German Gothic mitten gauntlets
Measurements:
Absolutely beautiful German Gothic mitten gauntlets. Includes an integral
thin leather mitten, securely sewn in to the steel gauntlet at the
sides, fingertips, and thumb. Two articulating plates at metacarpals,
knuckle risers, and four finger plates. Hinged thumb assembly of four
plates. 18 gauge mild steel construction, but they're significantly tougher
than an 18 gauge helmet, thanks to the fluting and edging and overlapping
plates. (That's the whole point of the German Gothic style - extra strength
through fluting!)
Therion mini-review: these gauntlets were copied from museum originals, and
are fantastic for dress wear, theatrical and film costuming, equestrian
pursuits, and longsword/greatsword reenactment combat. The finger
articulation is a bit stiff right out of the box, but it wil loosen up with
use. As these are a historical design, I don't recommend them for SCA
rattan heavy combat use, except for longsword and two-hand sword
fighting. Most SCA-designed gauntlets have an ahistorical flex to the
wrists plates to accomodate the wrist-snap style of single-sword use, and the period design of the thumb hinge attachment doesn't provide protection to an SCA polearmer's thumb soft tissue - as a 20+ year SCA polearm specialist, I had several injuries to my thumbs in the early days of reinforced hockey gauntlets,
from shots coming in on my lead hand and peeling my thumb back from the
pole. Your mileage may vary, I'm just relating my experiences.
Other than not recommending these for SCA single sword and polearm combat,
I give these gauntlets an enthusiastic two thumbs up!
length: 14 1/2"
cuff: 6 1/8"
knuckles to fingertips: 4"
thumb assembly: 6"
inner leather mitten: 9"
weight: 1 lb 14.6 oz (each)
fits hands sized Medium to Large