Dark Victory Armory

03/20/2026

At least one of the guys over at Tit for Tat Circus Thetre Company will be starting up their shows soon in the UK wearing a DVA leather ring belt.

Catch their new show called "Disorder of Knights" - a bunch of steel-clad clattering clowns questioning modern-day chivalry, interrogating the relevance of contemporary virtue, and how best to catch a sword without bleeding.

“Just the right amount of obscure sense to it, and gives us the enjoyable frisson of danger that circus is renowned for.” Circus Diaries

11/06/2025

11/01/2025

I’m headed to the autumn Knights Renaissance fair in Charlton, Massachusetts today!  I haven’t been to a faire in a couple of years so I’m really looking forward to it! Check it out at 

Autumn Knights Renaissance Faire 2025: Oct 25-26 & Nov 1-2. Armored combat, jousting, captivating performances, and live music in Charlton MA

05/30/2025

🗡️ Someone asked how much rattan single swords weigh.
Maybe others are curious too? I got curious and took a deep dive.
Ever weighed your own setup? Curious how yours compares? Here’s what I found when I ran the numbers:

I cut three sticks to a typical single sword length—36 inches—and weighed them:

1.25" stick – about 16 oz (1 lb)
This is your “magic wand” light stick.
⚡ Quick and nimble — velocity gives a telling blow.

1.5" stick – about 19 oz (1.2 lbs)
The “solid stick” that most fighters prefer.
⚖️ Balanced — solid impact with normal speed.

1.75" stick – about 26 oz (1.6 lbs)
This “chunky boi” usually gets shaved down for blade shape.
🛠️ Heavy — slower shot but lots of mass. Use with care or for strength training.

It’s rare to see anything thicker than 1.75", mostly for usability and safety reasons.
This was a tiny sample size — just three sticks — so there will be some variation. But I calculated the mean density and applied it across sizes, and the numbers came out reasonably close.

👉 Hand protection weights:

Powder-coated basket – 28 oz (1.75 lbs)

Santoprene cup-hilt – 11 oz (0.7 lbs)

HDPE cup-hilt – 12.5 oz (0.78 lbs)

Even the heaviest stick plus the heaviest hand protection setup comes in under 4 lbs, well below the 5 lb max (including tip padding and tape).

05/29/2025

Fighter had a sturdy and stocky Mesoamerican build, short and powerful, lots of muscle but also with a paunch that needed cover, so this was an unusual build. Decided on a breastplate that would normally fit onto a titan class fighter but by mounting it low onto a taller set of side plates we achieved the needed drop in the front. Entertaining!

05/26/2025

Despite being a Jones generation fossil, I try to keep up with the technology. So now you can send me a message on WhatsApp and I’ll get back to you pretty quickly.

05/16/2025

When making a breastplate for a fighter on the fringes of the bell curve of sizes, we often ask for pics. While 30 degree drop from back plate to front plate in natural standing pose isn't that unusual, we can't ignore it. Body geometry matters.

04/28/2025

A customer asked: about the average weight of rattan and sword baskets/cup hilts.

Maybe others are curious too? Here's my answer.

This will be too long, I was curious and took a deep dive.

I started by cutting three sticks to a typical single sword stave length of 36".

A minimum thickness stick is 1.25". Considered a "light stick" or "magic wand". 36" of this rattan is about 16 oz.

Most fighters don't like to wield anything above 1.5". Considered a "solid stick" and 36" of this rattan is 19 oz.

Some like thicker sticks, up to about 1.75" that's most often used to shave down the sides to create a more blade-like profile. This chonkey boi is 26 oz.

It's rare to see any larger than that for practical considerations about usability and safety.

Because this was a tiny 3 piece sample size, there WILL be some deviation from those number. But when I calculated the average (mean) density and then applied it to the lengths, it still reasonably close.

The MAXIMUM overall weight of a single sword is 5lbs. which includes any guard, tip padding and protective tape.

The hardware bits - Sword basket powder coated is 28 oz, so that's a 1.75 lb. Sanoprene cup-hilt is 11 oz., and the HDPE cup-hilt is 12.5 oz

So, our heaviest stick plus the heaviest sword basket still stays under 4 lbs. It's legal but dreadful.

03/11/2025

For a commission, I've transliterated an English phrase into Elder Futhark. a Norse/proto Ænglic rune set. Not all English letters have direct rune equivalents, but I've done my best to approximate per their request so that it can be inscribed into a belt using pyrography.
ᛗᛃ ᛒᚱᛟᛏᚺᛖᚱᛋ ᚲᛖᛖᛈᛖᚱ
This is the most ancient runic alphabet that was used from the 2nd to the 8th centuries and is often associated with Viking Age inscriptions. This version uses long-branch runes, rather than the short-twig runes.

Who can guess what it is meant to say?

09/30/2024

Off to India for three weeks to help my friends do marketing/buainess workflow/product design.

Would you LOOK at that big shiney forehead. I should do a layover in Istanbul for a hair transplant. :)