Hat Tricks Part III: The Grinder of Skulls

Been a bit since I last posted.  Sorry about that but I was...well...making armor!  My apology is something along the lines of "Never trust a skinny cook."

Anyway, the third stage of my helmet building procedure is to "grind in" the cranium halves I've made so that there is as little gaping as possible along what will be the center line of the helmet skull (cranium, melon top, etc.).

I do this by placing the halves together and, wherever they touch, I draw a line across where the point of contact starts and another where it ends.  This line will be perpendicular to the center line of the skull and should be on both of the pieces you have made.  This tells me where I need to grind.  The idea is that wherever the helmet halves meet are the high spots and these should be ground down to reduce the gaping.  I try to grind equally on both sides.  After each pass of grinding, the two halves are brought back together and lines are renewed or added as necessary. *A word of caution: do this bit very slowly and methodically as it can be quite easy to take off too much material with a grinder.  The pieces pictured below are nearly at the end of the grinding stage but the lines from the process can be seen in the picture.

The next picture shows what the halves look like before the start of this process.

  The next part of the process will be to make the central ridge which will cover this seem and join the two halves together.  This whole operation might seem a little tricky but, once you get the hang of it, it's a nice way to produce a usable helmet with no welding required.

Rivet for effect.

No fighter practice this weekend because our Marshall friend who usually runs practices for us caught the intestinal bug that's been going around.  Oh well... Hopefully I'll get to test my new gear next weekend.  Get well soon, Mike!  (And not just because I want to have practice, honest ;)

Anyway, for the first post after the weekend break, I thought I'd start off small.  About the size of a rivet to be exact.  Rivets make the rockin', armor world go round but most folks probably don't give them a lot of thought unless they're trying to bash one closed.  (To tell the truth, I didn't either when I just started out.)

Recently, I've just tried an enhancing technique with rivets that I've been wanting to do for some time now.  I was starting to put together my gorget the other day and all I really had left were the aluminum, truss-head rivets (large, round, slightly convex head) that I used when constructing my brigandine.  "I'll just use these" says I.  When I put one of the rivets in place to see how it looked against the steel, it was rather plain looking.  Just then, an idea suddenly appeared as a tiny speck on the vacant horizons of my mind.  It was running at top speed and screaming at the top of it's lungs, trying desperately to make itself known before I lifted my hammer. "Why don't you file a design into the rivet?" it said, panting and wheezing before it collapsed upon the dusty mental landscape.

"What a splendid idea" I thought, and so that's just what I did!  Here's how:

I started by clamping an aluminum, truss-head rivet in a pair of vice grips.  Next, I grab my triangular file and begin to score a line across the rivet head trying very carefully to stay in the center.

This being done, I then turn the rivet approximately 90° and repeat the process.  There should now be a cross mark on the top of the rivet head.

Next, I file lines in between the cross marks, slicing it like a piece of pie.

Now, here's the last bit that I think makes it look really neat:  On the outer edge of the rivet head, using the line I've already filed as a guide, I turn my file at a sharp angle, almost vertical so that's it's parallel to the rivet shaft, and make a little notch.  The end result kind of looks like a flower or pinwheel.

You can see here that I haven't filed all my lines equal angles/distances to one another.  In my mind though, that's OK because that's what gives it that pinwheel kind of look.  The last thing I do is give it a pass on my buffing wheel that I keep loaded with 80 grit Satin Glo though regular sand paper would probably do the trick just as well.  Below is a picture of what the finished product will look like on my gorget.

That's all for tonight, friends.  Happy riveting!

This helmet comes with a mustache.

This is a pic of a helm I did for a friend.  This picture was actually taken while I was revising the design a little.  I submit it here to point out a few things about it's construction, such as the mustache...which is by far my favorite part.

This helm is constructed entirely of 16ga. mild steel.  This is significant because I've noticed a growing trend toward thicker gauges in helmets these days.  As many of you probably know, 16ga. is the bare minimum of thickness when it comes to head protection for most reenactment societies.  There are arguments that mass is a consideration when designing a defense for the head.  I tend to agree.  After all, what we are trying to protect the head from is blunt-force trauma, from what is essentially a club, being swung at speed.  There are many that think 16ga. is too thin and that mild steel dents too easily.  Once again, I tend to agree.  However, keep in mind, wherever the steel overlaps it is twice as thick.  With this being the case, such as in the helm pictured above, I'm now using lighter, cheaper materials and effectively doubling the strength and protection in certain areas.  At least I'm hoping this is the case as this helmet has not been fully tested yet.  (If it turns out not to be the case, I'll be sure to let you know :)  Also keep in mind that any crease or bend you hammer into the metal makes it stronger.

Here's a pic of the helmet I recently constructed for myself.  It's made along the lines of a simple barbuta and, once again, with the laminated 16ga. construction.  I've tried something different with this helm.  You can't really tell by looking at the outside, but I've riveted extra plates to the inside cranial area.

This is a pic of the inside showing the extra plating.  It does make the helm a little heavier but not unbearably so.  You can hardly see them from the outside because I countersunk each of the rivet holes from the outside and ground the protruding rivet shank even with the surface of the helmet after closing them.  The final step is to buff the area around the rivet closure with some 80 grit Satin Glo.

This is what I'm currently experimenting with.  Our first fighter practice of the season should be this Sunday, weather permitting.  I'll let you know how it goes.  I'll leave you this evening with a few more shots of the mustache helm.

Armor Bits 'n Bobs

When I first started out, I hadn't a clue where to find informational resources on armoring or where to get materials and supplies.  So, in order to make it easier for some of you out there, tonight I offer a bit of a resource list.  While not an exhaustive directory, hopefully it will be enough to get you started.  Also, I'd just like to point out, none of these folks have paid me for any kind of endorsement whatsoever.  I plug them here only because I have personally used there info, products and/or services and believe them to be exemplary.

Information about arms & armoring: techniques, tutorials, discussion, etc.

• Techniques of Medieval Armour Reproduction, The 14th Century by Brian R. Price  I found this book to be enormously helpful starting out.  There are wonderful photographs of period examples, articulation theory and design, instructions for basic techniques and step by step instructions for some specific projects.  Even if the 14C isn't your particular time period of interest, this book is still a great source of information about armoring in general.
• The Armour Archive - www.armourarchive.org - This is a great site with tons of useful info (tutorials, articles, etc.)  They also have a section with patterns that anyone can download for free.
• myArmoury.com - Just go to the site.  If you're interested in sword and armor and you haven't been there before, your eyeballs might just pop right out of your head.
• www.albion-swords.com - These guys make excellent swords, of which I happen to own several.  I've talked to Mike Sigman several times and he, and the rest of the staff, made my dreams of owning a real sword come to life.  Also, it might seem funny to include this site in a list about resources for armoring but remember, when making real armor, swords are one of the weapons we are trying to protect ourselves from.  Also, if you're interested in making armor, it's probably not a far leap to say you're interested in swords as well.  Just sayin'.

Supplies for armoring

• I get all my rivets from these folks: www.rjleahy.com  Their customer service is great and if there is a problem with my order, they call me, tell me about it, and ask me where I want to go from there.  Thanks, Russell!  You are the man!
• You can order small quantities of sheet metal, as well as a lot of other stuff, from  MSC Industrial - www1.mscdirect.com  
• www.onlinemetals.com This site is great for small orders of sheet metal and I've always gotten good customer service from them.
• For polishing, I use a compound call Satin Glo made by the Formax Co. and I get it from Midway USA -  www.midwayusa.com
• For all things leather: Strapping leather, armor leather, buckles, tooling, dyes, etc. - www.tandyleatherfactory.com
• www.piehtoolco.com - I've purchased several Peddinghaus hammers and abrasive belts for my grinder from these fine folks.  I've had questions before about whether or not something was in stock and they've checked their warehouse for me.  Very good customer service.
• Otto Frei has a great selection of stakes.  They're expensive but very worth it. - www.ottofrei.com
• For putting holes in steel, I mostly rely on my punch from Roper Whitney, commonly referred to as a "Whitney Punch."  You can walk rite up to their website and order one. - www.roperwhitney.com

So there you have it!  Like I said, not an exhaustive list but that should get you on the road to being a real "hammer-head."

Lies and hammers...And in that order, too!

So, you want to be an armorer?  Great!  The tools are cheap, it's really easy, you'll never break a sweat, and, best of all, chicks dig it!  The previous statement is a horrible lie, so, if the exact opposite of all that sounds good to you then, by all means, read on!

Let's start with the first part of my opening fairy tale: The tools.  The sad part is the tools aint cheap at all and, believe me, I wish it weren't so.  The upside of expensive is the fact that you get what you pay for and having the right tool not only makes a difficult job safer and easier but can sometimes be a deciding factor between success and failure.

The first "right tool" to use is your brain.  If something seems like a bad idea, it probably is.  Case in point: I once tried to bend a short piece of bar stock by placing it in a shallow metal dish and striking it squarely with a ball peen hammer with nothing more holding it in place than good intentions.  To my amazement, the part flew out of the dish and disappeared.  I looked around for about 15 minutes or so and finally gave up and cut a new piece.  For whatever reason, I later chanced to look up at the 12 foot ceiling of the shop I was in.  There was my missing piece of bar stock, embedded in the foam insulation on the ceiling to nearly half its length.  I was very thankful that it hadn't hit me in the face.  Though it might have been an improvement in some ways, I was pretty used to where my eyes and teeth were situated.  Remember, there is no more important shop safety rule than to wear you shop safety glasses.  (That one was for you, Norm!)

Anyway, let's talk about some tools you may not already have, starting with the hammers.

From left to right, these are: ball peen hammer, Peddinghaus hammer I've forgotten the name of, embossing/Dishing hammer, large, round-faced planishing hammer (Peddinghaus), raising/forming hammer (Peddinghaus), raising hammer purchased from Iron Monger, small-faced planisher (Peddinghaus), large Garland rawhide mallet, small #2 Garland rawhide mallet.

To an armorer, a good hammer is almost worth its weight in gold and the right hammer for the job makes all the difference in the world.

The ball peen hammer is easy enough to find at Lowe's or you local hardware store and will probably run you in the neighborhood of $8-10.  I use the ball peen for closing rivets and the other face for some bouging, some planishing, at certain stages of rolling edges, and as a starter hammer for flatting the ends of bar stock.  In short, it's just a good all-around hammer to have on hand.  Keep in mind that the hemispherical head of the ball peen pushes the metal in ALL DIRECTIONS, making small, hemispherical dings.  This is precisely why I like it for closing rivets.

The Peddinhaus-hammer-I've-forgotten-the-name-of looks like it has a cross peen on one end, I hardly ever use it and I honestly can't remember why I bought it in the first place...huh.  I think it was on sale...maybe?

The third hammer in the picture I do use for dishing though, honestly, it winds up in my vise and is more often than not used for a small ball stake.  I think I paid about $20-30 for it several years ago.

The next hammer is a large, round-faced planisher.  I usually prefer this one for planishing.  It is a Peddinghaus and will run you around $35-40.  You can find similar hammers for cheaper.  When planishing, the large, flat face of this hammer is good for creating small facets on a piece to make the surface more uniform (Like the polygon faces on a 3D model).  Later, these faces will be ground smooth producing a smooth, uniform surface or contour.  (Like adding a mesh-smooth modifier in 3D Studio Max ;)

The next hammer is my favorite.  It's a Peddinghaus raising/chasing hammer and I use it for all kinds of forming operations.  I paid around $40 for this one and it's been worth every penny.  It's true that Peddinghaus hammers are more expensive but I'm a believer in their quality.  Raising is a process that I'll cover in depth later but, for now, think of it like stretching the metal over a stake (positive form) kind of like when you try to poke your finger through a plastic bag or wrapper only to find out than it was stronger than you thought and just stretches to conform to your finger.  Instead of poking the metal with our finger, we're going to hit it with a hammer.  Don't worry, I'm kinda confused too but it'll be OK.

The sixth in the line up is another raising hammer, this one a little larger.  I also purchased this one from Iron Monger and it is very useful and also a quality tool.

After that we have the small, round-faced planisher. You can't see it in this picture but the face on one of the ends is slightly convex.  I often use this to help pop out dents from the inside of a piece.  Again, another $30-40 hammer.

The last two are made by the Garland Manufacturing Co. and are replaceable-face, rawhide hammers, not mallets (There is a difference).  These are wonderful things, friends.  I use them to start dishing helmet halves and sometimes to start rolling an edge without marring the metal.  The small hammer was about $20 and I think I paid $40 for the big one.

Closing remarks: Common sense, safety glasses, the right tool for the job, some of these hammers are really friggin' expensive!  G'night folks!

More guidelines than rules....

When I started armoring, I had no one to teach me so I had to learn all I could from books, articles, pictures, and a lot of plain old trial and error.  (Mostly error).  Through this process, there are some principles of armor design and construction which have become evident to me and I thought it might be helpful to lay them out here.

• Armor should be as protective as possible while inhibiting movement as little as possible.

I know, "Well, duh!", right?  This is just a basic rule to guide you through the logical process of designing or reproducing a piece. It's a bit of a trade off though.  Sometimes compromises will have to be made one way or the other. This might mean decreasing or increasing the size of a plate to accommodate a greater range of motion in a critical area or knowing which pieces should be made of thicker stock and where to place them.

Another key piece of this principle is that armor was tailored to the individual.  I remember a set of 7 lame, 16ga. legs I wore as part of my first armor.  They were beautifully made, very heavy, and sized for someone with larger legs than I own.  One time, in a field battle, (yes, I know how that sounds) I was running back out onto the field when my legs came to close together and the lames around the knees of either leg interlocked.  Down I went.  Hurt? No.  Embarrassed? Yes, very much, thanks.  

• Look at period examples.  Armorers did it that way for a reason.

One example I like to think of, which kinda goes hand in hand with the above principle, is a period breast plate from the 15th century vs. many of the modern ones worn by reenactors. Those worn by reenactors often have either side, near the arm pits, cut in toward the center to allow the arms to move in toward the center line without chaffing or pinching, as when holding or wielding a two handed weapon like a long sword (my personal favorite).  While it's true that this does afford extra motion and comfort, it exposes more of the pectoral muscles and the area near the arm pit.  To my recollection, I've not seen period breast plates that were made in this manner.  (It's possible I just haven't looked at enough period armor to know).  I've tried to duplicate period examples that look like they cover enough of this area.  When I put on the breast plate, grabbed up me long sword and took a practice swing, OUCHY, it really did bind and pinch near my arm pits!  Then, an insight from my martial arts training kicked in.  I realized that when swinging a weapon with two hands, you should turn your hips into the swing, your leading shoulder following the motion which will turn you.  In this manner, your arms don't come across your chest in such a static fashion.  Now, having said all that, I'll say this:  Reenactors usually won't have someone trying to stab their arm pits with a sharpened blade.  However, this is just another reason why you should always wear deodorant.  

• Keep it simple

Armoring isn't rocket surgery.  When trying to figure out a pattern, a simple solution is often correct.  For instance, I love a simple, one piece, late period couter for an elbow defense.  I think they are elegant in both form and function.  Not too long after I set about bangin' on metal, I wanted to make one but just couldn't figure out what kind of flat shape could produce such a thing.  After a while, I went to an event and there happened to be an experienced armorer there so I asked him.  To my surprise, he told me that the pattern was a simple egg shape.  The trick was in raising the defense to the desired height and curling the part that goes toward the inside of the elbow.  Who knew, right?

• Style!

OK, this one isn't so much of a principle as it is something to shoot for.  If you're gonna go through all the trouble to make a nice, functional, durable piece, why not take the time to make it look like something?  Some extant examples of period armor are a sight to behold.  (I'm partial to the humanistic lines of the Italian armorers and the works of the Helmschmieds.)  This can also be a point of frustration for the beginner.  Just remember, fancier isn't always better and a poorly executed enhancing technique, like fluting or creasing, is often worse than none at all!  Take your time and try to enjoy the process as much as the end result.

Well that's it for now folks.  I'll post some more when the hamsters that power my computer have rested a bit.  :)