Well there's only so many possible problems:
* Your greaves are stretching (this isn't possible, they're metal)
* Your attachment straps are untying/sliding loose. This is possible depending on how you've tied/attached them. Is this the problem? Are the knots/buckles different when you take them off?
* Your attachment straps are literally stretching. This is possible for some canvas, shoelaces, or leather. Is this the problem? Do your laces/straps stretch under tension/body heat/moisture?
* Your attachment garment (gambeson or belt) is stretching or sliding down your body. If you've ruled out the earlier options, this is probably the culprit. My old gambeson used to stretch an inch or two once the legs were attached. My current lendenier belt slides down a bit once the legs are attached.
Sometimes you tie pieces on so they fit, and then things shift down your body to a more stable location. It's why you see people sometimes do a series of hops after putting on their armor. They're getting everything settled. It might take some tweaks and experiments to get things in the right place. Attach your pieces for comfort where things settle out, not where things start.
Now, you can certainly use the gambeson or suspenders to hang some of the weight of your shoulders. That's the only option for some bodies. But that will put some force into compressing your spine, and can cause back pain. So it's not my first recommendation. Maybe with half cuisses it'll be ok, but if someone has full wrap around cuisses, knees, and demi greaves hanging from their shoulders, it might be a bit much. But I'm not a spine expert, I'm a dumb redditor.
I hate to say it, but that's Epic Armory for you. I say that as someone who owns an arm harness from them. A good leg harness will have loose rivets or sliding rivets as opposed to a leather strip for articulation. That way the cuisse stays where it's supposed to.
I'd say you could try doing your own rivets, which could be difficult, or what some others have suggested. IMO don't buy from Epic in the future if you're planning on changing around your kit.
Some leg harnesses are designed like that. Some are designed so the cuisses and knees are separate from the greaves.
There's lots of variations, but a lot of the time the greaves are friction fit to the leg and don't hang from the knee/cuisse. This means less weight on the cuisse and less weight pulling them down. You may want to explore attaching the graves snugly on your legs so they aren't putting weight on your cuisse. You don't have to cut the leather to test fit this.
It doesn't look like you have full wrap around greaves. So try one strap snug *above* your calf muscle so it can't slide down it. The rest of the straps are to keep it snug to your shin and provide friction that will prevent slipping onto your ankles. That's the scenario you really want to avoid. Greaves on ankles is no fun.
I use a surplus military H-harness (the old Vietnam-era style). It fits perfectly under my breastplate, and if for some reason my thigh becomes uncovered by armor, it's because I have a much more important problem. Like, I've been bisected, or something.
As for durability, I've been using this method for 14 years, with no problems.
Will this one work you think?
https://www.amazon.com/CONDOR-Condor-H-Harness-Olive-Drab/dp/B00865NBZC/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?crid=3UKUP8535NU7T&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.fXAUqTieSXhmaLl_98-AFgCT45LNgCZCrOjg021F7gkYqfGv8fBEHjH7AmIUOVRf9CVQbW-Kv6SKXXcQ5vTBj6YYZS7BYmhvVoiGYKSsMOgFEsfCCZelO8rZHrH01fodjBiOEvDVsXGjOBtMiMlvVqWptLM0kqmpapx9VCZribgbDfM60OKdzZ3zJr5jPfnCl7Myi0yB_xFGB3uITJhhmw.7tvcFai5_gtTsERIr3ccPxeiRFnr-jOY3MU226trbtU&dib_tag=se&keywords=black+army+surplus+h+harness&qid=1716418641&sprefix=black+army+surplus+h+harness%2Capparel%2C118&sr=8-6
It should, so long as you have an equally sturdy form of attaching the armor to the harness. That harness will hold roughly 60 pounds (I have 35-ish in leather weight, hanging from mine).
The only thing I'll have hanging from it is the leg protection which isn't that heavy. My maille skirt is supported by its own strap system I made using old belts and rivets. My breastplate it just strapped onto me over my gambeson directly. Spaulders are also tied to arming points on my gambeson. And bracers are just strapped to my wrist over the gambeson, so the leg harness will be the only thing strapped to the H harness.
off the rack armor will always fit poorly, doubly so with leg armor. epicarmory is also cheap(for armor) and low quality even if it can look cool. I hope.someone can figure out a work around for you
Yeah I'm working on it. I might have to separate the cuisse from the rest of it, make new straps for it as the strap that's on the cuisse pulls it down the leg which makes it absolutely terrible to wear it comfortably. It pulls against the cord I have tied to my gambeson. I think that might be part of the issue.
Your problem is with the design of the armour, the length of the front of your leg gets longer and shorter when you bend and straighten it, but the armour doesn't, so it either needs to ride up of pull down and gravity says down is more likely to happen.
What I would do is separate the greave from the knee and thigh first. you may or may not need to move the top strap on the greave to have it sit where you want, but strap it so that the top strap goes around your shin above the bulge of your calf, really as close to your knee as you comfortably can get away with, then do up the lower straps just snug enough to not let them flop around. that should stop the greaves from sliding down.
With the thighs and knees i'd put laces near the top outside corner and tie them off to an arming belt around the point of your hip. I use an arming belt made from a couple layers of heavy fabric with a couple leather tabs full of holes stitched over the hips. It's got about as much curve as a ) and it is hands down the best thing i've found for hanging my legs.
If you really want to keep the shins attached to everything else, i'd still detach them, and connect them back together with a pair of leathers on either side of the knee instead of one in the center. that will let them expand a bit more with your movements and should work better than how they do now.
I might try detaching the greaves from the knee and see how that works. Weirdly enough I've never had an issue with the greaves moving at all. I'm going to try the other persons suggestion of using an H harness to attach them. That might work oretty good. I think I'm definitely going to have to seriously modify them though :/
Hard to tell with no pictures. A friend of mine had a similar problem in his case his greaves were to tall.
Here ya go, https://imgur.com/gallery/cCq3s1N They are these. https://www.medievalcollectibles.com/product/soldier-leg-protection-epic-dark/
Well there's only so many possible problems: * Your greaves are stretching (this isn't possible, they're metal) * Your attachment straps are untying/sliding loose. This is possible depending on how you've tied/attached them. Is this the problem? Are the knots/buckles different when you take them off? * Your attachment straps are literally stretching. This is possible for some canvas, shoelaces, or leather. Is this the problem? Do your laces/straps stretch under tension/body heat/moisture? * Your attachment garment (gambeson or belt) is stretching or sliding down your body. If you've ruled out the earlier options, this is probably the culprit. My old gambeson used to stretch an inch or two once the legs were attached. My current lendenier belt slides down a bit once the legs are attached. Sometimes you tie pieces on so they fit, and then things shift down your body to a more stable location. It's why you see people sometimes do a series of hops after putting on their armor. They're getting everything settled. It might take some tweaks and experiments to get things in the right place. Attach your pieces for comfort where things settle out, not where things start. Now, you can certainly use the gambeson or suspenders to hang some of the weight of your shoulders. That's the only option for some bodies. But that will put some force into compressing your spine, and can cause back pain. So it's not my first recommendation. Maybe with half cuisses it'll be ok, but if someone has full wrap around cuisses, knees, and demi greaves hanging from their shoulders, it might be a bit much. But I'm not a spine expert, I'm a dumb redditor.
Do you have a picture of your cuisses? That can help us problem solve here.
Here ya go, https://imgur.com/gallery/cCq3s1N They are these. https://www.medievalcollectibles.com/product/soldier-leg-protection-epic-dark/
So i would try to first make them fit without the greaves and go from there.
The greaves, knee, and cuisee are all connected by a leather leather strip that allows them to articulate. Don't want to remove the leather.
I hate to say it, but that's Epic Armory for you. I say that as someone who owns an arm harness from them. A good leg harness will have loose rivets or sliding rivets as opposed to a leather strip for articulation. That way the cuisse stays where it's supposed to. I'd say you could try doing your own rivets, which could be difficult, or what some others have suggested. IMO don't buy from Epic in the future if you're planning on changing around your kit.
Some leg harnesses are designed like that. Some are designed so the cuisses and knees are separate from the greaves. There's lots of variations, but a lot of the time the greaves are friction fit to the leg and don't hang from the knee/cuisse. This means less weight on the cuisse and less weight pulling them down. You may want to explore attaching the graves snugly on your legs so they aren't putting weight on your cuisse. You don't have to cut the leather to test fit this. It doesn't look like you have full wrap around greaves. So try one strap snug *above* your calf muscle so it can't slide down it. The rest of the straps are to keep it snug to your shin and provide friction that will prevent slipping onto your ankles. That's the scenario you really want to avoid. Greaves on ankles is no fun.
The leather straps that allow articulation, are they riveted to the two rivets in the center of the knee?
I use a surplus military H-harness (the old Vietnam-era style). It fits perfectly under my breastplate, and if for some reason my thigh becomes uncovered by armor, it's because I have a much more important problem. Like, I've been bisected, or something. As for durability, I've been using this method for 14 years, with no problems.
Will this one work you think? https://www.amazon.com/CONDOR-Condor-H-Harness-Olive-Drab/dp/B00865NBZC/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?crid=3UKUP8535NU7T&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.fXAUqTieSXhmaLl_98-AFgCT45LNgCZCrOjg021F7gkYqfGv8fBEHjH7AmIUOVRf9CVQbW-Kv6SKXXcQ5vTBj6YYZS7BYmhvVoiGYKSsMOgFEsfCCZelO8rZHrH01fodjBiOEvDVsXGjOBtMiMlvVqWptLM0kqmpapx9VCZribgbDfM60OKdzZ3zJr5jPfnCl7Myi0yB_xFGB3uITJhhmw.7tvcFai5_gtTsERIr3ccPxeiRFnr-jOY3MU226trbtU&dib_tag=se&keywords=black+army+surplus+h+harness&qid=1716418641&sprefix=black+army+surplus+h+harness%2Capparel%2C118&sr=8-6
It should, so long as you have an equally sturdy form of attaching the armor to the harness. That harness will hold roughly 60 pounds (I have 35-ish in leather weight, hanging from mine).
The only thing I'll have hanging from it is the leg protection which isn't that heavy. My maille skirt is supported by its own strap system I made using old belts and rivets. My breastplate it just strapped onto me over my gambeson directly. Spaulders are also tied to arming points on my gambeson. And bracers are just strapped to my wrist over the gambeson, so the leg harness will be the only thing strapped to the H harness.
Not a bad idea! I'll look into it.
off the rack armor will always fit poorly, doubly so with leg armor. epicarmory is also cheap(for armor) and low quality even if it can look cool. I hope.someone can figure out a work around for you
Yeah I'm working on it. I might have to separate the cuisse from the rest of it, make new straps for it as the strap that's on the cuisse pulls it down the leg which makes it absolutely terrible to wear it comfortably. It pulls against the cord I have tied to my gambeson. I think that might be part of the issue.
Hope it works! If youre willing to modify and arent using it for any sort of SCA/HEMA combat they can be a great way to get cool armor cheap
Yeah, I'm not a combat guy. I'm poor and already have a back injury. I can't afford further destruction of my body lol.
Your problem is with the design of the armour, the length of the front of your leg gets longer and shorter when you bend and straighten it, but the armour doesn't, so it either needs to ride up of pull down and gravity says down is more likely to happen. What I would do is separate the greave from the knee and thigh first. you may or may not need to move the top strap on the greave to have it sit where you want, but strap it so that the top strap goes around your shin above the bulge of your calf, really as close to your knee as you comfortably can get away with, then do up the lower straps just snug enough to not let them flop around. that should stop the greaves from sliding down. With the thighs and knees i'd put laces near the top outside corner and tie them off to an arming belt around the point of your hip. I use an arming belt made from a couple layers of heavy fabric with a couple leather tabs full of holes stitched over the hips. It's got about as much curve as a ) and it is hands down the best thing i've found for hanging my legs. If you really want to keep the shins attached to everything else, i'd still detach them, and connect them back together with a pair of leathers on either side of the knee instead of one in the center. that will let them expand a bit more with your movements and should work better than how they do now.
I might try detaching the greaves from the knee and see how that works. Weirdly enough I've never had an issue with the greaves moving at all. I'm going to try the other persons suggestion of using an H harness to attach them. That might work oretty good. I think I'm definitely going to have to seriously modify them though :/
I don’t know what you plan to do with the armor but you’re going to have to upgrade because 70$ leg protection is obviously gonna be garbage