Gauntlets
by Baron Maximillian Von Halstern
To help answer the questions and given the great interest, from my perspective (and I welcome all others to chime-in), when it comes to SCA-relevant gauntlets (for spear and beyond), there are three *basic* styles -- clamshell, milanese, and finger gauntlets (there are refinements, but the majority of gauntlets fall in these categories) -- which are generally available in a range of materials including plastic, mild steel, stainless steel, spring steel, aluminum, and leather. I'm not going to go into finger gauntlets here, as they are extremely expensive, not generally appropriate for newcomers, and quite hard to select.
Fit really matters, as you want sufficient lame coverage so that ideally the gauntlet itself is touching the weapon and that your hand is neither too tight in the gauntlet nor swimming in the gauntlet and that there is room in the gauntlet for your glove and sufficient padding between glove and gauntlet (whether you are using lacrosse gloves or a leather glove with padding).
I've observed hundreds and hundreds of great weapons fighters over the years and from my significant observations have found that by far the greatest number of fighters fighting great weapon the most often and with by far the fewest complaints and injuries have been those who have been using the plastic/egg clamshell gauntlets (typically with the lacrosse gloves sewn or riveted inside). This seems to be (by a fair margin) the best mix of safety and price (between $150 and $170) with the plastic provided sufficient mass not to be blown aside easily while still remaining sufficiently light-weight with a fantastic ability to transfer and spread force across the area of a plate and with the clamshell design providing reasonable articulation with good plate overlap, good thumb protection, and sufficient coverage of the lames over the hand.
Outside of the plastic/egg clamshell gauntlets, I have been favorably impressed with the coverage, protection, price, and quality of a number of milanese stainless steel gauntlets that are available (see picture below, where you can plainly see that there are only three large plates for the gauntlet -- one for the back of the hand, one for the knuckle section, and one for the tips of the fingers).
I would strongly advise against any gauntlets in mild steel -- both for the difficulty in maintaining mild steel and for the deformability and lack of strength of mild steel mentioned by Jurgen previously (you naturally want gauntlets that are strong and that can hold their shape for a very long time). The Milanese style of gauntlets (see picture above) have a smaller number of larger plates than clamshell gauntlets. This reduces the degree of articulation available in the gauntlet, but generally increases the coverage of the lames over the weapon and also increases the ability of a single plate to transfer and spread the force of a blow across the area of that plate (thus allowing the plate to take more of the force and transfer less of it to your hand). I have found that the metal clamshell gauntlets with their smaller plates -- while the overlap of the plates provides greater protection against cutting, tends to directly transfer the force from plate to plate instead of absorbing the force across the area of a plate. Thus, I believe the larger plates tend to do a better job at absorbing impact blows and provide better protection from rattan shots. Armstreet in the Ukraine (not 1000% reliable, of course... but not un-recommended, either) offers the gauntlets shown for $164.99+37 shipping (24-33 days with shipping). Bokalo offers stainless Milanese gauntlets for $190 in satin finish or $220 in polished finish. Known World Treasures apparently has a pair of stainless Milanese gauntlets (small with a large cuff) that they are offering for $345 ($50 of their retail list).
Stainless clamshell gauntlets (see picture below) have many more smaller plates covering the knuckle and fingertip areas. As you can see in the picture, while these gauntlets also have a single, larger plate for the back of the hand, they have twice as many plates as the Milanese gauntlets for the knuckles and fingertips (four instead of two). The gauntlets above are actually being auctioned on ebay for $50. Known World Treasures currently has a pair of extra-small clamshell gauntlets in stock for only $145. Wholesale Armor offers a stainless steel version of the egg clamshell design imported from India for only $130 (this offers fewer, larger plates than most clamshells, so the force gets distributed better, but it uses leather articulation instead of true articulation so the overlap is weaker, and the steel is less thick and does not distribute the material across its area/volume as well as the plastic variants). Illusion Armoring (ask Sir Eldrid for details) has Stainless or Aluminum mitten gauntlets for $218 without strapping and $248 with strapping. They currently have Aluminum ones in-stock (they do great work, and I recently got a fantastic stainless Close Helm from them in-stock with some custom work). Bokalo provides their Cat's Ass (clamshell) gauntlets with a fully enclosed thumb in Stainless Steel with a satin finish for $260 and in polished finish for $300 (and in aluminum for $240 in satin or $276 in polished finish). Icefalcon has his stainless steel closed-thumb clamshells available for $395.
That said, if you are willing to pay finger-gauntlet-like prices, some of the most protective gauntlets around are the stainless steel mitten gauntlets (articulated design that is clamshell-like with folded-plates that increase the strength of each plate, tremendous overlap and coverage to the weapon and a fantastically protected thumb are the $800 gauntlets made by Anshelm Arms.
The problem with aluminum, as eluded to by Sir Guy, was that the nature of the material and their lack of mass tends to transfer the force of the blow through the material to the hand causing "stings" directly through the gauntlets. Aluminum also tends to wear and tear at articulation points, so particularly for clamshell-style gauntlets with multiple plates with multiple articulation points, you have significant opportunities for metal fatigue failure. You generally want a denser, if not heavier, material. If you are getting gauntlets *solely* for spear, then you might consider aluminum gauntlets (or finger gauntlets), but if you are considering using your gauntlets for other weapons forms -- such as greatsword and polearm -- then you really want to think of a material with greater weight and density such as steel or plastic. Bokalo provides their Clamshell (manatee) gauntlets with leather articulated cuff in aluminum with a satin finish for $115 or in a polished finish for $134. O'Quinn Armoury offers their Aluminum clamshells for $185. Windrose has in-stock polished aluminum clamshells at $350. Sir Maelgwn at Strawberry Fields Armoury sells Aluminum Full Gauntlets for $375 (and will probably be willing to add some nice brass trim and/or etching). If you've seen some of my nice aluminum cup hilts, you've seen his work.
Spring steel is a process-hardened material that enables an armourer to use a steel 1/3 as thick for an equivalent hardness. Consequently, it is possible to make incredibly thin and light gauntlets out of Spring Steel. Currently, virtually all spring steel is "mild" steel in that it rusts (it is not "mild" steel in regards to deformability and strength). I have seen some finger gauntlets made out of spring steel, and an occasional gauntlet made of spring steel. Spring steel has a similar weight problem as aluminum, in that the significantly reduced thickness and weight makes the gauntlet transfer more force through the hand and makes it easier for mass weapons to knock the hand aside. Your hands, however, will be much faster with lighter gauntlets. Like aluminum, spring steel gauntlets are great if you're just planning on fighting spear, but might not be the best choice if you're planning on doing alot of greatsword and polearm because of the force transfer issue.
Beyond the resources listed above, you can custom order gauntlets from any of the leading armourers (Shamrock Armoury will likely make you a great pair quite quickly, Mad Matt can likely make you what you are looking for, etc...).; you can monitor the classifieds forum on the Armour Archive or put your own "Wanted to Buy" ad there; and you can search on ebay for SCA, stainless, aluminum, gauntlet, etc...
Once you have determined the style and the material that you prefer and the price range that makes sense for you, I suggest you discuss the armourers and options with an experienced fighter you trust for specific guidance.
