The Armour Archive

Otto

Well, this is a bit of a slow time of year... that I know of, we are going to try to get space at Toys for Tots in early December (the 2nd, I think) in Kalamazoo/Andlecrag... after that, I'm not sure if there's anything for me before ValDay, also in Kalamazoo in mid February. Things pick up for me i...

Otto

Thanks kindly for the generous review Athavulf. Even though I've almost always had good luck with armour that I've sent out... I always have a twinge of nerves hoping that it will be received well. Valley of the fir trees... I am certainly going to do my best to get your helm to you by next week. Un...

Otto

That's cool. I'll be watching the auctions, but I don't think they'll go for the current price... some yahoo is gonna make me pay more!

Otto

Well, I'll help you out... I put bids in on three of the items. If the price goes too high, I'll be contacting you for possible ordering of the items in question directly. medium creasing stake anticlastic creasing stake repousse pot also, if possible... both creasing chisels. You do good work.

Otto

Good basic stuff!

I especially like the creasing stakes.

Otto

The local checking around I've done indicates that only "vent-free" propane heaters are appropriate for shop use. It appears that for the sake of simplicity and safety, I might just go with a simple, inexpensive kerosene heater. It's simple, it's OK'd for indoor use, and I don't have to worry about ...

Otto

Gundo, that sounds just about like the one I'm looking at. I'll have to checking on whether it needs venting or not.

Otto

So, winter is fast approaching in the northern zones (Michigan)... and my shop is in my pole barn/garage in a walled off area. Is propane heat safe for such usage or are there any concerns with fumes and such? I was considering a small propane heater as a possibility as it would be fairly inexpensiv...

Otto

I see a throatless rotary shear for sale and it claims to be able to cut 1/8th inch steel just fine.

Seeing as I know zip about throatless rotary shears, can someone give me an informed opinion of their efficacy?

Otto

I know what you silly people are doing... that thing where you always find some little task that side-tracks you from your work. That's called finding excuses to avoid getting started. OK, time to work... oops! gotta get this one little thing first... oops! gotta do this little doo-dad that's settin...

Otto

I've almost never worked with other armourers... so I can't say as I've ever seen that. That'd be interesting. I couldn't do "My Sharona"... rythm's a bit too slow for me. I do frequently do the HIT/tap/HIT/tap thing though. I think it's the whole back-beat thing that lives in so many rock songs. I ...

Otto

A few things I notice about doing lots of hammering... Many times, hammering takes almost no effort... just let the weight of the hammer and your arm do the work... and the rebound do much of the recoil work. You can hammer just a hell of a lot like that without wearing out your arm... doesn't work ...

Otto

I have an L shaped workbench and frequently have 3 or 4 projects out at once and jump between projects every 5 or 10 minutes or so. Today I was working on 2 different helmets and some gorget work. Put a couple rivets in a helm... cut out a gorget piece... put a couple more rivets in the helm... etc....

Otto

I've found that a useful tool in my armouring is what I refer to as "armourer's ADD" (in the sense of attention defecit disorder). It seems to work well for me to work on 3-4 projects at once and kind of jump back and forth between them as the mood strikes me. Sometimes I get on a roll and stay with...

Otto

Sorry, at this time I don't have any helms on eBay... and as I have orders coming in at the moment, I don't expect to for at least a couple of weeks.

When I do have ebay auctions going, I'm under sbvast

Otto

Well, the slat-back isn't really a separate style. It's just a $25 modification that I can put on a helm at the buyer's request.

Otto

The crusader in stainless would be $375... what a pain in the tookus THAT would be!

Otto

OK, here's a side view of the crusader pot helm... the picture quality is very poor... you can barely even see that the top is domed.

Otto

Let's see... sizes... doesn't really matter, I've always done my best to size any helm to each customer's needs. Prices?... Barrel $100 Crusader $250 Norse $225 (no brass) and I do dress helms too at request. obviously, requested design modification can alter the price a bit. Note on the crusader po...

Otto

e-mail sent with some pics.

Otto

and some more...

Otto

Here are some other things from Otto's Armoury to look at while my site is still down.

Otto

Will do... the ordered helm will be done in a day or two in original planned form.

Otto

e-mail sent...

trade OK by me!

Otto

So, didja wanna trade or what?

We're willing... does the camera suite what you need?

Otto

If you want, I could alter the helm I'm making for you this week to include a slat-back... no big deal.

Just let me know which you'd prefer, the slat-back or the solid back.

Otto

Well, this camera is a Nikon Coolpix 2200 with: 2.0 Megapixels resolution 3x optical zoom 15 Scene modes Internal memory but also takes SD memory cards. We have the box and books and all for it. I think it's a couple years old. Is the laptop capable of doing internet (like when we're on trips)? You ...

Otto

Athavulf_the_Goth wrote:My first helmet was this one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... %3AIT&rd=1

It has a nice ridge and has a nice look but not as nice as yours. If I sent it to you could you redo the face grill? I definetly like the look of yours better.

If you mean, could I put one of my rivetted grills on it... sure, no problem

Otto

Otto, Have you considered making this helm with slats in the back. Take a look at this pic and let me know if you can do it. I am already buying one from you but I definetly would consider buying another if you could do the back with slats. I could duplicate that one fine... slat backs are one of t...

Otto

I'd consider offering a trade as we have a spare digital camera laying about... but I have no idea what value the laptop has.

My spare digital is a decent camera... but it's no top of the line anything. Probably about $150-$200 camera.

Otto

Glad to hear that your recovery is going well!

Good Luck and Get Well Fast!

Otto

I can provide simple barrel helms at a discount ($75-$85 depending on how many).

I've not tried my hand at my bascinet patterns just yet, so I won't offer them just yet.

Otto's Armoury

Otto

Hmmm... I see my last post never made it. First off, many thanks for the kind words. On the website, right now, it's rather defunct due to computer problems. I do make a variety of helms: "celtic" (as shown above) norse norman barrel helms (open-faced or eyeslot type) crusader pot helm and I'll be a...

Otto

Well, I can provide you with a helm like this one for $150 brand new... or an eyeslot or open-faced barrel helm for $85. (the pictured helm would be in mild steel mind you...)

Otto

I was thinking that the best way to solve the problem might be for me to break down and finally get a beverly shear for much of the basic cutting and save the jigsaw for the more detailed curvey stuff.

Propane heat in the workshop?

Opinion on throatless rotary shear?

Hammer ramblings

Armourer's ADD

Some other things from Otto's Armoury

Re: How about one with a Ridge.

Re: Celt-Roman-Brit Helm