I had ordered the helm, a pair of shoes, and a dozen buckles. All showed up. They also included helm padding and an arming cap, because the order was so late. I appreciate the thought.
The helm I got wasn't exactly what they had on their web page; I have a side-by-side picture to illustrate. As I wanted a backpoint bascinet, I'm somewhat disappointed that the point is up higher and more forward than what they advertise. As you can see, the face is somewhat different as well, with significantly less molding than is shown on their picture. I'm less concerned about that, though (maybe I should be... ).There are only 6 vervailles on the helm, though 8 are shown on their web page. 8 is too few; 6 is, well, even 2 less.
The helm fits, and looks to my eye to be the weight of steel ordered (2.5 MM/12 g). In general, it looks to be reasonable quality for the price, though I think a bit more time should have been spent on finishing. There were a couple of burrs around the edges of the helm that should have been ground off better, and perhaps the satin finish should have been a bit more polished; that's a matter of interpretation though. There's a substantial weld left on the inside of the helm; my impression is that many armourers will grind most of that out, though I might be wrong there. It's not where it can be seen, anyways.
the face plate fits pretty well, and doesn't have too much gap connecting to the helm, I think. The grill, on the other hand, doesn't appear to have been fit to the helm. The openings for the pin in the hinge were too small, and needed to be widened. You can see in the pictures that the pins still won't fit through all the way even after some widening.
Also, the curve of the grill doesn't match the curve of the forehead of the helm, so the grill won't go down as far as it should (basically, there's a ridge on the forehead of the helm, and the grill was made with a plain curve). You can see in the picture how it doesn't match. Also, to my eye at least, the welds in the grill don't look particularly well done, and not well ground out. The picture below washes out some of the flaws.
All in all, I'm happy with the product I received, setting aside the delays in getting it. I think for the price ($410 before shipping) it's a reasonable product. I would recommend a bit more time on finishing pieces before shipping them out, though. And improving the vervailles to include more, and have a more authentic line to them. (and of course, add spring steel as an option
).
I'll write up on the shoes and buckles, probably Monday.
thomas penyngton
Tanc
