That depends entirely on your intended use for the armour. If you are doing re-creations that require an extremely high level of historical authenticity. . . they are likely to mandate mild steel for your armour. If you are primarily looking for costume pieces, Aluminum provides a very light and inexpensive option for armour that doesn't need to stand up to impact. If the price of titanium is too high for you, Stainless steel will likely provide a more cost-effective alternative. If, on the other hand, you are doing competitive medieval combat, titanium makes an outstanding choice for durability, strength and light weight. These characteristics of titanium cannot be matched by other materials.
How does titanium compare to spring steel as a choice for armour?
Spring steel is a relatively new re-discovery of of centuries-old armoring technology. In modern terms, instead of using the 1018 mild steel that has been used in community for a long time. . . other mild steels with a higher carbon content are used, notably 1050 or 1075 steel. These steels can be heat-treated to make them harder, and "springier" than the mild steels we are used to.
There are certainly advantages to this approach to armour, notably, you get a piece of armour that is made from more historically accurate materials, and one that because of the increased strength afforded by the heat treating, can be made thinner and therefore lighter than other mild steel harnesses.
There are also disadvantages. . . notably. . . rust. This is still steel, and it will still rust.
Now, finally. . . how does spring steel compare to titanium. Titanium is stronger, can therefore be made thinner, and is lighter than spring steel, and it also doesn't rust. Chart below:
For all of these reasons -I- would take titanium over spring steel; but. . . as noted above, the real question isn't the characteristics of the material, it's the use you have planned for the armour.
Your TI armour seems expensive compared to your stainless. . . why the big price difference?
Two reasons. . . cost of materials, and difficulty of fabrication (and therefore -time- to fabricate). A 4x8 sheet of mild steel runs about $45.00. . . a 4x8 sheet of 304 stainless steel about $325.00 . . . a 4x8 sheet of the 6al-4v titanium that we use runs about $3000.00. enough said on that topic.
In terms of difficulty of fabrication, the very same characteristics that make titanium a desireable material for armour, similarly make it an absolute -*****- to work; high tensile strength, great hardness, high shape memory. . . all contribute to make me curse at it nearly every day. . . and all contribute to make armour like no other. Figure that in terms of man hours, because it is so much more difficult to work, and because the techniques/tools/machinery are so different from those required to work steel, it takes more than 3x the time to make a piece out of titanium. And in the armouring business. . .as everywhere else. . . time is money.
Tell me about how you make sure your armour will fit me the right way. . .
Well, we start by taking a lot of measurements. To make a helmet, we'll ask you for 9 distinct measurements. We ask for a lot of measurements because, generally speaking, there's no such thing as "one size fits all" armour.
Having said that. . . we (as with -every- other professional armourer) have pieces that are produced and sent out; and despite the best intentions and efforts of everyone involved, something doesn't fit quite right. The difference is, that with us. . . we'll never leave you hanging.
We realize that it's gonna happen from time to time. . . maybe you mis-measured. . . maybe we patterned wrong. . . maybe you've been weightlifting and added muscle mass. . . maybe you slipped off your diet and and added some -other- mass ;-) . Whatever happened, the bottom line is that you've got a piece of armour that we made, that you paid good money for, that doesn't fit the way you want it to. and that's just not acceptable to us. So when something like this occurs, let us know, we'll make it right, because we're not happy with it, until you're happy with it.
No excuses, no Bull****, we're not going to say "well if you'd have measured right, it'd fit right". . . that's not the way we do things here. If it means we need to remake a piece for you. . . then that's what we will do (and have done). We just want you to be happy with our armour.
What happens if there's a problem with something I've purchased from you. . .
First. . . . you pause, and you take a deep breath, because this is not cause for panic, and regardless of the nature of the problem, we're not going to leave you hanging.
Then you sit down, and you fire me an email, explaining what the issue is, in as much detail as you can. . . while realizing that the last thing we want to do is send something to you that has a problem with it, but that sometimes, despite our best efforts and intentions something makes it through our quality-control process. . . but that this isn't a big deal, because we're not going to leave you hanging.
Then I'll write back to you, with some proposed solutions. . . maybe it something so easy that I can just say "if you do this ____ it'll be fine. Maybe it's something that needs to come back here for a fit adjustment. Maybe it needs to be completely re-fabricated. But whatever it is, there's no need for you to stress about it, because we're not going to leave you hanging.
Finally, when the needed changes have been made, we'll send it back to you. . . and you won't have needed to get stressed. . . why? (you guessed it!) Because we didn't leave you hanging!
* Note that the key to all of this is contacting me. If I don't know that there is a problem, there isn't a whole lot I can do about it. Complaining to your spouse doesn't help. Telling your buddies at fighter practice doesn't help. Posting notes on whatever bulletin boards you frequent doesn't help. Posting a tirade on myspace, or the armour archive doesn't help. Contacting me. . . is the only way I can remedy the situation. Please refer further down the page to "I sent you an email and you didn't respond" for further info on this topic.
Is Titanium Bulletproof?
There's a big difference between armour designed for medieval re-creation, and armor designed for ballistic protection. And while I've never actually tried it to be absolutely sure. . . I'm relatively confident that it's NOT bulletproof. ;-) (and for crying out loud, don't try it to see! )
How well does etching/engraving/inlay hold up in combat armour?
Overall. . . pretty well. Both the etching (chemical removal) and engraving (mechanical removal) processes result in something actually being cut into the surface of the metal. This is inherently pretty durable, whether it be in steel, stainless, or titanium. Inlay, when it is then placed into those cuts is somewhat protected from impacts, and therefore also holds up fairly well.
Having said that. . . is it indestructible. . . certainly not. If you dump it into your armour bag so that it rubs against the rest of your gear, will it get scratches. . . of course. In places where it gets hit by your oponent's weapon, will it show the scuffs. . . absolutely. Does it still look pretty doggone good, even after it's been used for quite a while. . . yeah. . . it does.
Powdercoating is a process whereby dry powders are deposited on a piece of metal by a static-electric charge. This forms an almost perfectly even layer of powder, which is then heated in special ovens, this causes the powder to melt, forming an even layer of plasic or epoxy that is bonded to the surface of the metal. Once cooled, you have a very durable, even coating of nearly any color over the surface of the metal.
This coating is smooth and even, can be either glossy or matte, and because it has an extremely strong bond with the underlying metal, will not flake or rub off, and is chemically neutral to most acids, bases, and solvents. In these regards it is significantly superior to paint.
It is also typically deposited in a 3-5x thicker layer than paint, this provides an additional level of durability.
Is it indestructible. . . no, it isn't. it is still subject to mechanical damage from impact (when weapons hit your armour), scraping (when one armour plate rubs against another), and rubbing (usually when it's in your armour bag). Over time, this will result in defects in the finish that will need to be either repaired, or ignored ;-).
Long and short, Powdercoating is a much superior option to paint, when your time period or choice of harnesses would otherwise dictate some sort of painted/colored finish, or something to that effect.
How well does Powdercoating hold up in combat armour?
What is Anodizing, how does it hold up, and why do you offer it?
Anodizing is a process that we utilize on Aluminum and (to a more limited extent) Titanium pieces, to impart a particular color to the metal.
Anodizing uses an electrical current during a chemical bath immersion to "grow" oxides of the metal on the surface. In the case of Aluminum, this is aluminum oxide, which is a -much- harder (90x, roughly!) material than pure aluminum. Aluminum oxide is so hard, in fact, that it is one of the most commonly used materials for making sandpaper. In the case of titanium this is titanium dioxide, which is also harder than the titanium alloys we commonly utilize, but is also formed from raw titanium naturally when in contact with Oxygen.
In the case of aluminum, the oxides form microscopic hollow "tubes" on the surface of the metal. These tubes are transparent, but can be "filled" with dyes of a variety of different colors, then the outside of the tubes are sealed closed, bonding the dye permantly onto the metal. By this method, aluminum itself can be colored more or less as desired.
Titanium works a bit differently, the anodizing process is used to control the thickness of the titanium dioxide layer. Unlike aluminum oxide, titanium oxide is translucent. . . which means that light passing through that layer is refracted. . . based on the amount of refraction, you get different colors on the metal (the same way a prism works). It also means that some colors are achievable. . . and others are not (notably, black is not an achievable color when anodizing titanium. If the color doesn't appear in the rainbow, you can't get it.) It also means that because anodizing occurs on an entire piece of metal at one time. . . you can't get different parts of a single piece to be diferent colors on titanium.
How do these hold up. . . very well indeed. Ultimately they are still subject to mechanical damage from impact, scratching, and rubbing. . . but beyond that, they are -part of- the metal. . . and cannot come off.
I tried to get ahold of you in email and you didn't respond.
First off. . . if you sent us something, and we didn't respond, we apologize. We never intentionally ignore anyone (as much as we would like to sometimes); but the fact is that we're human here, and a small company, with generally just one person who handles email. With 300+ emails per day (our average) coming in from multiple accounts, with multiple layers of security, spam blockers, and forwarding. . . we miss one sometimes.
Generally speaking, if we didn't reply. . . just kick us another note. If that still doesn't accomplish it (and that -has- aparently happened before. Our email setup is admittedly complex, (something we're working, in a painfully-expensive fashion to remedy) and I'm not the most uber-techno-savvy guy around). That's why we have -multiple- methods listed for you to get ahold of us. If email doesn't work. . . the phone number listed (317.773.7042) rings in the shop. . . in my office. . . and in my house (so if I'm not available, you might get the chance to speak with my beloved spouse). . . and has an answering machine on it as well. We've also got listed the postal address of the shop if -all else fails-.
The best time to get me instantly by phone is generally between 9:00 and 1:00, Indiana time, Tuesday-Friday. I am generally in the office working email and paperwork during those times.
Any time Tuesday through Friday between 1:00 and 9:00 pm, I'm usually available, although not necessarily immediately. During those times I'm usually in the shop, and if I'm in the middle of a heat or somesuch (could easily ruin a piece if I stop in the middle), I won't be able to take your call instantly, but I'll call you back.
I'm generally -not- available Saturday, Sunday, or Monday. During the Summer, we're usually off at one event or another. During the Winter, I'm a counselor for troubled teenagers in a residential setting. Go ahead and call though! Someone on staff (or a member of my family!) will take a message, and I'll call you back when I get back.
Sending me snide email about why I didn't respond to your first email, complaining to your buddies, whining online, and kicking the cat. . . all do not help. Generally speaking, if it is a pre sales situation, we won't be interested in doing business with you. If in a post-sales situation, we'll note it in your file, so that we don't do any -further- business with you. This is basically because we figure you're likely to be one of those guys who wouldn't be happy if you ordered something, we jumped you ahead of -everyone- else who is in the que, made it for you in two hours, and delivered it by hand two hours after that, along with the severed head of the salesman on top, with whipped cream and a cherry.
If you're one of those folx who would rather bitch and moan than actually work to solve a problem. . . if you're one of those folx who is pissed off when someone hands them a $20, because it isn't $100. . . if you're one of those who looks for any excuse to try and take advantage of our policies or our desire to try and make people happy . . . We don't want your business.
On the other hand, if you're someone who can be civil with us, and will give us even 1/2 a chance to try and take care of any problems. . . We will bend over backwards (and even forwards sometimes, so I'm told ;-) ) to try and accomodate your wishes. While we realize that we can't please everyone. . . we try to -really- hard, but it takes two to make that happen.
