Be sure your armor will be Dagorhir-legal (see below) before beginning construction. Leather armor must be at least 3/16 of an inch thick (where every 1/16 inch is 4 ounces per square foot, so 12 ounces minimum). Metal armor must be minimum 16 gauge (non-plate) or 18 gauge (plate) and not more than 1/8" thick. That being said, there are many web resources available:
Buying Armor
Enderonimus (Dagsearch the Dagorhir boards)
Making Armor
The Arador Armour Library (A true gem on the web: Plate, Maille, Leather, Scale; patterns, tutorials, supplies, tools; gallery, links, info)
Basic Armouring (pdf)
Speed Chain Mail Construction (using half pre-closed rings)
Leather Armor (no wax hardening)
Leather Armor (adds water hardening to above design)
Dagorhir Armor info (courtesy Kingdom of Anfalas)
Techniques of Medieval Armour Reproduction by Brian Price (book)
How to Blacken Stainless Steel Armor: here and here
Buying Supplies
Cleaning Armor
Leather Cleaning Techniques (from Dagorhir Boards)
Is it Dagorhir Legal?
Dagorhir legal armor is detailed in the Manual of Arms:
5.1.General:
5.1.1.All types of armor provide the same level of protection.
5.1.2.Armor protects only the area it covers.
5.1.3.Helmets and neck armor protect from yellow/white weapon hits to the head and neck when worn on the head.
5.1.4.The front, back and sides of the torso are considered a single strike zone for armor coverage.
5.1.5.All armor within a strike zone counts as a single piece of armor no matter how many separate pieces of armor are actually present.
5.1.6.Armor may not be concealed. It must remain visible to other players. You may wear a surcoat or tabard over armor as long as that the armor must be visible from all sides.
5.1.7.The first hit from a blue weapon to an armored strike zone has no effect.
5.1.8.The second blue hit:
5.1.8.1.To an armored torso results in death.
5.1.8.2.To an armored limb results in loss of the limb.
5.1.9.A one-handed green thrust has no effect on armor, even if previously struck with a blue weapon.
5.1.10.Armor protection against blue weapon strikes is not eliminated due to a previous two hand green or yellow weapon hit.
5.1.11.Armor does not offer protection against red weapons or two-hand green thrusts.
5.1.12.Rigid plastic safety equipment for knee and elbow protection is permitted but should be concealed under clothing.It does not count as armor.
5.1.13.No one in armor may initiate grappling.
5.1.14.Rigid armor including helmets must not protrude more than 0.5-inch from the body.
5.1.15.Rigid armor including helmets must have no points (must be penny round).
5.1.16.Rigid armor including helmets must have blunted edges.
5.1.17.Armor must not catch any appendages. Fingers should not catch in armor.
5.1.18.Armor must be passed by heralds from two separate realms, assuming an inter-realm event.
5.2.Metal armor:
5.2.1. Metal armor may be made of iron, steel, bronze, brass, copper or titanium. Aluminum and other modern alloys are not allowed, with the exception of titanium.
5.2.2. The minimum thickness of non-plate metal armor is 16-gauge.
5.2.2.1. The minimum thickness of plate metal armor is 18-gauge.
5.2.3.The maximum thickness of metal armor is 1/8 inch.
5.2.4. Acceptable Standards for 4:1 European Weave Chain mail
| Gauge | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | Etc |
| Butted Link Maximum Ring Diameter | 1/2" | 3/8" | 5/16" | 1/4" | ** |
| Non-Butted Maximum Link Diameter* | 1/2" | 3/8" | 3/8" | 3/8" | ** |
**At the discretion of the event organizers | |||||
5.2.5.No metal knee or elbow armor with the exception of ring or chain mail.
5.2.6. Metal helms may only be constructed with 18- to 16-gauge. Helms may not have non-period grills. All other armor standards apply.
5.2.7.Any corners should be rounded to at least 1/2" radius.
5.3.Leather armor:
5.3.1.The minimum thickness for leather armor is 3/16 inch. The minimum thickness requirement can be achieved by layering several pieces of thin leather.
5.3.2.Studded, scaled, or brigandine armor can only be counted as armor if 2/3 of the area is covered by metal, or the studs/rings/plates are no more than 1/2" apart.
5.4.Armor may not be constructed of plastic or other non-period materials.











