The Armour Archive

RalphS

Nope, that's cryo treatment. Case hardening is getting it really hot in an atmosphere with an overdose of CO (carbonmonoxide), which will slowly diffuse into the iron, convert to C and CO2, the CO2 diffuses out, leaving a net effect of increasing the carbon content of the iron and thus turning it to...

RalphS

I've seen both, though I'm not completely sure about the dating at this time. Though I'd say that the fully flattened rings dominate.

RalphS

The patterns and tips mentioned above are not strictly raising. The material is cut and welded, which I consider to be very different from raising. If you however just want to make a pigface with modern techniques, that's the way to go. If, on the other hand, you want to play with (presumably) perio...

RalphS

Hmm... Now there's an incentive to have newbies make their own armour! Pity it's rather close to my head size on the outside , which makes it tiny in size on the inside. I've continued with the dobble, filling in the holes with 8 mm plating. Let me tell you: it's tough to dish 8 mm! Even when at yel...

RalphS

Nah, just kidding! It's actually the start for a helmet dobble, or head-sized/shaped raising and planishing stake!

RalphS

I was wondering if 8 mm is thick enough for a SCA legal spangen helmet? 16 gauge is about 8 mm, isn't it??
[img]http://www.astro.lu.se/~ralph/pics/spangen.jpg[/img]

RalphS

Yeah! Great idea! I'll definitely come if I'm on the same continent by then!

RalphS

Forget about the motor oil for blackening. This stuff has specifically been designed not to blacken. Imagine the oil turning to thick black sticky goo in your engine?? I've read references to period methods using feathers or horn to blacken armour, and can confirm that it works. In particular the ho...

RalphS

The 70 hours isn't just heavy beating of red-hot steel... I do that part typically in 8 hours for a scull-cap sized piece of steel, longer for larger helmets. I haven't made any full face sallets yet, but my guess is that it would be about 20 hours of work at the forge, and then at least twice as mu...

RalphS

Not a true Swede, just import from Holland, now located in SkÃ¥ne.

Ralph

RalphS

That inside looks familiar, I get a very similar appearance: hot raised: http://www.astro.lu.se/~ralph/pics/raised1.jpg cold raised: http://www.astro.lu.se/~ralph/pics/raised2.jpg and some originals: http://www.astro.lu.se/~ralph/pics/raised3.jpg http://www.astro.lu.se/~ralph/pics/bayrnmsallet1-b.jp...

RalphS

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Alcyoneus: You can buy such things over the counter, that probably work better than what you rigged up. Safer, too. http://www.armourarchive.org/ubb/wink.gif <HR></BLOCK...

RalphS

Anders, what did you raise on and with? I'm currently working on an italian sallet which started from a blank of 40 cm 3 mm mild. And I'm running out of material... This is the 4th raised helmet I've started on, and somehow it seems that bigger and heavier blanks seem to compress more rather than st...

RalphS

Rob, great collection of tools! That's more than I have gathered over the years! As said, try to get a feel for the metal using simple projects first. Expect to scrap a whole lot of things, so you might just as well start with that attitude: take a piece of steel and bend it, dish it, flare it, roll...

RalphS

About 15 years ago I took up stock removal knifemaking, quickly found out that I wanted to learn how to forge, and started on my first forged dagger. A very good friend of mine placed an order, stating that he'd like to have the first dagger I forged, and we agreed that it had to be armour piercing....

RalphS

Now you bring it up, yes, you've got a good point. I have a 500 gram raising hammer which I occasionally use for hot raising, but only for smaller parts and thinner gauge. But I agree that it is nice to work with. For the helmets I've made I still prefer the heavier hammer. My initial aversion again...

RalphS

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>...Then you clean it up by grinding and polishing. I have played with 15th and 16th c. items and I think that this is how most of the stuff was done.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I agree with Wade. Take...

RalphS

Usually the head of a raising hammer is long and narrow, to allow deep profiles without being bothered by the handle. The face of a raising hammer is in general rectangular, about two to three times as wide as it is high, with gently rounded edges all around. All that said, I use the peen of my forg...

RalphS

Cork lining for indoor pattens ("stillegang" in Dutch, which differ from the typical wooden outdoor pattens).

Bug me off-line if you'd want me to dig up some pictures from an exhibition catalog.

RalphS

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>i think we are getting a test piece . to hammer, drill file and grind .. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Forget about the hammer, you will crack the steel instead. For drills, use the appropriate kind, ch...

RalphS

If you want to make an accurate reproduction, including flux type and such, remember that the iron and steel quality back then was very different from what we have now. If you have ever worked with real wrought iron you'll know the difference. The oldfashioned stuff, wrought iron, is full of slag in...

RalphS

Where was the halberd located? How old was it? It's located in the "armemuseet" in Stockholm, judging by the style I'd date it around 1450-1500. Rather plain, no engravings or ecthings, no particularly high craftmanship. <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="V...

RalphS

Instead of going from an L-shaped edge to a U-shaped, I have made a ?-shaped or P-shaped edge a few times. It provides enough volume for a nice roped edge (though I didn't rope it), and you'll have the original edge tucked away on the inside of the piece, instead of being part of the visible section...

RalphS

I got an order to make a halberd in mid 15th century northern european style. There are plenty of pictures showing the halberds in profile, but I was wondering about the weight an thickness. When in a museum the other day I had a chance to look at a halberd edge-on, and this specific one was absurdl...

RalphS

Drying time for linseed oil varies extremely with the grade of linseed oil you have. Cold pressed, hot pressed, boiled,... I'm sure it also depends on the place the linseed was grown, when it was harvested, if it was a good season, and plenty of other reasons. The stuff I use, boiled or hot pressed,...

RalphS

http://www.armourarchive.org/ubb/Forum4/HTML/001876.html

RalphS

Time to get this thread on the right track again. <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by losthelm: ... pacing it in an insalating substance. I think it started with a ver but cant be definite.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE...

RalphS

Thanks, I figured it had to be something like that. Does anyone have any pictures of or references to the existing ones? I've been running around with this nagging idea that just doesn't want to go away, for about a year now. I like sallets. I want to make more of them. But I don't want to spend the...

RalphS

Konstantin the Red mentioned "dopples" in another thread (http://www.armourarchive.org/ubb/Forum1 ... 09400.html).
Just what exactly are they, when were they first mentioned and/or used, and where can I find more information on them?

RalphS

Interesting method. I know of it, but would never have considerd using it on plate. I think the distortions will be extreme in this method. Just hypothetically, if you manage to quench to just above the martensite start temperature (roughly 225 C), and keep the entire object at that temp, distortion...

RalphS

The caption says nothing about the original material, it is about attempts to obtain the same appearance (on paper it seems) as the original decoration. It's not clear from the caption alone why this attempt is made. BTW, it's in Swedish.

RalphS

Breeds are a modern concept, IIRC only about two centuries old. The way a breed looks can change a lot over very short times. Look at the original shetland pony. Now look at the american version of the shetland pony. One is used to pack over 100 kg loads, the other is used to impress people with its...

RalphS

Like most things, it's not that hard if you know how and have the proper materials and tools, I guess. All my experience when it comes to saddles stems from one saddle tree I've modified in an attempt to make something viking-age looking. The biggest problem, as I see it, is that you need a saddle t...

RalphS

I went and learned it the hard way, reading books on silversmithing, various articles from "the best of the hammer", experimenting together with an experienced armourer who had only seen it being done a long time ago, and eventually I found rather consistant and good descriptions in ToMAR and on the...

RalphS

Jeff, how did you make this saddle? I've been thinking of making a similar style saddle for several years now, but never dared to take the first step. My biggest problem is (as I see it now) the saddle tree which fits my horse well enough. From there on, most of it seems to be either straighforward ...

Is 8 mm enough for a spangen helmet?

dopple?