The Armour Archive

I am running into a problem.

As a present after my charity fundraiser this past summer, my wife bought me a brand new helmet. It's the first helmet that wasn't a discount helm that I have ever owned. It is hands down the finest helmet I have ever owned, and it is even better because my wife bought it for me.

It's an SCA coppergate helm from Sir Richard (I am probably spelling his name wrong) at Mandrake. It has a beautiful, blackened "aged steel" finish that appears to resist rust, and georgeous brass bits and a riveted maille drape in the back and everything. it's a really sexy helm.

I have absolutely nothing bad to say about those folks. I can say without a doubt that they have assembled the finest group of artists I have ever had the privelege to deal with. Period. It was also probably the best business experience I can recall having with any business of any kind.

NO PROBLEMS WITH THE HELM. Got it? I love this helm.

Here's the problem. My neck is too long. marshals hate my neck. I have never found a commercially available gorget that came anywhere close to being safe on me. I usually make my own, and add a leather bib to the chin line of my helms. I have used an aventail, and I have one that might function well. But it would absolutely destroy the looks of the helm. The aventail I have is a nice one, and it was a present from a friend when I was in college. It is a little long in the tooth. In addition, it is a electric fence wire butted job, and I have added a whole lot of blackened, riveted maille to my my rig.

So I am looking for alternatives. I am willing to buy a new aventail, but I am not too eager to spend more money after buying a helm that cost more than almost every car I have ever owned, plus a riveted haubreck.

For specifics, when I keep my head down, the gorget and helm are fine, but when I tilt my head back, a space of at least two and a half inches (really, we have fitted two SCA swords at once in the opening). The problem isn't just the length of my neck, My jaw juts out quite a bit.

I'm so proud of this hardtop. I just don't want to go back to my old bucket (which was fine, but not sexy).

Help!

freiman

I've found that tall spanish collar-style gorgets are wonderfull for us.

Maybe a cloth or leather Aventail with inserts if necessary?

Freiman,

Is there any way you could post a pic of you wearing the helm in the failure postion? It would help to see it, I think.

Of course, someone could just beat on the top of the head til your neck got shorter....

Corwin

I'd try an articulated gorget, with a generous flare at the front of the top lame. (Kinda' like an articulated bevor?)

(edit)
I guess I'm thinking of a compression articulation, like this: http://carmelemanuel.com/Compression.htm .

Frieman,

I have developed a bevor style simple gorget that works very well. I have a long neck and a jutting chin, coupled with a helmet that doesn't curve under the jaw line, so much of my neck and jaw are exposed when I lift my head up.

I offer these at $50.00. If you are interested, or feel that you can make your own, email me and I will talk you through the patterning process, or make one for you, either way, I am familiar with your concern and this solution looks better than a 15 - 16 c spanish collar, with an earlier period style helmet. (I know, I make spanish collars too, and it didn't look right with my earlier period helmet) It did solve the problem, though, it just didn't look right.

You might try adding additional padding to the lower back portion of the helm. This will push the back of it further away, and bring the chin of the helm closer. You are likely to still need to work on the gorget, but this might help....

Never tried it, just an idea that popped into my head while reading about your plight.

mattmaus wrote:You might try adding additional padding to the lower back portion of the helm. This will push the back of it further away, and bring the chin of the helm closer. You are likely to still need to work on the gorget, but this might help....

Never tried it, just an idea that popped into my head while reading about your plight.

That solution will also push the brim of the helmet over the eyes. It is better to attach an aventail or to modify the gorget.

Try this:

http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/~serpent/sca/gorget/

Pattern for a leather gorget which has a sort of bevor built in, should do the trick. Years ago I knew a guy who had an Illusion helm with a too-large opening at the bottom, and he addressed the problem with something similar.

TTYL

~Wil

Freiman,

Bummer, dude. Talk to Richard and Roderick before anything else. I have known them for maybe 14 years, maybe longer, and they are some of the finest people I have known. They have a world of experience, and knowledge, and there is no way you are the first to have this problem. The force is strong in those guys.

Falcone

Some of our Rapier figheters have a similar problem with thier neck being too long and Marshals hate gaps.

Here is a shot of the fighter wearing an articulated gorget that I made to solve the problem:

Wil wrote:Try this:

http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/~serpent/sca/gorget/

Pattern for a leather gorget which has a sort of bevor built in, should do the trick. Years ago I knew a guy who had an Illusion helm with a too-large opening at the bottom, and he addressed the problem with something similar.

TTYL

~Wil

Frieman, the guy whose pattern this is has your kind of neck/chin too..

see,

http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/~serpent/

So This might be a good solution.

Wil wrote:Try this:

http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/~serpent/sca/gorget/

Pattern for a leather gorget which has a sort of bevor built in, should do the trick. Years ago I knew a guy who had an Illusion helm with a too-large opening at the bottom, and he addressed the problem with something similar.

TTYL

~Wil

Will,

Thanks, I will try the pattern. If that doesn't work, then I will simply buy a gorget from Uilleag. The truth is, I consider myself a person who can shape basic things out of leather. Uilleag is an artist of the first waters, but I would like to try it myself before I call in the experts.

And for the record, the helm is NOT the wrong size. It is a triumph of the modern armorer's art. Every aspect of the helm was carefully considered before being put into application by one of the finest material artists I have ever had the honor to be involved with in any way. Every artist I saw at Mandrake was like that.

And it was a gift from my lady, who is a living miracle (See the Off Topics board).

And it was given to me in celebration of the finest, cleanest thing that I have ever done with my whole misbegotten life.

No, the helm is perfect. My body is the wrong size.

thanks guys,
freiman