Four Panel Rus Style Helm - Aaannnd were done!

[hivemind]

OMFG that brass is awesome. That's like what I want for the nasal piece of my helm...

[PatternWeld]

Muchpainneeded2,

Those disappeared years ago due to life dramas. I am pretty sure Knotwolf uses a sweatbox or similar technique though.

I'll try to set it up and do some examples after GWW.

Grimr

[Effingham]

DAYUM!

That be's PERTY!!!

[CiaranBlackrune]

Aaannnd were done! Thanks for the kind words! My ego thanks you as well.

I had a lot of fun making the helmet. It was a great challenge. I can see my mistakes all over the place but all in all I think it's OK.

I learned a lot making this, and will know better next time. Some things I learned are:

Deeper dishing. As was stated earlier in the thread, my panels need more shape and dish to them.

Lining up the back slats with the rivets. Since I was welding I didn't bother to think about the alignment of the rivets in relation to the width and placement of the back slats. As a result some have the rivets in odd locations, but in line with the top row of rivets.

Brass work. That was fun and a pain all at once. I also didn't anticipate how much the piece would curve when I fitted it to the helmet. the outside edges come down a bit too far for my taste. If I was making a very fancy helmet I would probably outsource my brass work.

Sizing. The helmet turned out a bit larger than I intended. I have no idea how it happened, but it turned out to be a lucky mistake. Because of the shallow dishing in the panels I needed the extra room to make it fit correctly with padding. Also, my cheek pieces and grill are a tad short when I am wearing it. I may need to add another bar at the bottom, but am hoping a new gorget will satisfy marshals.








Heath, yes that little nub bugged me too. It's now gone.

[Malcolm ap Gwilim]

Sorry to hear that you are not happy with this. You know, if it makes you feel better I would be happy to take this off of your hands.

That is really a beautiful piece of work my friend. You did good.

[Count Johnathan]

I fear for the horns man. They can (and probably will) catch on fabrics and other stuff which will likely bend them out to a point where repair is nearly impossible. I learned that stuff the hard way on past projects. It looks damn sexy though! Fantastic job overall.

Thanks for sharing

[CiaranBlackrune]

I fear for the horns too. The right side (facing you) lays down tight against the helm, but the left has a tiny gap I am worried about. I am guessing that a thrusting tip or tape on a sword will eventually catch it and bend it. If I do a unicorn again I will need to rivet the horn down if I can. Or leave the gap between the horn and the main body if it filled in and backgrounded.

I also found from one day of practice that 14 gauge mild is just too thin for some things like cheek pieces. Next time I will use either all 12g or a mix of 12 and 14.

[PatternWeld]

There's a super low temp solder out there called TIX....

Gorgeous work

[barcuk]

Great work Ciaran.
+1 on soldering the horns on to the helm.

[Sir Wilhelm]

You know its gonna be Helgi that short sticks your unicorn off.

[Halberds]

I like it and I certainly enjoyed the progress thread.
Jolly well done... your attention to detail is impeccable.

Thanks for sharing.

Hal

[Gerhard von Liebau]

I waited until this thing was done to comment but could tell from almost being blinded by its bright finish on page one that it was going to turn out sharp. It most certainly did. Very well-executed design and great detail work. Don't feel bad about the amount of dishing - there's always another time! If it fits, that's fine. Love the little unicorn fellows.

-Gerhard