15thC Italian Cuirass & Great Bascinet in progress
- Jeffrey Hedgecock
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15thC Italian Cuirass & Great Bascinet in progress
Hi all,
Here's a project we're working on for a client now. We're training him to joust at Knight School. It's a 1460-70 Italian (Milanese) Cuirass made in spring steel.
We'll be making a spring steelgreat bascinet with a frog mouth jousting visor and an interchangeable melee/foot combat visor also.
The source pieces for this project are the Frederich the Victorious helm in Vienna and various cuirasses from Berne, Swizterland, Mantua and Churburg. The goal here is to produce an original work that's not an exact copy of an extant piece, but one that works stylistically within the period aesthetic and would fit in amongst survivals. I like doing that on most of my pieces, so a client gets something unique but still historically accurate in form and function.
Here are the pictures from the fitting yesterday-
I'll be posting more photos as there are still some details to add to the cuirass and I didn't shoot the tassets in these photos. I also have the rolls done now. The straps shown in the above pics are just temps for the fitting. I'll be starting the helm this week too, so that should be interesting to see as it progresses.
For those who are interested, we are accepting commissions for spring steel pieces! The standard 14th c stuff is up (the stuff people have fought over when used pieces come up for sale...), so take a look on the HE website. We're very much open to custom historical pieces too-- Just drop me a line and inquire. jeffrey @ historicenterprises.com
Here's a project we're working on for a client now. We're training him to joust at Knight School. It's a 1460-70 Italian (Milanese) Cuirass made in spring steel.
We'll be making a spring steelgreat bascinet with a frog mouth jousting visor and an interchangeable melee/foot combat visor also.
The source pieces for this project are the Frederich the Victorious helm in Vienna and various cuirasses from Berne, Swizterland, Mantua and Churburg. The goal here is to produce an original work that's not an exact copy of an extant piece, but one that works stylistically within the period aesthetic and would fit in amongst survivals. I like doing that on most of my pieces, so a client gets something unique but still historically accurate in form and function.
Here are the pictures from the fitting yesterday-
I'll be posting more photos as there are still some details to add to the cuirass and I didn't shoot the tassets in these photos. I also have the rolls done now. The straps shown in the above pics are just temps for the fitting. I'll be starting the helm this week too, so that should be interesting to see as it progresses.
For those who are interested, we are accepting commissions for spring steel pieces! The standard 14th c stuff is up (the stuff people have fought over when used pieces come up for sale...), so take a look on the HE website. We're very much open to custom historical pieces too-- Just drop me a line and inquire. jeffrey @ historicenterprises.com
Last edited by Jeffrey Hedgecock on Thu Mar 05, 2009 4:46 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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- carpathiavh99
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Awesome! I always like to see more well-executed 15th century Italian-style cuirasses. This is my very favorite style of armour.
"When a land rejects her legends, Sees but falsehoods in the past;
And its people view their Sires in the light of fools and liars,
'Tis a sign of its decline and its glories cannot last."
And its people view their Sires in the light of fools and liars,
'Tis a sign of its decline and its glories cannot last."
- Andrew Young
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Ditto, I like the lines Jeff !
Fine Armour and Reproductions
Living History & Accurately Formed 'SCA' Grade
-----online catalog coming this spring----
http://www.partsandtechnical.com
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Living History & Accurately Formed 'SCA' Grade
-----online catalog coming this spring----
http://www.partsandtechnical.com
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- Sean Powell
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- RandallMoffett
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- Sean Powell
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Yeah, ever try to run, fight and BREATH with that soft tissue pushed to the wrong place? Heck just try and bend sideways until the soft tissue on one side becomes tight pulling the armor even farther and squeezing the soft tissue on your other side into your lower ribs and Illiac crest of your hip.RalphS wrote:Soft tissue is compressible, as long as one doesn't try to change the total volume...Sean Powell wrote:Damn skinny people always look good in armor. How come I never look like that? Oh yeah, answered my own question.
Great looking armour BTW!
Been there, got the bruises. I'll trade hours of pain in the gym loosing the weight to miss hours of pain post fighting.
Sean
First up, that's plain ole gorgeous that is! Aaaargh, I was all happy in the 14th century but the 15th is nifty too.
As well as gorgeous that is one heck of an inspiration for staying on a diet.
As well as gorgeous that is one heck of an inspiration for staying on a diet.
Lonewolf Chainmaille on ebay: http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZlonewo ... lleQQhtZ-1
Lonewolf Chainmaille on the web:
http://www.geocities.com/lonewolfchainmaille
Lonewolf Chainmaille on the web:
http://www.geocities.com/lonewolfchainmaille
- Jeffrey Hedgecock
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Thanks for the kind words guys. Been working on the culet plate and rolls. Also the overall symetricality-- it's always a bitch getting these things to the right match-up at the sides. Yikes! Coming together though.
I do really like making armour for guys who are shaped well for it. Makes the armour look soooo much better.
Brent--- Ewwwwww.
Catalan-- Happy to meet up and show you the shop. Your handle doesn't ring a bell. Have we met?
More pics tomorrow-- should have hinges worked and some plate lineups trimmed. Gotta pattern that bascinet up too.....o, crap--- BACK TO THE SHOP FOR ME!
I do really like making armour for guys who are shaped well for it. Makes the armour look soooo much better.
Brent--- Ewwwwww.
Catalan-- Happy to meet up and show you the shop. Your handle doesn't ring a bell. Have we met?
More pics tomorrow-- should have hinges worked and some plate lineups trimmed. Gotta pattern that bascinet up too.....o, crap--- BACK TO THE SHOP FOR ME!
- Jeffrey Hedgecock
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This was actually the second fitting. We did an earlier one when Luke had only the upper plates roughed out. Those plates had to be locked in before I could do the fauld, culet and rolls. Without the main body of the cuirass, the lines of the skirt plates couldn't really be even patterned, let alone sheared and formed.lorenzo2 wrote:Nice, can't wait to see the helmet! Is it typical to have the client have a fitting at this stage?
The client is only about 2 hours away, so we have the luxury of more frequent fittings than when the client is further away. Sometimes we have to schedule fittings with more long-distance customers, so it gets trickier to arrange and I have to do more with measurements and body castings or photos.
We'll have one more fitting for the helm, but that should be the last one, before we finish up the project. I'll be heat treating the cuirass in the next couple of days, while I pattern and form the helmet body. The sight position of the visor is the major concern there, but I have a profile tracing and photos so it shouldn't be too hard.
Hey Doug, thanks for the compliments. It means a lot coming from you.
I'll try to get more photos up tomorrow.
- Jeffrey Hedgecock
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New photos
The cuirass is basically ready to heat treat. Did up the rolls, hinges and trimmed some plates since the last photos. Also did a little hot-work on the culet plate. It's come together nicely, and the afternoon I'll be patterning the great bascinet.
A couple of other views, since you can't see all the shape in the ones above...
The hinges... (I did a couple extra, only needed 5)
And mounted on the left side...
A couple of other views, since you can't see all the shape in the ones above...
The hinges... (I did a couple extra, only needed 5)
And mounted on the left side...
- Jeffrey Hedgecock
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Hi,
I always do my grinding and polishing post-heat treatment.
These multiple plate backplates have solid rivets. I'm still trying to figure out why the Italians made them in multiple pieces, other than that they look cool and to show off their talent that they could make something in multiple pieces when it is actually easier to make it in one piece.
J
(spelling corrected)
I always do my grinding and polishing post-heat treatment.
These multiple plate backplates have solid rivets. I'm still trying to figure out why the Italians made them in multiple pieces, other than that they look cool and to show off their talent that they could make something in multiple pieces when it is actually easier to make it in one piece.
J
(spelling corrected)
Last edited by Jeffrey Hedgecock on Thu Jan 08, 2009 7:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- Jeffrey Hedgecock
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I've gotten a lot of hard work done on the great bascinet that goes with this cuirass, so thought folks here would like to see.
Here's the album with more photos:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=7 ... =554676085
Here's the album with more photos:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=7 ... =554676085
That is some beautiful work. Gotta be in pretty good shape to fit into that waist line too.
So I go and see the Knight School site and notice the jousting event that I missed which happended just yesterday, and less than a two hour drive away near San Diego. I'll definitely be going next year now that I know about it.
So I go and see the Knight School site and notice the jousting event that I missed which happended just yesterday, and less than a two hour drive away near San Diego. I'll definitely be going next year now that I know about it.
The madness has begun!
- RandallMoffett
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- Jeffrey Hedgecock
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You're in luck!btmcrae wrote:That is some beautiful work. Gotta be in pretty good shape to fit into that waist line too.
So I go and see the Knight School site and notice the jousting event that I missed which happended just yesterday, and less than a two hour drive away near San Diego. I'll definitely be going next year now that I know about it.
That "event" yesterday was just our regular monthly training session, and we'll have another one next month-- March 7. Check out the Knight School Website for more info.
We'll be having another Tournament of the Phoenix in October
- Jeffrey Hedgecock
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This whole harness is just truly inspirational!!!
A question about the faulds. They look like they are directlt articulated to each other rather than to internal leathers. Is that the case? I had thought that the italian style harnesses from this period generally used some form of internal leathers.
Thanks again for posting this.
A question about the faulds. They look like they are directlt articulated to each other rather than to internal leathers. Is that the case? I had thought that the italian style harnesses from this period generally used some form of internal leathers.
Thanks again for posting this.
- Sean Powell
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I'm assuming Jeff is using the same technique that I was taught. The faulds are firmly bolted or riveted together during final shaping and heat-treat. Then the rivets or bolts are removed and the visible holes filled with a decorative rivet through the outermost plate only. The inner plate uses that same hole to attach to leather straps.Alec wrote:This whole harness is just truly inspirational!!!
A question about the faulds. They look like they are directlt articulated to each other rather than to internal leathers. Is that the case? I had thought that the italian style harnesses from this period generally used some form of internal leathers.
Thanks again for posting this.
In some cases the faulds might be connected with slotted rivets on the left side only so the right can compress when mounting a horse but the faulds won't rotate but I don't think that is a typical 15th century feature.
Sean