The Armour Archive

Guys I'm a Noob to the SCA and armored combat. Anyway I just got one of Ashcraftbaker's http://www.ashcraftbaker.com/14g%20ss%20Spangen.htm
new Stainless steel spangen helms. But I'm a little stumped as to where to attach a chin strap, behind the ear ? under the ear ? above the ear ?
please help
Jens
http://oakwoodforge.blogspot.com/

i usually strap min right at the jaw hinge, in front of the ear.

Though different helms balance differently thats where i start my guess.

I tried that with my first helm, and it didnt pull it down enough to cover my neck. I ended up putting the rivets almost in the center of my ears. I would have someone else in your group look at your padding and help you figure out what you should do. There are little tricks to everything.

Most chinstraps are an accident waiting to happen because they merely hold the helmet to the head, but do not prevent a hard face thrust from potentially injuring your face. Below is a chinstrap we used for years, without a single incident.

Rule of thumb...when this chinstrap is on and tied....you should be able to lean your entire body weight down on two people holding your helmet/head up....the faceplate of your helmet should not touch your face and the helmet should not pull off.



do note that your chin goes through a piece of leather with an eliptical cut-out that is big enough to put your chin fully through it. You can cut/punch/drill holes or loop the end of the leather around to accept the cord. The leather chinstrap should be holster weight....Ive seen some sew in some light padding but the chinstrap should still be firm and tight...it should not slip off if you talk...now it will slow up your jaw a little bit (not bad --you can still communicate easily) when talking but it will also save your face too. After a little oil and sweat gets into the chinstrap it will soften....you will need to replace it every few months if you fight constantly. I recommend using parachute cord for the cords....very strong, thin and can be inserted into a winter jacket cord catch (those things with the spring button that hold cords in place)

please forgive the small font....

Looks like an evil jay leno... jk. Personally i have two holes about a inch in front, then an inch down from my ears. I just have a simple tie behind the helm set up though

yeah well ya sorta feel like Jay Leno too. ....but it works great.

A mack truck could hit you and youre neck would rip off but your face would be fine.

Jens Butler wrote:Guys I'm a Noob to the SCA and armored combat. <geshnippt> I'm a little stumped as to where to attach a chin strap, behind the ear? under the ear? above the ear?

Last two of the three.

A variation on the method in the sketch is two chin straps, one roughly horizontal, the other a, um, slanted U shape. These straps cross each other on either side of the chin and they have four rivets fastening them in, two high, two low.

The two high rivets are at about the height of the top of the ears, forward of them. The strap from these rivets goes under your chin. The two low rivets are ahead of your earlobes. This strap is the horizontal one, and it passes around your chin just under your lower lip. The two straps define a chin cup. They are usually fastened together where they cross on either side of your chin. One buckle per strap, or get clever and put the buckle right where the straps cross on one side and just use one buckle total.

This arrangement holds your face away from your faceplate, and your helmet on your head. It's a good idea to fit the rivet attachments with D rings so it's easy to replace a bad strap without having to grind or drill rivets out.

I think using D rings to attach the strap to the helm is key. As mentioned it allows you to adjust the strap with ease, it also makes changing a broken chin strap much easier. Use a strip of brass about 1.5 inches long and fold it in half with the D ring inside it. Punch or drill a hole through the plate and rivet to helm. This attachment point will be very strong/unlikely to fail, adjustable and make for easy repairs later.

In time your strap will need replacing. If using a cord as shown in the previous drawing you need merely tie in a new one. This is an easy fix. That is fortunate in that you will probably discover that you need a new strap while at an event. If you use a more conventional strap then I suggest attaching it at each D ring by passing a inch of leather through the ring and stitching it down. When you make your strap do yourself a favor, make two and keep the second in a small armor kit. Stitching a new chinstrap into the helm is far easier than riveting a new strap into the helm. The padding tends to get in the way making it hard to swing a hammer in a helm. Stitching in a helm is easy and can be done with minimal tools.

Finding the point you will rivet the D rings to the helm is a little harder. First pad the helm such that it is comfortable for you. When you pad in the area of the ear use double-sided tape at first as you will be tearing that padding out so you can put a hole in the helm and rivet in your attachment points. Once the helm is padded to your satisfaction put it on your head and with the help of a local fighter, who has demonstrated his/her heavy fighting experience, do these tests.

Take your hands and pinch the helm somewhere between your ear and jaw. Do this on both sides. Try to be symmetrical. If you can't pinch the helm, (thumbs inside helm pointer finger outside) then push hard from the outside with your thumbs. Now that you have clamped the helm by pinching or pressing, pull the helm towards your chin. You are trying to simulate the chin strap so the angle of pull is important. If the lower back of the helm tilts towards your neck you need to move your attachment points upward. If the helm tilts towards the bridge of your nose you need to move the points rearward. Do this until the helm stays level as you pull. Now your friend helps.

While pulling the helm as above, your friend puts light pressure to three points. First point is the spot of the helm just over the bridge of your nose. Second point- the spot just below the tip of your nose. The third and most important- the very lowest point of the grill. If the helm "pivots" around your attachment points you need to adjust those points and try again.

I know this sounds tedious but it beats making multiple holes in the helm or making due with a strap that does a halfassed job. If you have a safely made SCA helm but strap or pad it poorly you don't have a safe SCA helm. Most helm related injuries are do to poor padding our strapping.

Good luck and I look forward to seeing you on the field.

OK,

About the chinstrap. I typed this out a few months ago, and I went back and "cut and paste"ed it in. I have made some changes.

I try to anchor a chinstrap above and behind the jaw hinge point. I anchor it with a single copper rivet, just like any other strap. The location means that the chinstrap is preventing the hardtop from going both back and up. Some folks like it above and behind the ear. My current chinstrap is lower and in front of the ear, but above and behind is good too. Some folks like two anchor points.

I like a cup style chinstrap. It sometimes happens that a spearman gets a little excited and gives a thump on the face place that was much, much harder than he expected. It's nice if the chinstrap guards against it. I don't like D rings. I like buckles, they never, every slip. D rings are good for loaner gear, that needs to fit multiple people. Your helmet only needs to fit you.

This is what I have come up with. It is a little hard to describe in text, but if you draw it out, it becomes easier.

Before I start, a "Shielded buckle" is a buckle that has a little flap of leather that sits between the buckle and your skin. The leather piece is secured with the same rivet that holds the buckle in place. This prevents the steel buckle from being driven into your tender skin.

The chinstrap is made in three pieces. Starting from left to right.

There is a rivet about the earlobe on the left side. It attaches a short, half inch wide piece of solid harness leather. On the right side of that harness leather is a sheilded buckle. Attached to the buckle (still going right) is the actual cup. This is a single strap of leather, about three to four inches long. It is attached by a single rivet to two straight straps that are about sixty degrees apart. Both of these are curved back until they touch about three inches further to the right, where they are attached to another single straight piece of leather strap with another single rivet. Because the two cup straps are straight, and they are being forced into a curve, they naturally curve to cup the chin. There is an additional shielded buckle section attaching the the chinstrap right in the area of the right earlobe.

It is important to note that every piece of leather in this chinstrap system is straight and square cornered before bending. In the patterns, they look curved.

This is a little confusing. Ascii art really doesn't work well for me, but here is a kind of diagram.

----<===>----

Waitasec. Here's a pic, drawn with a ball point pen, and shot with a digicam on top of the computer desk.



Please note, the buckles aren't part of the drawing.

It is important to inspect your chinstrap whenever you inspect or check any other piece of armor. Chinstraps get a lot wetter than other pieces of armor, and rot faster. Check them often. With my rig, the bit that needs replacement is fast and easy to replace. Teeth don't heal like bones do. Protect them.

Hope that helps.

f
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Please note nobody has advised the use of D rings to cinch down the strap. The D rings are merely used to attach the straps to the helm. As for buckles used as suggested in the last post, that’s fine. I would suggest a simpler chin cup. Use a thick strap cut a slit in the middle such that the chin fits through. Punch holes at the end of the slit so that the slit does not spread.

________________________________________

Buckle O----------O Buckle
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The buckle is on a strap that is at its end attached to a D ring. The first drawing used cord and tied off. The cord went through the D rings like a pulley. This system has the advantage of fitting anyone.

Crap when I typed my "drawing" on the message page it was correct but some auto formatting feature changed it. The strap should have the slit in the middle and the buckles attach at the ends.

In my Bascinet I use a kevlar helmet snap chin strap. Only two holes needed and the strap is adjustable and comfortable. You can find them at your local army surplus store for around $4.00- 6.00. They last awhile too. Had mine in for a few years now. Use Copper leather rivets to put it in with.

I have the same thing, and I have taken shots that would have hurt, if I hadnt had a bombproof chinstrap. Just make sure you actually replace them, when the snaps start to twist. That is bad.