Drop Tester for SCA Armor

The SCA published a method for testing fencing armor in its 2006 website at SCA.org. It uses a Meyer standard .1560ZP (5/32″ plus) drop pin on a heavy tube, and its drop height was designed to exert 1.5 Joules of force onto the material being tested — a much more scientifically accurate system than banging the armor into the dirt with a broken foil.

The set comes with the tube and clamps designed to hold the material being tested, the drop tube, and a specific Meyer-tipped drop weight to be used ONLY with the same tube. Each tube and weight are individually marked to make sure sets remain together. (You will need your own screwdriver or nut driver.)  It also comes with a copy straight from SCA.org of the directions, and a red bag to contain all the bits.

You can make one of your own; the information is free on the SCA website. However, Meyer will require that you order ten pins minimum, and the cost at Lowe’s for all the PVC was about $47 each. We are offering these testers more as a service to those who might not have the capacity to build their own. After all, the more people get into armor, the more swords we might sell!!