The Armour Archive

How do you do it?
I'm in the process of purchasing a kettle helm but I am unsure of how to correctly size and fit an aventail to to the helm.
What measurements would you need to take, per se?
Anyone have any hints?
Any how-to's?

What type of aventail? Leather chainmail?
I would start just forward of the ears back and the length depends on if you want it touching the back and shoulders or not. How you attach it depends on the the way the helm is made. It always helps if you look at other peoples kits when you're at an event to see how things are constructed. Do you have any pictures of the helm?

Lazarith

Excuse my ignorance Lazarith, but what is hell is leather chainmail?

Micke D wrote:Excuse my ignorance Lazarith, but what is hell is leather chainmail?

Well , it's a little known technique from.......
Leather OR chainmail. Sorry for your confusion.

Lazarith

Definitely going to be chainmail. No pics yet but you could base it off of WMA's deisgn or Madd Matts, as I think they are both very similar.

As usual search the archive and ye shall find the answer. This site below was the best one I found but I'm sure there are many that are just as good. It's for a bascinet but I'm pretty sure I've seen kettle helms done the same way, just attached higher near the brow line.

http://www.gildedboar.com/klappvisier/index.html

Hold the chain to the helm, mark it and cut the maile, attach to leather strap and attach to helm. The site covers it pretty well.

Hardest part for me was to cut into the pretty welded maile the first time. whiskey helps for that.

One note regarding when you are stitching the mail to the leather band. My first time I stitched the maile rings too close together in the back of the strap so when I got to the front I ran out of space. Had to rip the whole thing out, space it out properly and restitch. Measure and fit several times and then start stitching.

And while you are it, the period liner on this site rocks.

Are you making your own mail, Lucien, or purchasing riveted/welded?

Some guys are still too darn laconic until you prod 'em.

As usual search the archive and ye shall find the answer. This site below was the best one I found but I'm sure there are many that are just as good. It's for a bascinet but I'm pretty sure I've seen kettle helms done the same way, just attached higher near the brow line.

http://www.gildedboar.com/klappvisier/index.html

Heh, my ol' klappvisier site sure has been coming up a lot in conversation lately... And funny you should bring it up, because I was just thinking that when my new WMA kettle arrives, I should photograph the process of pimping it out just like I did for my bascinet and launch a sister site.

Klaus

Yes Klaus..I did a bascinet years ago and your site helped a lot..thanks
Rannulf

Klaus the Red wrote:

As usual search the archive and ye shall find the answer. This site below was the best one I found but I'm sure there are many that are just as good. It's for a bascinet but I'm pretty sure I've seen kettle helms done the same way, just attached higher near the brow line.

http://www.gildedboar.com/klappvisier/index.html

Heh, my ol' klappvisier site sure has been coming up a lot in conversation lately... And funny you should bring it up, because I was just thinking that when my new WMA kettle arrives, I should photograph the process of pimping it out just like I did for my bascinet and launch a sister site.

Klaus

Please do as I sure write alot of e-mails on how to do it.
For my kettle you have to cut a triangle out for the face, and a much more shallow triangle out of the back to match the angle of the kettle/grill
I will draw a pic later

Klaus the Red wrote:

As usual search the archive and ye shall find the answer. This site below was the best one I found but I'm sure there are many that are just as good. It's for a bascinet but I'm pretty sure I've seen kettle helms done the same way, just attached higher near the brow line.

http://www.gildedboar.com/klappvisier/index.html

Heh, my ol' klappvisier site sure has been coming up a lot in conversation lately... And funny you should bring it up, because I was just thinking that when my new WMA kettle arrives, I should photograph the process of pimping it out just like I did for my bascinet and launch a sister site.

Klaus

Hey - tell you what... that site is one of the most useful I have found here on AA. I am using that and my experience with my soft kit to make liners for an armet and a bascinet at the moment.

A huge thanks for posting that, and I am sure any additional sites will be equally useful.