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[Neonivek]

Knights could do cartwheels in their armour. A good suite of plate was custom made for it's wearer so it barely restricted movement, and the harnesses evenly distributed the weight across the body. The problem with it wasn't mobility, but overheating, because those things get toasty pretty quick when you're exerting yourself, and doubly so if it's a sunny day outside.

I say the weight of a Knight's suit of armor is less then it seems but more significant then you would think.

You would be surprised how much even, lets say, 2 pounds on a single arm can affect even a professional boxer's punches.

[DJ]

You mean negatively? Isn't there a whole trope about putting horseshoes into boxing gloves to make them more effective?

[Neonivek]

You mean negatively? Isn't there a whole trope about putting horseshoes into boxing gloves to make them more effective?

Is that because it makes the boxer punch harder or is that because it puts metal in the boxer's punch which is significantly harder then their bone and flesh?

[DJ]

The first, because horseshoe is hidden inside the glove, ie it's padded.

[Neonivek]

The first, because horseshoe is hidden inside the glove, ie it's padded.

I was making a joke mostly and saying that the horseshoe doesn't make the boxer punch any faster.

[DJ]

Speed is just one part of force, though.

[Neonivek]

Speed is just one part of force, though.

I am not doubting that a boxer is WAAAAY better off with a Horseshoe in his or her glove than without in the same way that a Knight is better off decked out in armor then not.

I am just saying that the weight of a Knight's armor might be a lot less and evenly distributed then people think, but even that small a weight change and movement restriction is noticeable.

[Mictlantecuhtli]

You can be informative without being condescending.
Don't be condescending.
Be informative--correct that which is perceived wrong.

And don't be condescending. -_-

Especially if you don't know anything about what you're talking about.

[DJ]

Ah, OK, I thought we're still on armor makes you slow as molasses and doesn't help with anything because swords can slice right through it.

[Neonivek]

Ah, OK, I thought we're still on armor makes you slow as molasses and doesn't help with anything because swords can slice right through it.

I do know that Chainmail helps with arrows, but I've never been able to find any supporting evidence as to how it does that. I am guessing under layer.

Then again people's idea of Chainmail is the "Chainlink shirt"

I thought we're still on armor makes you slow as molasses and doesn't help with anything because swords can slice right through it.

There have been fights where a person decked out in armor was actually near completely unharmed throughout and was defeated entirely through fatigue or because people tackled him to the ground and knifed them through their armor.

Armor was nice! and a Knight could do single armed push ups in them.

Also there is a "Armor that makes you slow" SO TO SPEAK! but that armor was made for mounted combat... but to my knowledge it was more that it would tire you out quickly.

[sjm9876]

From my knowledge, the problem with plate armour was not a loss of mobility so much as the weight caused greatly increased fatigue.

On the note of weapons against plate armour, I believe you would want either a piercing weapon, or a heavy weapon. the main advantage of, say, a claymore over a katana would be the fact that it's heavier and thus more effective as a club. (Again, I have no codified knowledge of this.)

As for katanas shattering..... not all weapons are made by high quality smiths, and I'm fairly sure Japan lost a large amount of its metalworking skill through wars and the like multiple times. With their poor iron, in one of the low knowledge dips, it's feasible a katana could've broken. More likely, it would lose its edge fairly easily, and we return to the problem that it isn't as effective for clubbing.

[Neonivek]

IIRC, the equipment modern soldiers carry is MORE than what knights in plate mail used to have to carry.

Yeah but that is why Knights tended to have an entourage.

[Arx]

IIRC, the equipment modern soldiers carry is MORE than what knights in plate mail used to have to carry.

Yeah, but it's all loaded onto their back so it doesn't take much extra effort to, say, raise an arm, whereas plate would weigh down everything.

[Sergarr]

The only nation which has used the sword as their main weapon of choice were Romans AFAIK, which certainly explains their proliferation in the Middle Ages, where every feudal king was trying to prove their lineage to the Roman Emperors.

Swords got replaced on the battlefield by pikes/halberds/guns anyway.

Also:

IIRC, the equipment modern soldiers carry is MORE than what knights in plate mail used to have to carry.

Yeah but that is why Knights tended to have an entourage.

Modern soldiers don't need entourage AFAIK, so why would Knights need it?

EDIT:

IIRC, the equipment modern soldiers carry is MORE than what knights in plate mail used to have to carry.

Yeah, but it's all loaded onto their back so it doesn't take much extra effort to, say, raise an arm, whereas plate would weigh down everything.

That's definitely not true. The gear is specifically placed so that it's equal in weight on front and on back.

[Arx]

IIRC, the equipment modern soldiers carry is MORE than what knights in plate mail used to have to carry.

Yeah, but it's all loaded onto their back so it doesn't take much extra effort to, say, raise an arm, whereas plate would weigh down everything.

That's definitely not true. The gear is specifically placed so that it's equal in weight on front and on back.

Oh. I think the point still stands, though, since it's still not on their extremities.