Another thing you get when you use someone else's patterns (assuming you do a perfect job) is all of the errors they had in their piece.
As Mac (Roberto) always says - no matter how good a modern armourer (he included imself in this), they are not the original. Copy the original - you take one level of error and translation out of your work.
To me there is a difference between using other people's patterns and making your own. That is the difference between being able to do what you are told/shown and actually being able to work on your own. That is a vital step in the development of an armourer (and for those in the SCA, to me the most import step that must happen before one should be elevated to the Laurelate).
I guess I never had a real problem with people using my patterns. As I said, very few of them actually make very much anyway.
Also, just because you have a pettern, does not mean you can make the piece.
How to make patterns?
LOOK AT OLD STUFF. Look some more. Get your hands on it if you can. Visit museums. Get a feel for what you are trying to make.
Then, make it in posterboard and assume that the first few will be wrong. It takes a while to be able to 'feel' how a potato-chip shape will form the left reinforcing plate for a 15th century Italian couter, but it does. Don't be afraid to cut some pieces of metal and just hammer on them to see what happens to a shape. We started with a rectangle with the corner cut off and ended up with an hourglass gauntlet. It was way to small for anyone, but it showed how the metal moved.
Talking about a pattern to the person who made it can help a lot. It gives you a basis for conversation and they can tell you why they put a certain bit of metal somewhere....
Also, the method of manufacture will greatly affect the shape. The pattern for a breastplate with a weld in the middle (to make it 'easier') is entirely different from one without one - and it poses different problems. A raised pattern is very different from a dished one - and 2 raised ones can be different depending on the way you choose to raise the piece.
One thing to remember - steel is almost the most forgiving material. If it is a little to big you can cut it off. If it is a little to small you can draw it out or move it around. If it is a lot to small you can weld some more on. Wood is hard - steel is easy
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Wade
