Dig Deeper Episode 45 - The Jack of Plate Armor, Part II Blacksmithing a Replica

Blacksmith and Historic Trades Interpreter Shel Browder, discusses how aspects of a 400 year old Jack of Plate armor (excavated at Historic Jamestowne) influenced his design of a wearable replica. He also describes the methods he is using to construct this Jack of Plate armor that will subsequently be part of future historical interpretation programs at Jamestown.
#Jamestown #JamesFort #JamestownRediscovery #archaeology #HistoricJamestowne #Armour #Armor #JamestownIsland #Jamestownsettlement #JamestownColony #JackofPlate #17thcentury #1600 #conservation #artifact #blacksmith #platearmor #platearmour

[@debbralehrman5957]

A wonderful explanation of how this work was done. Thank you so much for sharing it with us.👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@philiprayner]

thank you I am trying to make a 14th Century version of a jack so this video is very helpful

[@paulmorris1690]

Great video - Shel - I am sure that you wouldn't have starved to death - some female settler would have taken pity on you and fed you - I hope to meet you when I come down to see the site - Paul

[@kspoerle]

This is also your first jack plus there was no one to show you how to do it. You have had to discover the techniques on your own. Someone doing this back in the day would have had a lot of practice and would have been taught how. You did great!

[@LandersWorkshop]

They'd have also had more than one person working on it I suspect.@@kspoerle

[@kiwifruit27]

Fascinating, thanks for all your hard work 😓

[@APV878]

Utterly fascinating!

[@TheDreamtimezzz]

Thank for posting? Glad to see these continuing

[@ronniestanley75]

I absolutely love Jamestown videos. I went to school in Chesapeake VA and every year, as a kid, went to Jamestown on field trips. Now, I'm nearly 50. My wife has never been but, wants to. So, these are as close as I can get right now. Gotta get back there one day.

[@randomvintagefilm273]

Yeah, haven't seen a video in awhile! Thank you, I love this

[@whiterabbit-wo7hw]

I saw this and dropped everything to click on it.
I love these segments.

[@kathleendaugherty4218]

A very time consuming but well worth it project. Thank you for all your attention to the details

[@sventhomann7087]

An actual video on how to make one of those. Thank you very much!

[@terryt.1643]

I never heard of that kind of armor before. At a local historic site we have reconstructions of the thick leather jackets the Spanish soldiers wore on the California frontier in the 17-1800s. I found this video fascinating. Thanks. I am thankful our “armor” is lighter weight and easier to make.

[@ez-e8012]

12:27 Cool effect.

[@jaydubbyuh2292]

Thanks & praise to you for sharing your skills & passion to help us gain knowledge and understanding of those upon whose shoulders we stand.

[@abushman5938]

Absolutely amazing.

[@aoac1]

Really interesting! Hope to see more of the progress!

[@gymntonic]

Very cool! Is there any indication that those "tiny pom-poms" served any purpose other than decoration?

[@Cinder2008]

Been there, done that! Can’t wait to go back.

[@MrFukinfantastic]

I got to meet Shel on our trip to Jamestown! He was working on leather strips inside one of the recreated buildings. If I remember correctly.. I believe he explained that they would eventually be turned into some type of utility belt as everything that you need in Jamestown, you make yourself! Just like the settlers did ages ago. Very cool!

[@benitagrattan193]

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@PetiteKeyboardist]

I cross-stitch and wouldn’t even have the patience for that!

[@andrewsrambles7425]

for the little pom poms could you space the nails much further apart then after you've wrapped the thread around the nails 75 times you could tie threads together in several places then cut between where you've tied them together to get multiple pom poms at once?

[@beartooth8865]

👍

[@brucelee3388]

Couple of things: Bow strings were not made from a single length of thread, several lengths a bit longer than the bow stave's length were waxed (like leather worker's hand sewing thread today) bundled and then formed into a loop in the middle, twisted and formed into a cord which then had a thread 'whipping' placed around the middle where the arrow was nocked. Look up 'Flemish String' on your favorite search engine. Crossbow strings were made similarly but much thicker and with loops at each end instead of only one. Thread tufts - these were probably made by the children of families involved in the various sewing trades as part of their home duties as well as by apprentices as part of their early training. Apprentices were not paid but were contracted to work for their keep - food, clothes & housing - for several years, the first years were a loss to the master until the apprentice picked up enough skills to make a meaningful contribution to the workshop.

[@ersikillian]

What keeps the steel or iron plates from rusting and staining the garment?

[@LandersWorkshop]

Keeping it dry after it gets wet, drying it near a fire etc. Not sure how water repellant the wool is but would be fairly weather proof in all but the direst of weather?

[@philiprayner]

what size are the plates ?

[@philiprayner1772]

so it is actually a type of lamelar armor witch means that it could be older than the 15th and 16th Century ?

[@LandersWorkshop]

Yeah but I think this is the evolution to the point where it was fancy and fashionable? The earlier versions were more exposed weren't they?