That's 17 days from today. I need to get my poop in a group and make sure I'm ready. Appearance-wise, that is. There's not a lot I can do in two weeks to skyrocket my prowess (but I do need to practice with this smaller shield some more).
Here's what absolutely needs to be done with my kit before the tourney:
>Finish my gauntlets.
I'd say I'm 90% done already; one is completely together except for the thumb, and I just need to put the other one back together. This has been a little fiddly and time consuming, but certainly not difficult.
>Revist my body armor.
The lamellar is completely funtional right now, but there's two issues: one is that the straps are still raw leather and are a little ugly; and the other thing--the big thing--is that the way it's strapped right now I can't get into it by myself. It's always been a personal rule that I can get into and out of my armor completely by myself, without any outside assistance. So I'm going to re-strap them. I think all I need to do is bring the buckles forward a bit. I like the profile better when the buckles are far in the back, but I'd rather have a slightly clunky profile than have to bug people to strap me up before every practice.
I also have to do something about the paldrons. I don't have any right now, and I haven't paid the price for that yet, but it's only a matter of time. I need something covering my shoulders. I like what Sir Dilan has done, I may do something similar. The paldrons are actually optional for Crown, I can do fine without; but I'd rather not. Finally, I need to finish the edges of the lamellar with some thin leather; it presents such a nice finished look.
>Cut new swords.
My sword is mush at the end right now. I've strapped it down as hard as I could to get a few more swings out of it, but no way that'll cut it for Crown. And, since it's possible that I'll have to fight 2-sword at some point, I'll cut a second sword, too. I already have a matching basket.
>Recover my shield.
It's all strapped up, I just need to cover it with fabric. This is a quick and easy job.
And that's really all that's mandatory. Other things I'd like to do, if there's time:
>Revisit my helmet.
This damn helmet. It's a low-rent spun top bar grill, nothing fancy at all. As a Knight I really should be wearing something better. I've tried to commission a custom helm but, apparently, every armorer in the SCA is a big fucking flake (or, I'm just sour since the last two armorers I dealt with each gave me the big "oh yeah, no problem, this will be great!" rah-rah than fed me two years of excuses and fell off the face of the earth, respectfully).
Anyway, now I'm thinking that I just make the best of what I have: add some simple brasswork, maybe add a fabric drape... I already have the brass knob on the top. It could work.
>Make new greaves.
I'd like to make something that better stays in place (my current greaves are forever twisting around my leg) and mimics the look of a tall Russian boot. I think this will be a simple project, really, I just need to get to it.
>Make bazubands.
Or, more properly, a pair of naruch.
As the illustrations demonstrate,
But, the chances that I'll remake my arm armor in a way I've never done before just two weeks before Crown is very, very slim. I'm already fighting with a shield that's 2" shorter in both directions, I don't need to be figuring out new arms at the same time.
So that's all I need to do for Crown. Oh, and win.
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