Re[2]: MR:REQ:Rapier legal garb

[SchreudersPD@bio.ornl.gov (Paul D. Schreuders)]

Poster: SchreudersPD@bio.ornl.gov (Paul D. Schreuders)

>Poster: "Chuck Graves" <chuck_graves@mail.hq.faa.gov>
>
>>...Other materials need fewer layers (heavy cotton duck works with two), or
>>more (you'll get to about 15 layers of silk before you run out of money and
>>still not have acceptable armor).
>
> I know of a historical
>reference (quite out of period) where a gentleman was killed by a gunshot
>wound.

For those of you interested in this sort of thing, the reference is:

        "Notes on the Impenetrabilty of Silk to Bullets"
        by G.E. Goodfellow
        The Southern California Practitioner, #11, pp. 95-98 (1887)

Goodfellow was the local M.D. in Tombstone AZ in the 1880's. He gives
several examples in the paper.  One of these refers to 2 thicknesses of
silk stopping a 45 calibre bullet propelled by 30 grains of powder.
Another refers to a cattle thief shot at a range of around 3 feet where a
silk handkerchief, in essence deflected a bullet so that the thief survived
to continue his chosen trade.

If recollection serves me there are period references of silk being used in
a similar fashion to help protect against arrow fire.  Basically, the silk
prevented any barbs on the arrow from having their desired effect, making
removal of the arrow less traumatic.  I'm afraid that I don't have a
reference on this one, though, since the infomation came from a technical
seminar on the applications and properties of spider silk.

Demere

>(Still love to see the punch test on the silk scarf though.)
>
>Just a thought,
>Tadhg

**********************************************************************
Paul D. Schreuders                    SchreudersPD@Bioax1.Bio.ORNL.Gov
Biological Resources Engineering
University of Maryland                Phone: (301) 405-0145
College Park, MD  20742-5711          FAX:   (301) 314-9023
**********************************************************************


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