New Knight Shop Sparring Gloves

[MugginsToadwort]

Well, I'm simply not a good enough fighter to protect my hands in the way that I'd like to (at least in longsword), and that lack of confidence affects my entire fight. I still want to be able to see if I can fight with steel without having to worry about ensuring that I have the necessary level of technical perfection to protect the bare hand. And whilst hocky and lacrosse gloves give some protection, I can tell by the bruising of my thumbs that not enough that way comes
I'm planning on going to Colin's event next year and I want to ensure that I've got hand protection that I can use before then. Preferably that I can fence in at Dreynevent and SWASH. That will probably mean a more expensive glove, but if it contributes to a better cheaper one then I'm all for that.

At the moment I think the Ensifer gloves do seem to be the best option

I keep looking at the Ensifers for next year, but price is scaring me... Anja and I have committed to going to Colin's thing, but the equipment costs are getting scarey!

[Magnus L]

A fractured finger is not cheap either so I would rather have a good glove (not only for its price range, but compared to what is available) and pay what that would cost than have something that is almost as good as what already exists. Why pay less for gloves than a steel sword if they are good? I do not mean that I want these to cost as much as an Albion if it can be avoided, but on the other hand I think it is interesting that sword prices are accepted to be higher than the prices of the protective equipment.

[Marc]

I'm looking forward to these being finished. Is there any update, or maybe some more recent photos?

I think they will be perfect for those of us who can't quite budget for Ensifers.

[hafoc]

Hurry up with these. I had my hand broken in October from a whippy plastic waster. I am out for 3 months because of the injury. Better hand protection is essential.

[Eugenio]

Protptype Images:



Uploaded with ImageShack.us


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

They will be available with different colour gloves (and available without gloves for those who want to use their own).

The plastic used our own blend of high impact plastic but will also be available in polycarbonate.

Very nice, in my opinion this is the way. Here is mine, made in PVC and leather are very safe, the fingertip is covered as seen in the last picture . As shown in this video the freedom of movement is total .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HX_Sp6FS ... ature=plcp





Uploaded with ImageShack.us

[Jose_Pereira]

Any news on this gloves/gauntlets?

The finger lames on the original prototype just scare me. A friend of mine nearly lost a finger a couple of months ago with a similar gauntlet design (steel). During steel sparring he got a strong frontal hit on a finger lame. The lame slid under the others and penetrated the ring finger articulation, sliding between the bones. When he took off the gauntlet his finger was hanging by a piece of flesh. Sorry for the graphic discription, but it was THAT bad.

Kind of a worst case scenario, but it can be avoided be a different design

[Dangermouse]

Hello Chaps,

Thanks for the continued interest in our project.

I think we have pretty much cracked it now as far as design and affordability is concerned.

We are in the process of having a new batch of prototypes manufactured. If they work out (which they should) then we will have hit all the main criteria that we were hoping for:

Affordable, can be used with steel, range of sizes, well articulated, available in kit form to reduce prices further.

I have to admit, the design is clever and there will be an option available for tougher materials and better padding.

A lot of the design work has come from the continued feedback I have received on and off forum so thanks chaps, it really is appreciated!

WHEN? I hear you ask Well, if all goes well with in house testing I will be sending a few pairs out to test groups. I am hoping to take some pre-production pairs to Dijon for tournament testing and to get more opinions and if all goes well they will be on the market shortly after this.

[craftyfighter]

[Hugh]

COOL!!

We'll be over in Conwy again in a month or two if you need some enthusiastic test subjects...

[Magnus Hagelberg]

Hello Chaps,

Thanks for the continued interest in our project.

I think we have pretty much cracked it now as far as design and affordability is concerned.

We are in the process of having a new batch of prototypes manufactured. If they work out (which they should) then we will have hit all the main criteria that we were hoping for:

Affordable, can be used with steel, range of sizes, well articulated, available in kit form to reduce prices further.

I have to admit, the design is clever and there will be an option available for tougher materials and better padding.

A lot of the design work has come from the continued feedback I have received on and off forum so thanks chaps, it really is appreciated!

WHEN? I hear you ask Well, if all goes well with in house testing I will be sending a few pairs out to test groups. I am hoping to take some pre-production pairs to Dijon for tournament testing and to get more opinions and if all goes well they will be on the market shortly after this.

Pictures or it didn't happen

That sounds like great news Bryan. Best of luck to speedy releese.

[Magnus L]

Are there any news about these gloves? It would be interesting to hear about the progress. Are there any photos of what the current model looks like? Have they been through more testing? Have they been sent out to test groups? What has the feedback been?

Sorry about all the questions, but I am eager to hear more.

[Jim.Barrows]

I'd like volunteer my group for testing. Not only do we spar multiple times a week, we can also provide you feedback on how well the gloves hold up to the heat (I'm sure Phoenix will get hot, you know over 110, despite the freezing cold winter we had, well below 80)
Please let me know if we can help!

[admin]

It would be nice to have any updates on these if possible - steel feders are becoming so common for longsword groups now, but we still totally lack good enough gloves at a reasonable price. I am contemplating running a feder tournament, but I am at a total loss at to what to recommend for gloves... I am almost at the point of demanding steel gauntlets for participants, as even steel gauntlets can be bought for less than the Ensifer type gauntlets.

[Dave B]

Whats the score with these gloves then? I was about to splash out on some new gloves for last fightcamp when I heard about these, and decided to wait and see, I really need to get some new gloves, but I don't want to spend 200e and then find out these come out and are cheap and good. Are they likely to be happening or not?

[Igor]

Any news about these gloves? Almost a year ago our group members decided not to order the ensifers and wait for these. Dangermouse let us know what's going on - if it's going on! Our fingers can't wait any longer!
Igor

[Relics]

After recently contacting the Knightshop, and asking if it was worth waiting for their sparring gloves or ordering Ensifer sparring gloves, paying out the money and waiting 4-5 months, i was told pretty swiftly to crack on with the Ensifer gloves, as these were probably the better option and would be vastly quicker than waiting for their own gloves to be released... no more excuses, better draw around my hand and order some.

[Jeremy S.]

I don't know what shipping to points on your side of the Pond would be, but the gloves from Absolute Force should be available for shipment next month. The prototypes displayed at Longpoint 2012 were very nice, and with the requested modifications they should be a very good alternative to the ensifer gloves. The construction is similar, but they will be 3-fingered with some rigid plates included. Some pictures can be found here:
http://hemaalliance.com/discussion/view ... ves#p29840

http://www.afinternationalsporting.com

We were told the list price will be 129 USD.

[admin]

Very interesting looking gloves! Maybe the Knight Shop would be interested in importing these. Hmmm

[tabiris]

Any news from the Knight Shop yet? These gloves look promising, but it's like the very idea of them just vanished into thin air...

[Steven H]

And the punch just got beaten to. The AF HEMA gloves are available for sale.

I'm buyin' these later this month.

Cheers,
Steven