The Armour Archive

Hi there, Can someone tell me which way the rolls actually went on a globose BP? I like the outward rolls for stopribs, but I also like the low profile inward roll as far as making a smooth surface for the pauldrons to move over. Lower pic is from the inside of the BP at the inside rolls. Any info would be apreciated.

Happy Hollidays

Pitbull

It depends on the date of the piece, not on the shape of the breastplate.

'globose' really just means round. There are globose breastplates formed basically in one piece in several different time periods.

My guess is that you are asking about 14th century ones.

In that case, out. The only way to go.

In general rolls go out until about 1515, then they go in. There are exceptions to every rule, but the only ones I know of are ones here there are some small rolls done after 1515 that are done out.

So, if you want to make a nice rounded breastplate from 1530, roll in. A rounded breastplate from 1390, roll out.

The rolls are also a different size and shape, but you didn't ask about that.

Wade

Hi Wcallen, thanks again for your time. I will try to stop generalizing armor and focus on years and actual pieces. So the rolls mostly all go out upto 1515 and then inward. If you dont mind Id like to know about sizes and shapes of the rolls that you mentioned. One time I saw a triangle shaped roll on a Sallet, not sure what year it was but it was nice looking.

Thank you

Pitbull

For repro work...

I think a lot of it depends on your own tastes too.

The historical dating of rolls is and which way they went is a pretty nit picky detail. That's not to say it should be ignored.

Which way looks better when you're done? Looks like crap one way or the other, go with the way that looks better.
Which way do you and/or the customer like better?
Which way is easier and faster for you to make?
How big is the roll? I find it easier to do tight skinny rolls to the outside, but larger ones to the inside. Probably part of how I work them.

When it comes down to it though, if you have to charge $100 more on a piece to run the rolls the 'right' way, most of the time, most folks will go with the cheaper route.

Hi Mattmaus, thank you for the advise, My outward rolls look pretty nice if I take my time with them, but the inward rolls come out perfect and take me about half the work and time. For the inner rolls I just roll a bead about a quarter inch from the edge of the piece, then work the rest to the inside by hand, makes a perfect bead very fast. I will try reducing the size of my outward rolls like you mentioned, I normally made them pretty large to act as a stoprib but find that they catch on the pauldrons alot when the arms are moved. How far in do you scribe a line for your outside rolls?

Thank you

Pitbull

I don't think it is nit picky at all. Rolling a roll the right way for a piece is just as important as any other detail. Once you start ignoring things such as that you might as well just start welding on bar to the plate edges to speed things up further.

The size of the roll is also a very important factor in the overall look of the piece. Some pieces need large square rolls, it is just how they should be. If these start to interfere with the pauldrons, i'd bet it is an issue with the pauldrons instead. Everything should glide and sit nicely if made properly.

Pitbull Armory wrote:I will try reducing the size of my outward rolls like you mentioned, I normally made them pretty large to act as a stoprib but find that they catch on the pauldrons alot when the arms are moved. How far in do you scribe a line for your outside rolls?

Make your rolls whatever size you like.
When I mentioned size, all I meant that was IF I am doing a tiny roll, because that's what's going to look right/appropriate/best on that part, I curl them out. If I'm doing fatter rolls, because of the way I do them (much like your bead roller, only hammered by hand into a swage rather than through rollers) I do them to the inside.

as far as the line goes, that depends on the size of the roll. Roughly 2-2.5 times the size of the roll.

Hi there Thomas H, thank you for your input. I agree completly about doing what is apropriate for each piece instead of pieces in general. I also agree there could be a pauldron issue, I wish I could acutually see a few historical pauldrons up close from many angles.

Thank you Mattmaus I will metally chew on that for a bit.


Take care

Pitbull