peter Beatson.

http://members.ozemail.com.au/~chrisandpeter/shield/shield.html

Scale Armour Construction
By Indunna aka Jenny Baker
This article appeared in Varangian Voice issue 71

I have now done two different types of scale armour, the first was neck to knee (on me) metal scale and second was torso Egyptian Leather scale. So I thought I jot down some notes for other who might be interested in look at undertaking scale armour.

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Metal scale Armour
Culture Periods know to be used in – Egyptian, Ancient Greece, Roman & Medieval

Construction notes –
Number of scale used in Construction 1728 of the buggers
Metal used stainless steel
Size 1 x half an inch – cut with a commercial guillotine
Shapes & Points grounded off with bench grinder
– note watch fingers tips as grinding of the ends can happen

Two Holes per scale punched with metal punch

Hi all,

i am just starting to look around for a sword for me to start learning metal with.

I have noticed alot of the sowrds out there are just display only pieces, and those that aren't are usually expensive.

So far the best thing i have found has been the Hanwei sword from lawrence ordinance, NSW.
This was a very plan looking norman style sword, that was battle ready, at a price of AUD$170.

does anyone know if this would be a good thing for me to pursue, or are there other manufacturers that would come by your recomendation?