Reconstructing History

What:  Period Clothing

Quality:*****
Selection:***
Service:******

The experience: Wonderful, I couldn't say enough good things about them.  Let me preface by saying that period clothing in this case was a vintage 40s zoot  suit.  I know not particularly medieval, but they do make medieval as well as steam punk and modern.  I just happened to need a zoot suit for my wedding.  Side note the wedding was perfect as well.  Back to the review.  I contacted them and got hold of Kass McGann and told her what I wanted.  It involved a custom suit, with a waistcoat.  She sent me a form for measurements, about a hundred or so pics of swatches and we worked out what I wanted.  About 2 months later, just as I was beginning to get nervous it shipped.  When it got here the waist coat was missing.  I emailed her and she noted the mistake from her supplier, got right on it, and it shipped within a week, rush delivery.  I was a nervous nelly throughout the whole process.  You know wedding and all.  Kass was awesome, she answered every email within a day, some within the hour.  She always had an answer, not even the normal "let me get back with you".  All in all they work hard to provide a quality product and a quality customer service experience.  The suit itself was incredible.  I'm normally a jeans and tshirt kind of guy.  But this is the first suit I've worn in my life that I would call comfortable.  I look forward to having any reason to wear it again.


http://www.reconstructinghistory.com/

Armor and Castings.

What:  Brass casting, buckles, jewelry, belt hardware etc...

Quality:  ***
Selection:*****
Service:**

The experience:  These guys have decent quality stuff.  I have no problems with their product, but it's just not worth the effort unless you can't get it anywhere else.  It took 3 try's just to get them to process a credit card order.  After that it actually took 3 weeks+ for the payment to get from their card service to them.  Another 2 weeks after that for them to ship the order.  And 3 weeks from that for shipping to get here from the Czech Republic.  Quality was decent.  They have a huge selection, and wide variety of product.  But I can get as good quality, and as good selection(although different) from other people, quicker and simpler.

I wouldn't recommend Armour and Castings, but only because of the time it takes to actually get your order.
http://armourandcastings.com/

Kult of Athena

System:  All Kult of Athena is a medieval department store!!!
What: Everything, but in this case a Hanwei Sword
Quality: *****
Selection: ****
Customer Service: *****

The Experience:   
First off, about the quality, it's all about the sword.  I ordered the Hanwei Banshee.  It's a Thai Dha, an awesome short sword, begs to be swung and cleave things.  That being said, it's a Hanwei and I researched the sword before I bought it.  They are a department store and I can't say everything they sell is great, I really don't know.  In this case you have to know what you are looking for.  They do sell SCA legal armor, but not all their armor is SCA legal.   Caveat Emptor as they say, they have a wide selection and I'm know some of it is significantly better than others.  That leads to selection.  Like I said it's a department store, if your looking for something specific they may or may not have it.  But the odds are good they have something similar.  It all comes down to knowing what you are buying.  Customer service was excellent.  The price on my sword was the lowest one I found for that weapon, with the exception of a used one on ebay.  I'll pay the extra $10 difference to get a new one vs used.  Aprroximately a week, from order to delivery,   This is definitely someplace I would order from again.


http://www.kultofathena.com/

Bokalo's Armory

System:  Primarily SCA can be used for any system that allows plate.
What: Metal Armor
Quality: ***
Selection: ****
Customer Service: ****



I don't have much experience with Bokalo but I have ordered from him in the past.  I've been told by others that as long as you order off the shelf he's just fine.  Since I haven't been in the market for custom work it didn't matter.  I ordered a couple of aluminum elbow and knee cops to get me started in the SCA.  They did the trick.  very basic, and delivered in a timely manner.  His prices are reasonable as well.  The kick on quality is because I haven't seen anything from him the was more than munitions grade.  So I really don't know on that, but I have no complaints on his work.


http://www.bokalosarmoury.com/

Fighting Videos.

This is just a general disclaimer and explanation of the fighting videos I posted.  First not videos apply to all games.  You are responsible for translation and interpretation of what can and cannot be used in your system, and what is and is not useful overall.  The majority of these are taken from European sword texts and represent actual combat techniques. While we all play some kind of medieval game, simulating combat, we aren't trying to actually hurt each other so not all techniques can or should be used.  Secondly  with the exception of game specific videos I only pull from European styles.  Yellow Fever is at epidemic levels in foam fighting.  Everyone coming into the game wants to be a ninja or a samurai, and is of the opinion that European fighting is nothing more than Conan type hack and slash.  These videos show the techniques, and if you watch you see how and why each one is used, pay attention to footwork, body mechanics, leverage, etc.  But mostly enjoy them and learn how to incorporate the concepts they teach into your own fighting style.

Soul Pads

System:  All
What: period esque tents.
Quality: *****
Selection: **
Customer Service: ****

I've been looking for a period tent, but ultimately settled on this.  It's not truly period, but it is generic and acceptable enough for the SCA which puts it a step above any foam fighting groups I know.  I ordered the 16 ft diameter tent with the attached floor.  Delivery was free and here in just over a week.  The whole thing rolled up is about the size of my weapon bag.  Its not too heavy, but not light.  As for quality the jury is still out on that.  I don't doubt it will live up to my expectations, but I've never had the chance to use one before so I'll wait an event or two until I comment on that.

So I finally set up my soul pad.  It was every bit as easy as described.  Stake it down, put up the center post, tighten the guy ropes.  It was easily in the 90's that day, and I had set up in full sun, so I could see how it was in the heat.  Opening the all 4 screens and the door was a must, but by doing that it was actually bearable inside.  A little warm, but I really didn't expect comfortable.  It was definitely cooler than I did expect though, which was the oven of your typical nylon tent.  Take down went even quicker, and I was able to get everything back in the bag it shipped with.  Even getting the largest size they had though it felt small.  I think thats because of how low the side walls are.  There was no shortage of room, rather the just a feel like there is less room, because towards the sides it feels cramped.

Went to my first event with the this tent.  Rakis in southern Colorado.  90 to 100 degrees during the day, 50's at night according to the weather forecast.  Performed like a dream.  Taking a nap in the middle of the day is a something I have never been able to do in a tent before.   My only complaint about this tent at all, is that it is overweight for a plane.  But that is something I will suffer gladly for a tent I can truly be comfortable in.

http://soulpad.com/sanctuary/

Foam and More

System:  All foam fighting systems
What: This is where I order MC foam for weapon making.
Quality: *****
Selection: ***
Customer Service: ****


This is where I go to order foam.  They have a huge selection, just about anything you could want.  But it is a wholesaler, so you need to know what you want.  They sell PE plank foam for shields, MC for swords, all in any density you could want.


http://www.foamandfoam.com/

House of Andar

What:  Boots

Quality:  *****
Selection:***
Service:*****

The Experience:  There is a long story about a pair of boots I bought from Regal Boots at the faire.   I won't repeat that story unless requested as I don't want to give him any more attention than necessary.    Suffice to say I found the experience to be completely miserable and was overcharged for the priviledge.  but I'm not here to talk about him.  I found the same pair of boots I got from him, at House of Andar for a third of the price.$119 vs $280.  This time I ordered these
http://www.dancestore.com/houseofandar/Mens-Black-Leather-Calf-High-Renaissance-Boots/productinfo/311-BK/
  It took approximately a week, from order to delivery, with two pair sitting on my doorstep.  They don't have many styles and only two colors.  If your looking for a tall boot, you'll notice that they all look the same, but the prices are different.  The pictures don't show it but there is a distinct difference in quality.  The more expensive boots are made with better leather, it's thicker and stiffer.   The cheaper boots feel more like a moccasin, while the others feel more like a real boot.  My first pair was the cheaper ones, that I paid  nearly $300 for from someone else.  They were a good boot, very comfortable.  If you need arch support like I do, you might want an insert  but thats about it.  If you are hard on boots, I am very hard on boot, spend the money on the better ones, or get the low top boots which are also the thicker leather.  If you are just looking for something to walk around in, and complete your outfit, the cheaper pair are still an awesome boot.  For hardcore fighting though, the tougher the better.

http://www.dancestore.com/houseofandar/See-Our-Boots/products/89/

Polar Bear Forge

What:  lamellar plates

Quality:  ****
Selection:****
Service:****

 The Experience:  I decided to get my son some lamellar plates for his armor for christmas.  I ordered on like the 20th, so I knew they wouldn't get their on time, but that's on me.  Jaime was tops on responding to my emails and answering any questions I asked, and there were several.  He's wasn't very proactive about keeping me in the loop, but I think he answered every email within 24 hours.  He gave a date of after the first of the year before he could get to it.  Kind of vague, but it is the holidays, and so I wasn't too concerned.  Plates were cut, shipped and received before the end of january.  All in all I was very pleased working with him.  He can cut nearly any lamellar shape you want out of almost any metal.  He's one I enjoyed buying from and would go back to.


http://www.polarbearforge.com/lamellar.htm

Armour Archive

What: A great resource for Armour
What: armor
Quality: *****
Selection: N/A
Customer Service: N/A

This  site is a great resource for would be armorers.  It is primarily devoted to SCA, but quality armor is appreciated everywhere.  There Classified section is a veritable treasure trove of products, links, and information.  It's a chat board, so it's only organization is according to most recent poster, and you never know what you will find there.  But there are high quality armorers throughout the game selling there, and if your willing to wait for a deal, you will almost always find it.  The design and Construction section, has a ton of information, but again it's a chat board, so the search function is your friend.  The Pattern Archive is also useful, but most of the patterns on it expect you to have a little previous experience making armor.  Still for anyone interested in armor this site is a must have in your bookmarks.
recommendation*****
http://armourarchive.org/

Raymonds QuietPress Review

What:  Brass casting, buckles, jewelry, belt hardware etc...

Quality:  ***
Selection:*****
Service:*****

The Experience:  A friend was getting knighted, so I went looking for hardware to make her belt look really spiff.  Raymond had just what I was looking for.  I ordered a buckle/tip set and several small rose mounts for the belt.  The materials were in stock and I had my hardware in 3 or 4 days.  I didn't get the set I ordered.  I thought maybe the error was on my part as I was in a hurry when ordering, I just clicked the wrong thing.  Quick investigation showed that it was a simple glitch in the catalog program.  I called Raymond up and told him about it.  He apologized immediately, and took the information for what I did want and promised it would be in the mail the next day.  I asked how much for the replacements and was told it was their mistake so there was no charge.  I asked what I should do with the wrong set I did receive.  Again I was told it was there mistake don't worry about it.  3 days later the right set was in my mailbox.   This is what customer service is all about.  I have ordered from Raymond since then with no problems, and continue to use him and recommend him to anyone who asks.  Raymond is an SCA vendor and you can catch him at some of the bigger events, but his product will make your kit for any game look better, and his prices are excellent.

https://www.quietpress.com/

An introduction

This site is devoted to reviewing and sharing all the different resources online for the modern medievalist.  Their will be links on here for Amtgard, SCA, Dagohir, Belegarth, and any other medieval system.  Links will include any site I find that I think will be useful.  Reviews will consist only of my personal experience, or the experiences of the specific poster.