blue109 Posted April 4, 2017 Report Posted April 4, 2017 I have my old 3A soft armor sitting here. The carrier was tore up and tossed away but I always took care of the armor. I use my newer armor in an external carrier so I have a spare concealment/under carrier sitting here and was going to put the old armor in it for bump in the nite purposes. Back piece fits fine but the old front piece has more side protection than the new and doesn't fit in the carrier. Any reason not to trim the ends of the old armor to fit the carrier? Will it start unraveling or fall apart or anything? I've never seen the inside of this stuff and I don't want to ruin it but it's not really serving any purpose at the moment.
MikedaddyH Posted April 4, 2017 Report Posted April 4, 2017 Blue , I will ask GF's Dad he is the expert who developed it for BAE. PM me the questions and I will ask him.
edgecrusher Posted April 4, 2017 Report Posted April 4, 2017 Just remember it breaks down over time and usage. Something is better than nothing but not as originally rated. As as far as cutting it, I can ask the head armorer what he thinks in s few days
sketch Posted April 4, 2017 Report Posted April 4, 2017 Why not relief cut the carrier? Add some buttons or velcro?
blue109 Posted April 4, 2017 Author Report Posted April 4, 2017 I don't want to alter the carrier since it's still nice and occasionally I swap the newer armor into it for side work. The old armor is just sitting in the top of a closet but I figure it could be a good idea to leave in in the carrier with the HD AR. @MikedaddyH I'll try and pull it out and snap a pic tonight to show what I would need to trim.
MikedaddyH Posted April 5, 2017 Report Posted April 5, 2017 I have been told the matieral literally dry rots because of exposure to the sun. What ever you get to me I will forward to him.
98Z5V Posted April 5, 2017 Report Posted April 5, 2017 6 hours ago, MikedaddyH said: Blue , I will ask GF's Dad ... Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait a minute. What the FUK is this?! WHAT GIRLFRIEND?
Matt.Cross Posted April 5, 2017 Report Posted April 5, 2017 16 minutes ago, 98Z5V said: Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait a minute. What the FUK is this?! WHAT GIRLFRIEND? Yeah, WTF gives man? We shot in the desert together bro, why is this the first I'm hearing about this? You got some 'splainin to do!
98Z5V Posted April 5, 2017 Report Posted April 5, 2017 He's NEVER taken her to a shoot, either. EVER. 10 fuckin' lashes for him, on the next one - unless she shows. She's the only thing that can save him now...
MikedaddyH Posted April 5, 2017 Report Posted April 5, 2017 2 hours ago, 98Z5V said: He's NEVER taken her to a shoot, either. EVER. 10 fuckin' lashes for him, on the next one - unless she shows. She's the only thing that can save him now... Wrong , she has shot at 4 peaks area twice ! She also has two guns !
blue109 Posted April 5, 2017 Author Report Posted April 5, 2017 I guess I would need to trim more than I thought. The armor is about 7 years old but taken care of. Only had about 2 years of hard life and then I didn't use it much. Was in an external carrier so didn't get sweat on much and always stored flat. Was pretty expensive and high quality and doesn't feel crusty. I did find the old carrier as well. Its ugly and all the elastic is stretched out or gone but I can always electrical tape it into serviceable condition for temporary use.
392heminut Posted April 5, 2017 Report Posted April 5, 2017 Kevlar is a mutherfukker to cut! I had some samples I got from Second Chance years ago and had the bright idea to use some to repair the hole in a fiberglass saddlebag since it does look a lot like fiberglass cloth only yellow instead of white. I cut it with my wife's EMT scissors (those things will cut a penny in half!) but it was tough going and that was just cutting a single layer! The edges frayed quite a bit too. Most ballistic pads have 15-20 layers and I'll guarandamntee you that you won't cut that many layers all together with any scissors! Greg was 100% spot on about the stuff deteriorating over time. I bought my first ballistic vest out of my own pocket when I first started the PD because they didn't supply them. It was a Second chance and was rated for 357 Magnum. Seven years later the department bought vests for everyone and I decided to do a little research on the old one. I took it to the range and shot it with a 158 grn. 357 Magnum JHP and it went right through the front panel! I took it back and showed the Chief and after that out vests got changed out every 5 years as per the manufacturer's suggestions.
blue109 Posted April 5, 2017 Author Report Posted April 5, 2017 We get ours every 5 as well. I have about 3 left on the new one.
MikedaddyH Posted April 5, 2017 Report Posted April 5, 2017 Quick!chat with the old man and he said "Don't Cut It " . "Its strength is in its whole". When constructed and baked the layers capture projectiles. He wants to know the manufacture and mfg date ?
COBrien Posted April 5, 2017 Report Posted April 5, 2017 Looking at the pic of the plate above, it appears to be PACA (Point Blank).
blue109 Posted April 6, 2017 Author Report Posted April 6, 2017 It's PACA. Middle 2009ish MFG. Much nicer and more expensive than the current one they gave me. Both 3A but the old PACA was noticably lighter and more flexible than the current Point Blank. Obviously has better side protection. I know they are the same company but I guess you get what you pay for, and my company gets cheaper every year. I'll skip the cutting and just rig the old carrier. Not really concerned with appearance since it will most likely be worn in conjunction with boxer shorts and flip flops while I sweep my front yard at 3AM.
392heminut Posted April 6, 2017 Report Posted April 6, 2017 22 minutes ago, blue109 said: boxer shorts and flip flops while I sweep my front yard at 3AM. My wife calls that sundowner's syndrome, it's a symptom of Alzheimer's!!!
392heminut Posted April 6, 2017 Report Posted April 6, 2017 26 minutes ago, blue109 said: I'll skip the cutting and just rig the old carrier. If you know somebody who can sew it's pretty easy to make a new carrier using the old one as a pattern. The wife of one of the guys I worked with made him a new one once. She made it out of blue cloth and put a Superman emblem iron on on it. Real comedian that gal!
98Z5V Posted April 6, 2017 Report Posted April 6, 2017 46 minutes ago, 392heminut said: She made it out of blue cloth and put a Superman emblem iron on on it. Real comedian that gal! I'd want this one on it: Or,this was my preference for an Afghani-land deployment:
blue109 Posted April 6, 2017 Author Report Posted April 6, 2017 I'm reppin these two...Don't think I could get away with anything skull-ish. The pine tree is probably pushing it but they haven't sweat me yet.
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