Hi ,
You seem to have dished the wing of the poleyn. Were I making them, then I would not have done so. Instead I would lay the centre crease of the 'V' along the edge of the anvil, and using a well rounded raising hammer, or wedge formed hammer, hammer back along the line (hammering diagonally), 2"-3" in towards the poleyn itself. ( I should say here that we hammering the inside of the metal, and that we are hammering directly onto the face of the anvil to stretch the metal ). Then start hammering upwards along the edge of the wing towards the top/bottom, stretching the metal a little as you go. You will see the form emerging, as you stretch the edge a bit you will notice that the wing will naturally start to curve in around the back of the knee. It does help to be a bit brutal with the hammer here, but be careful that it doesn't curve too much too quickly!
The final result should be a nice curved poleyn wing, that curves in around the back of the knee, but flares out to clear the cuisse or greave.
The little kick at the top is easily raised inwards. One little tip though, for a really superior finish, raise a little extra back at the top ,maybe 1/8" or so, and roll it right over into a little turned edge. Remember to thin the metal a little before you roll it ! You will not need a wire for this rolled edge. This gives a nice looking and extra safe edge to the piece.
You can also do the same thing from the outside, raised, but then you would start at the top, or bottom , and work back towards the centre. Either way produces a nice curved effect, and probably the armourers of old used a mixture of these two techniques. But working the inside is easier and quicker.
I hope that this is clear enough ? It is always difficult trying to explain techniques like this, and the end result is often something that even I have trouble trying to understand!
Good luck !
Regards as ever,
Russ
