ANST - Youth Chivalric.

[Morgan Cain]

Back when both rocks and our heads were softer, and I and my buds were poor
college students, we used plastic for our armor, and I think this is what
Ly, Isobel meant.  The kind we specifically used is called KYDEX and it can
be shaped with the heat of an oven, or even a blow-dryer.  Stinks, so we had
to be careful about when we used the old dorm oven, but cheap and easy to
work, and pretty hard once cooled.

You then pad as usual.  Helm, of course, had to be of steel, but almost
everything else could be shaped from the plastic.  I think we could cut down
old barrels or buy fresh sheets.  A key thing is to have a surcote to throw
over as this stuff can be only one step less ugly than carpet.

Now, this was twenty years ago, and armor standards have changed, so be sure
that it still "mets code."  Other inexpensive armor I have seen over the
years includes hardened leather and mail; one friend said that when he was a
poor student with a lot of time on his hand, he could afford wire and just
spend his free time knitting mail.  All of these have the benefit that
because we did a lot of the work, not only could we do all the needed
repairs, but we sometimes treated the items better because we knew we'd
spent a lot more than mere $$$ on them!

                    ---= Morgan

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