The Armour Archive

This might sound a very funny thing to ask but how do i size a helmet ? .

I use this, then add for the amount of padding.
http://home.armourarchive.org/members/h ... adsize.jpg

When I build a helmet for someone I first take blue camp foam and make the helmet padding. One layer goes around the temple reagion and then I make the cap. I use this as my sizing. You can measure around the outside of the foam to get the helmet size.

good luck

generally measure the distance armound the head at brow level and add 5". then take calipers and measure the width and depth of the head to get your shape. then take the distance from the center of the eyes to the base of the chin, add 2" and thats your front drop distance. measure from the tip of the ear ( which lines up with brow level) to the top of the trapezious muscle on the side of the neck and subtract 1" AND THAT IS A GOOD good guide measurement for the length of the side panels. Cloth measureing tape and calipers are a real must in sizing things for a customer

All I can add is that a helm's circumference should be the head measurement as above, plus as a rule of thumb 3" more for enough room for 1/2" of padding all around, or 5" more for 3/4" of padding. More than that and a helm gets pretty bigheaded. Some glasses wearers may prefer a larger helm if its face does not open up.

It helps to draw out your head outline in cardboard and use it for a guide when making the head band.

Hummm... that brings to thought shadow painting.
I wonder how much difference in size of your head to a traced shadow it cast on poster board?

Halberds wrote:It helps to draw out your head outline in cardboard and use it for a guide when making the head band.

Hummm... that brings to thought shadow painting.
I wonder how much difference in size of your head to a traced shadow it cast on poster board?

Light source and distance make a HUGE difference.

Thanks for all your help, i am still working on the helmet i am doing for myself ..but as it don't fit now ..lol i will have to start a new one,this time using the right way to size .i will still get this one finished my son can have it

You minght also want the front to back measurements and side to side (width of head) That can make a difference as well, esp. on close fitting hats.

Halberds wrote:It helps to draw out your head outline in cardboard and use it for a guide when making the head band.

Hummm... that brings to thought shadow painting.
I wonder how much difference in size of your head to a traced shadow it cast on poster board?

If we only had the money for a 3D scanner....
http://www.nextengine.com/

$3K....

But failing that underemployed extra $3K, the poor man's solution is cardboard and scissors. Grab your baseball cap too. Take a flat piece of cardboard and cut a hole into its center for the top of your head to fit in, tracing around the ball cap, except for the bill, to get the shape. Keep enlarging the hole until it sits on your head like the brim of a hat and shades your eyes.

The same trick and another piece of flat cardboard can trace out the profile of your head front to back also. Stand the cardboard perpendicular to the hatbrim sheet for this one. Cut a C out of the bottom edge and test fit it on your skull, trimming away places it's still too tight or too low. There's your skull profile and you can transfer measurements with dividers. Works no matter how pointy your head is! (Really pointy headed people need bascinets -- others just like bascinets.)