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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>> I will
correct a bit of my language from my previous post -- this</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>> is
specifically a chain mail gauntlet, not any metal gauntlet. It
is</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>> proof
against CUTS, not thrusts.</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> <snip></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT>> In answer to Rurik's query: No matter if the mail covers
the</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT>> palm or not, the palm can still be damaged if it grabs a
blade.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>So the chain mail gauntlet is proof against cuts on
the back of the hand but not the front? Or is it that a gauntlet is
exactly like a buckler, and therefore protects against cuts, until the hand
starts to grab, and suddenly the mail turns to cloth and gets
sliced?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>> In answer
to Brian's question, yes, you can still grab the blade.</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>> I see
no rule against it. However, given the rules I see little</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=3>> advantage to grasping with it rather than a leather gloved
hand.</FONT><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>That's not a question that comes up, if I actually
have a weapon in one hand. I don't decide whether to use a gloved hand or
a chainmailed hand to grab with -- I grab with the empty hand.
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>If we are trying to simulate the sixteenth century,
the advantage is obvious -- mail protects the hand from a cut. That's what
it's for -- to protect the hand when grabbing the blade. Even under the
weird rule about grasps, there's still a real advantage -- the mailed hand
cannot be cut unless and until I succeed in grasping the blade. Also, I
could protect my hand by simply letting go and letting him do a real cut.
It's a completely unrealistic tactic, but it's forced by the unrealistic rule
about a defensive secondary suddenly losing its defense when actually
used for its only intended sixteenth century purpose.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>> The purpose of this rule ... is to reduce incidents of fighters</DIV>
<DIV>> just hanging on to the blade and perhaps wrestling over it.</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>That seems backwards. The only wrestling over
the blade allowed in the rules, and the only wrestling I've seen, comes
from the attempt to twist it. Disallow that, and the wrestling
is gone.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Robin of Gilwell / Jay
Rudin</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>