The Armour Archive

I apologize for cross posting, but most tell me they peruse the classifieds seldom and this pertains to a kit I am to be offering soon for those armourers on here who are interested in that sort of thing! Cheers!

Greetings All! Just wanted to show a couple of my upcoming offerings. A new dog faced Crusader (totenkopf?) Kit Helm for SCA, and a S/S cup hilt that I will offer ready to use.
This is the final prototype I have made of the Crusader kit helm’s top or “crownâ€

Sweet bruthuh!!!
Why you never call? EH?!!!

Um, how much for the stake???

Zweihammer wrote: I am going to offer the kit with either the piercework back for hanging a maille drape, or as as a simple wrap plate.

Can we see a pick of the peirce work back?

It will be as my other kit available in either 12 ga or 14 ga, S/S or mild, in three sizes. I know this is a bit early for a tease as I am a couple of months away from production for these,

PRICES!!! PRICES!!!! and can I start sending you money NOW for one?

I will offer the kit as a completely flat pattern, but ever since I began offering to pre-crease the difficult parts of my Valsgarde 6 inspired kit, only 1 out of 100 ever opts not to. Let me know if you have any preferences, as I am still fleshing out the rest of the pattern,

What about doming out the faceplate? Or is that putting the cart before the horse in how the helm should be put together?

I am considering having a cross as one side’s breaths, and a sunburst as the other side.

I think the cross would look great, especially if it is the samy type as the one around the occulars.

Not sure about the sunburst, was that common for this type of helm?


either way DAMN NICE! I WANT ONE!!

I will buy one of the helm kits when you put them out. I have a friend looking into that era. I love those type of helms:


[img]http://home.armourarchive.org/members/flonzy/images/MTT2003/full/Image34.jpg[/img]

You are not hammering those tops out by hand are you??? As one who has done so I think making the flang on them to be one of the worst chores of armourmaking... since I started with the forge it has gotten easiuer but I can see the marketability of these. When you get prices up let me know on the finished deal.

RPm

I know at least one of the helm kits will sell in my shire (medium stainless) and I may want one for myself (not like I don't have too many projects as it is).

Infinity Steel may have some suggestions on how you can press that crown and then press the flared edge. I can only see doing it as a progressive die.

I would recomend a semi-adjustable patern if possible. If you just include a straight back plate and a second strip with punched holes that gets samwiched between the slats and the back then the builder has the option of including or not including or replacing the punched strip with leather for easier lacing or even replacing with a leather camail

Everyone hates bunching breaths but everyone as their own breath preference. I would leave the lower face solid and let people punch, drill and file their own pattern. Damn it, its an ARMOR kit not lego-blocks. You're supposed to have to do some work yourself. Is some time with a $15 corded hand drill, a nail for a center punch and the bit of your choice too difficult to ask?

The basket looks decent but is not my personal favorite. There are also finished baskets available in that price range. I don't think sales will be very high.

Good luck,
Sean

Edit: I have also seen these helms done with a shallow conical top. I'm not even sure if that is authentic or not. Would it be easier to roll cones and weld them then to press the curve? They would still need to have the edge flanged over though so I'm not sure if this saves any construction time

Edit 2: Sorry I now see you are selling the baskets complete. Good price for a good design.

I now have 2 people in the shire interested.

Erick,
Send me all the info you want posted on the web for the cuphilts, I can put it up as soon as I get back in town after labor day.

I see the photos are up already

Missed ya at Purg.

-D

Sean is right. If you make the helmet kits some one in our shire will buy one.

That would be me or course. I want to know when you are done the helm kit so I can send money too!!!

I will definitely buy one of those hlm kits. I love that type of helm.


DEUS VULT!

Sean Powell wrote:\

I would recomend a semi-adjustable patern if possible. If you just include a straight back plate and a second strip with punched holes that gets samwiched between the slats and the back then the builder has the option of including or not including or replacing the punched strip with leather for easier lacing or even replacing with a leather camail

Or, how about making the sandwiched piece symetrical, so that it can be assembled with the perforated edge on the bottom to hang a camail from, or with the perforated edge up, so that it doesn't even show. The two assemblies would then be structurally nearly identical.

- Scott

I will definately take one, and I imagine several others in my area will be interested. I want to try a couple of different things this time.

Yeah, the armour whore I am, I will have to get one of these

What is the weight on the basket?

Greetings All,
Thanks for the positive responses and ideas. I would like to ask if anyone knows if "totenkopf" is a proper name for this type of helm? I have seen it refered to as that on several occasions, but only by modern sources. As far as I can tell it translates as "death head", is that correct or am I perpetuating a mistake.

As to the cuphilt, it weighs 1lb 7oz, or 670 g. Out of curiousity I weighed the welded 1/4 rod cagework basket hilt from one of my sticks, 1lb 5oz, and the 14ga cuphilt / 18ga demi one piece combo I fight with now at 2lb 6 oz! I don't have any aluminum or plastic "baldar" hilts to compare to, though I am sure they are lighter, I am just not a fan.

I put some size information as well as rough figures over on the classifieds. I will know more when I have the pattern finished. Thanks again!

Zweihammer wrote:Greetings All,
Thanks for the positive responses and ideas. I would like to ask if anyone knows if "totenkopf" is a proper name for this type of helm? I have seen it refered to as that on several occasions, but only by modern sources. As far as I can tell it translates as "death head", is that correct or am I perpetuating a mistake.

Yes, Totenkopf is correct as well as "Saltshaker Greathelm" and "Pothelm". Although the later was more refered to that helm without the face plate. Either way it is a way cool early crusader greathelm. AND I WANT ONE!!

What's the time period that would have seen the totenkopf? That's a really sweet looking helmet Zwei.

And my limited German reads Totenkopf as "dead head". And so does Babel Fish on altavista.com. Death(s) head would be Toteskopf.

There eas a band in Germany when I was there called "Die Toten Hosen", which was literally, "The Dead Trousers".