Lamellar Torso Armor – 20 Gauge Steel – Lord of Battles

This lamellar torso armor is constructed from hundreds of segmented and interlocked plates of 20 gauge steel which are bound and laced together with thick leather cord. The armor is framed on the edges in thick suede leather and the inside of the shoulders are lined with leather to prevent chafing to your padded armor or arming garment beneath.

This armor is easy to don and can be easily adjusted to size with its dual split sides and matched side lacing. Lamellar armor tasset plates are also available and these are demonstrated in the last photograph. Please note that tassets are sold separately and are available via a thumbnail link under the also available section on this page.

Please Note: It is common for this item to have dried brown oil on the edges of the armor. This can be cleaned up with a wire brush or scuff pads with moderate effort. Care must be taken not to damage the leather cords during this process with an overly vigorous or hasty cleaning. Also, please be aware that this item comes with a notable amount of packing oil on and within it. This is done intentionally to prevent excessive rusting between the many segmented metal components of this armor during shipping and transition.

Please Note: It is typical for the leather edging of this item to have a substantial amount of oil on and within the leather. The many overlapping plates require this oiling to prevent rust. Please be aware that light colored clothing and padded armor will likely be easily stained from wearing this type of armor.

In the medieval period and even in centuries after, Lamellar-style armor was often the most widespread and preferred form of protection ranging from Eastern Europe to Japan. It is an improvement on older scale armor; the overlapping, laced plates allow for significantly more flexibility than scale armor which was rigidly bound to a backing and could only be bent in one direction with ease.

Due to the plates being of steel, Lamellar gives protection similar to plate armor, yet it much easier to construct for many smaller, identical plates are much easier to create than the large, flowing pieces of plate armor. In this regard they are also easier to mass-produce and are ideal for equipping large forces with this practical and protective form of armor. Its widespread use across time and distance well attests to its practicality and usefulness.

Many cultures adopted the concept of lamellar for their use; though its overall look varied according to type of plate and method and material for lacing, the initial principles were much the same.