The Armour Archive

Greetings all,

I am starting a closehelm project and hope to post process pictures as I proceed through it. Stay tuned...

The Helm will be a 14ga S/S Main shell with 16ga S/S lames and viser.

This will be an SCA combat helm so I will have to use a bargrill visor but I am thinking of trying to make it interchangeable with the proper viser.

Oooo, do you have any conceptual drawings. What gauges are you using also? i love close helms and armets

There are no requirements to use a bargrill in the SCA. Perhaps you mean that it is your customer's requirement. I don't know how easy it'd be to make a seperate visor and keep the original look. You could shape the bargrill to have the same outline as the original visor. You could also make two helmets so you dont have to worry about the bolts holding the switchable visor falling out.

Anyway, that's just a couple ideas. Do you have a particular helm/ visor you're trying to recreate?

I look forward to seeing the progress. I'd like to try an armet, sometime. They look slightly easier to get right.

Good luck,
Jacob

I am well aware of the requirements in the SCA as I am a senior marshal in the kingdom of An Tir and the customer in this case is me so I guess the customer will get what he wants.

One if the benefits of not having any pending commissions is I get to work on my own stuff for once.

Sweet! Take your time, then, and make it awesome. The end result when an artist or craftsman can do exactly what they want to without too many constraints is their best and always great to see.

Have fun, post pictures.
Jacob

Ogier, as you are not going to be jousting, I'd suggest lots of punchwork on a regular visor. I'm sure you could find many examples of 17th century work where the breaths and occularia are on both sides and extensive enough to preclude the need for a bargrill.

I am picturing a helmet that I saw, once, French I believe, in which the visor was slitted in a manner where vision and breathing ability would be hampered very little. It might have been an armet, but the visor itself would still work well on a close-helm.

Rhoetus:

While I don't joust, I do play with some rather hard hitting people with sticks.

The SCA is pre-17th century. I.E. pre 1601 not pre-1650 as the cavaliers would have people believe. Don't get me wrong, I like the look of a cavalier persona done well, but it is out of period for our game.

So, 17th century examples didn't exist yet and as such, I don't have access to them for use in my research.

besides, I don't mind the look of a bargrill when painted flat black with linseed oil and coal thus rendering it almost invisible at first glance when compared to the bright shiny polish of the rest of the helm.

Thanks for the insight and info though. I really appreciate your input on this as well as all others.