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Domain: armor.com

Stories and comments across the archive that link to armor.com.

Comments · 6

  1. Re:Suit of Armor by Seraphim_72 · · Score: 1 · on 5-Axis Robot Carves Metal Like Butter

    Man made is better

  2. Re:Ren Faires by Seraphim_72 · · Score: 2, Insightful · on Ancient Swords Made of Carbon Nanotubes
    Daniel Watson is a hack and a charlatan. Got to watch him fumble in front of a guy with a PhD in metallurgy. "No Sir, you dont understand blades. No Mr Watson, you don't understand metal, at all." The guy imports what he sells from mexico. His people just polish it up and add the fittings. He is well know for this in the Renfaire circuit. We got him punted from the MN RenFest because of his lousy product and the inhumane way he treats his "apprentices". His blades are hard and brittle. Put one of those in a vice and hit with a hammer, my bet is that it snaps in half. Try buying a real blade instead. Go ask Daniel for your money back.

    Sera

  3. Re:WOTC+D&D by Seraphim_72 · · Score: 1 · on Generic Dungeons, Universal Dragons
    The grandparent's comments about longswords is about the fact that in modern nomenclature there is no difference between a dnd broadsword and a dnd longsword. They do not exist as seperate entities. The gp is also correct about bastard swords. A bastard sword is (traditionally) a blade of equal length to a broadsword, or a bit more, but with extra length to the hilt. This allowed the man weilding it to do what came naturally, grab and swing with both hands. Making it "exotic" is like making a two handed back-hand in tennis and "exotic" skill. It is a common fallacy than a fully armored knight was cumbersome and slow. Slow on a battlefield means dead on a battlefield. The rules in the game are a mechanic, so that everyone isn't running around in plate mail 24/7 - they are not meant to be a reflection of reality (or that is what I keep telling myself).

    There was a Dragon issue ages ago where some of the editorial staff went out to a boffer fight and came away some revelations such as that shields are worth far more than +1.

    And no, I am no armchair warrior. I have made the stuff before. And trust me, you work there, you have to know your history.

    Sera

  4. Re:Markets always trump cartels eventually by sandwiches · · Score: 1 · on President of RIAA Says Sony-BMG Did Nothing Wrong

    People only follow laws as long as it's a 'hassle' not to. In other words, they'll follow laws as long as it is relatively easy to get caught. The moment it is easy for people to bypass a law such as in the internet, the law cannot be practically enforced. A law that cannot be enforced dissipates and dies, eventually.

    The new generation of net users are growing up with an effectively unrestricted connection where they know they can get any song they want for free any time.

    These are the same kids that will grow up to be artists and 'content creators.' These are the same that will grow up to be lawyers and law makers.

    It'll be interesting to see how people will view music, videos, books, etc, in a couple of generations. I suspect that most of these type of media will be created much the same way free, open-source software is made today. Simply because you like to.

    Many people are worried about what artists might do if they cannot earn as much money as they currently do if anyone can download a copy of your song/book/etc any time. I think artist will become even rarer the same way scribes became rare but people still hire professional typographers to do certain work. After all, people still make carriages, swords, and armor despite the obvious fact that very few people still use them and there's better choices.

    People will only pay for material if they think it is worth it and they cannot get it cheaper elsewhere with an equal or less hassle. I would pay to go to a concert by the Three Tenors, but I wouldn't buy one of their CDs. Why? Shouldn't I be supporting artists I like? Sure. I would support them by paying, sometimes, hundred dollars to attend their performance. The problem is that artists and 'content cretaors' are used to becoming celebrities. It is expected that making it big means having a multimillion dollar house, dozens of expensive European cars, and other such luxuries. I simply don't think that a musician's performance or writer's book really deserves that much money. I think as the younger generations grow older, more people will agree with me, even if not conciously.

    Will artists become rarer? I think so.
    Will most artists not make it as big as the stars of the past? Probably.
    Is this necessarily a problem? If you're content creator, yes.
    Will this have a generally negative effect on society? I think not.

    I think the overall effect will be the same as copier machine makers not being as profitable if they focused on only copiers after the advent of printers and scanners.

  5. Re:Blacksmithing by Seraphim_72 · · Score: 3, Informative · on What Ancient Tech Do You Do?

    Trust me - Harbor Frieght sells a terrible anvil. Wait till you get to use a good one and then you will appreciate the difference. I work pt (for fun) at Arms and Armor I shudder to think of what it would cost to rebuy our forging equipment (especially the stakes) and we have a couple nice anvils and one that looks like we put it under a surface grinder daily - flat smooth - nice. As for doing the Gingery books - I highly recommend trying the casting ones, but as for the rest - it is a lot like 'roll your own linux' very educational, kinda fun, but man alive - your time is also worth something - try Grizzley tools.They are still junky tiawan/chinese tools - but they are considered the best of the low/pro-sumer tools. Sorry this was so long - meh.

    Sera

  6. Re:SCA! by Seraphim_72 · · Score: 1 · on Is the Seeking of Lost Skills/Arts a Hacking Analog?

    I CAN comment on SCA technique ....and it sux -- www.armor.com There is where I work - and there you find good steel... - nuff said