Metal Armour Hand Gloves Pair with Inviting Decor Appeal-(36302)

Its either that or I am not delusional about the cost of armor in a time when if your armor is poor & you die as a result of it the Smithy doesn't risk getting cut in half by your brothers! The chief complaints I saw in the reviews were no where to be found in my pair of gauntlets. The issue of being able to use them with a sword in your hand... No problem they were stiff but I was able to hold a real full tang long sword without issues right out of the box. Leather gloves riveted to stele maybe a good mink oil treatment will help avoid rust & make the leather supple & pliant enough to really get a good grip on your weapon of choice & once there broke in & sweet saturated maybe you could get a grip on your opponents weapon.. Also I had no loose missing or over lapped plates. As far as not for use in real sword fighting...well if I sold perfectly good straight razors I would put a disclaimer out that they were not to be used in a razor fight. As far as that goes they might not be up to S.C.A. standards for full contact sparring but I think they would provide adequate protection & are far less dangerous than sparring with rat tail tang swords sold as full tang swords. For the money I am very satisfied the Gauntlets fit me well are not rotten leather are well made & look great. As far as use for sparring that is the responsibility of the people relearning the lost arts of medieval combat, think safety first when training, keep it fun you & your sparring partner won't be doing each other any favors by injuring each other. As far as costume armor you can't go wrong with these well made attractive Gauntlets. p.s. you might want consider these a nice alternative if brass knuckles are illegal in your state, a well placed round house with these would pop the top half of a bad guys head off! Since writing this I found out a little bit about S.C.A. rules & I can tell you this when armor items have a disclaimer this does not mean it is inferior in any way for combat use! It may not fall under S.C.A. regulations because of sharp edges or lethal design. Keep it fun, keep it safe!!!!!

I ordered these gloves for my son, because he loves medieval festivals, and fairs. So he wanted to go as a knight, I saw these, I thought they were at an amazing price and baught them. When they came in, BOTH of the gloves were right handed! We had to compromise with leather gloves for the festival. Not only that, but the thumb piece kept overlapping over the other fingers. If anyone else has this problem, let me know!

I bought these gloves to complete a Dr. Doom costume, and let me tell you, I made the right choice! They look fantastic because they are real metal gauntlets. Aesthetically, they were absolutely perfect. Wearing them was not unpleasant. They were loose enough to accommodate my hands but not so loose as to let them slide off. And they're fairly light, so they're easy to wear for a long period of time. They stayed on and in place all day long and were pretty comfortable considering, after all, the fact that they are metal gauntlets. They were a perfect complement to my costume, but they did have a few slight drawbacks. Namely, the quality of the leather. After a few hours in them, the seams began to split, leaving big holes between a few of the fingers. And I hope you are a person who likes to get your hands dirty, because these gloves will do it! When I finally took them off, my hands were gritty and black. Even after a wash. However, even with the leather looking like crud, the gloves still held strong and I was really the only one to notice the imperfections, because the metal is well made. Overall, I'm completely happy with my purchase. I got the gaunlets for their aesthetic value, and they were well worth every penny. (They were relatively cheap too!) My costume was a smash hit at NYCC 2012 and I will definitely recycle the gauntlets for future cosplay! I would definitely recommend this product. But only for costume purposes!

To forewarn, this review is partially based on the price I paid for the gloves, which including shipping was about 40 bucks. I ordered these gloves along with chain-mail because I was tired of paying 50 bucks a year for a costume. I figured that the gloves and mail (together I spent about 160) will be pretty much my staple Halloween costume for eternity. So here is what I have to say about these gloves; Pros: The gloves themselves while being sturdy, are rather light feeling. To give you an idea of how they would feel, basically they are simple leather gloves with arc shaped plates overlapping on the joints. The plates are flexible, and the gloves are somewhat warm, but not causing your hands to sweat indoors. You can move your hands with relative ease, sometimes the plates catch, but overall the gloves didn't stop me from being able to do most things with my palms (you really can't use your fingers, but what are you expecting with plate gloves). The price is right. That was a big thing for me, alot of this stuff costs so much that its not worth buying them for 1 - 3 times a year, but at 40 bucks with shipping, I knew if they where as described then they would be one of the coolest things to have, and it is. The gloves are not thin tin crap that bends because you accidentally touched them wrong, they are strong enough that if you don't drunkenly test out if a sword can cut through them, they will last forever. The gloves fit, and I got big hands. I dunno my hand size, but I have larger than most people hands, and pretty long fingers. The point is, they fit really well, and you can probably make some tightening strap if you feel they might slip. Cons: The metal scratches, that kinda makes them less shiny... but a little more BA in my book. I guess its a preference thing, but you can polish out the scratches. The only complaint I can lodge is the gloves are this: When you close your fist, the knuckle guard overhangs by a good two inches. That's great if for some reason you have a sword swinging down on your hand, not so good when you are poking alot of people with it. Honestly I'm tempted to sand down the edges of the gloves so they pose less of a threat. Last thoughts, If you got the cash, don't cheap out and go for the chainmail gloves, spend the cash and get these gloves. You won't be disappointed. *Update* After having them for 6 months, my thoughts haven't changed. They are still worth every penny, when I don't use them, they are still awesome as an art piece. The only new problem I have with them, is that leather glove lining is slowly falling apart. Its not a big issue, I can get another set of gloves, punch the holes, and line the gloves myself (even custom fit them) but it might be an issue for some people. Again despite the leather part, I would recommend these for anyone. Not just for costumes or for renaissance buffs, I mean these should be mandatory for how cool they are in general. *Second Update* Been almost two years, the leather hasn't gone bad, and these are still METAL AS F***.

For around $40, It's pretty good. The gloves are flakey and the construction limits movement. It's good, if your looking for a costume piece. It's also excellent for modifying, if you feel like adding it to a custom costume or making it into a functional gauntlet. I mostly bought if for minor protection in practicing dueling with lightsabers. If your looking for a real gauntlet for combat. I suggest going to other sources. Armstreet has authentic and functional medieval armor and costumes, but it can get pricy. Calimacil is better for functional armor and outfits, but at a lower price. I have a clamshell gauntlet from armstreet that works great.

So far, Wonderful!!! They look and feel high quality. I will be using them as re-enacting costuming, but not in any battle situations. In my case, they have the perfect look, feel and sound, and they fit..well...like a glove. The soft leather welding glove on the inside fits my hands well, and they will also fit my wife's hands, which are considerably smaller than mine. She will use these same gauntlets when she portrays St. Joan of Arc. Good and sturdy gauntlets, but not so heavy she can't reasonably use them.

Take these bad boys to any Halloween party and prepare to have people regale at your handyness. Just make sure to not reveal your secret (that you paid $50 for them on Amazon). Made out of the finest scrap metal, this is probably the best way to overpay $50 for two over-sized cans of baked beans. They're lined with the most opulent leather hide for minimal comfort when adorned.

Ok there have been some confusing reviews so I'm going to try to clear these up. These Gauntlets are made out of approx. 18 gauge mild steel. They have two articulations to allow the wrist to bend so you can close your hand. The Gauntlets have a "welding glove" attached to them, the body of the gauntlets are riveted together. The fingers of the gauntlets however are riveted to the welding glove. If you ever have to replace the glove you will have to re-rivet the finger plates to the new glove, or cut the glove so that it leaves the plates and leather in place and attach the new glove. I use these gauntlets for Western Martial Arts primarily using the Longsword (two-handed sword). These gauntlets are more than adequate protection for this. The "not for combat" note in the description is probably for liability and import purposes. Pros: Good steel construction. Offer good hand protection can easily use with two handed and one handed Cut and Thrust style sword techniques. Cons: If the gloves ever wear out they will take some minor armoring skill to replace because the gauntlet uses them as the backing for the finger plates. You will need to add some padding. Misc. Info: The gloves are one size fits most, my wife is 5'4 and I'm 6'2 we both have a pair and they work well for us both. Mine did take some breaking in for the seams to stop chafing my fingers. Aside from that I'm happy. The gauntlets are made out of mild steel. Mild steel scratches and rusts easily so be sure to care for them properly. If you use them for combat they will get scratched up. The joints fit tightly together so scratching can occur at the joints. Either paint them, or oil and buff them often. Mild steel is more historically correct, so this is a plus for reenactor/historic fencer like myself. Mild steel is also lighter than stainless so that can also be a plus. SCA Heavy fighters- the Fingers and thumb platelets do not ground(come to rest on the hilt). The hand plates up to the base of the fingers do ground. The metal does wrap all the way around the wrist in the cuff (enclosed cuff/wrist). Check your Kingdom rules about what portion of the gauntlet must ground before buying. SCA Cut & Thrust/ HEMA / WMA- MUST BUY!!! They look cool, they work very well and they're cheaper than the plastic mittens HEMA suppliers are selling. The reason for 4 stars instead of 5 is because the glove is used in the construction of the gauntlet rather than an independent leather strip. I view this as a flaw that can easily be corrected by the end user. It does not interfere with the use of the gauntlets but can pose a problem if the glove ever needs to be changed. I have changed the rating on this item to 3 stars. The major problem with this item is the fact that they use cheap leather gloves, the rivets tear the gloves easily which can result in losing a finger plate in combat. Also there is no padding in the gloves which allows all the force to transfer to the hand. If you know how to peen a rivet and have the time to change out the leather then these are still a good buy.