The Armour Archive

I don't know if this has been brought up before or not.

I'm thinking about experimenting with aluminum basket hilts for rattan, and I figured I'd ask for opinions on the minimum safe thickness other smiths recommend to make them out of.

I have 16 gauge aluminum lying around, but is that thick enough to prevent crumpling?

I have easy access to a scrapyard and surplus metal dealer with just about any thickness I care to buy- up to something like 8 inches thick...

So I can get almost any thickness, depending on need.

But before I waste materials, I am curious about the experiences others have had in this, and in what thickness they recommend.


I'm thinking of maybe playing with riveted bar styles in thick stock, as well as solid cup designs in sheet.
(Something like mortuary hilts or schiavonas, when I am ready to try those.)

Also, I assume 16 gauge stainless is fine for cup styled baskets, maybe with decorative cutouts?


-Badger-

First it depends on what kind of aluminum you're using. Also depends on how much overlapping stuff there is in the construction.

I'd say though go with the same stuff as shield blanks. Either .1 or .09 thick 60-61 t-6. And it has the added advantage of being able to use the scrap left from cutting out a shield blank to make your cup hilts.

16ga stainless with cutouts will absolutely not hold up. 16ga without cutouts would be ok.

Baskets get a lot of abuse especially if someone who blocks with it is using it.

Well...

At the moment, my plans for a shield are to use plywood.

I'll be making up an aluminum heater later-but 20 years ago,all my shields were built up in plywood, and I already have one lying around.

I have not tested this aluminum for hardness yet- and there will be a fair amount over overlay.
(I won't know how much till I start playing with designs.)

I'll certainly be using scraps from a shield blank to make stuff out of- I never throw anything away.
(Aren't we all packrats that way?)

Fair enough.
Thanks for the input, Matt.

I may cut some and play with some just because I have it right now, with plans to get thicker stock later on.


-Badger-

I would do some basic distructive testing.
as you have acess to a lot of scrap the alloy and temper can vary quite a bit between one sample and another.
Cut some small metal disks and dish them just a little like besagews.
Then wack them a bit with your favorite weapon. It will give you and idea on how well the aluminum will hold up.
There are other ways to test the aluminum but this is fairly quick and easy with no special tools.

For SCA use, the standard is 0.075 inch (1.9mm) (but of course there's no alloy or treatment standard so YMMV). My gauntlets are .090, but I have to replace them every several years.

Badger, I'm going to make the assumption that these will be for commercial sale.

Customers like seeing at least .080; with some of the less typical alloys you can go quite thin, I've done .060, but customers equate "thick and heavy" with safe. Likewise, customer don't want to have to do any balancing work when they build their swords; they stick the basket on and go.

The welded aluminum basket hilts from Anselm are .125 6061-T6 (if I recollect correctly) and they are completely invulnerable (I'm a heavy basket hilt blocker in Atlantia; other than tape marks you couldn't tell they've ever been used.) You could easily drop down to .100 and never have a worry.


Frederich