The Armour Archive

Is there and accepted height/depth range for high point or low point bascinets or is this one of those visual preference things?

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Been there; Done that; Made the hauberk.

Armored Dillo Highway/Knitting Steel:Guide for the Contemporary Maille Craftsman

Well, I'm a long way from an expert so take my words with a grain of salt but to me it looks like its more of a visual thing. I've seen them with tall peaks and short that have looked both awesome and cruddy. Same with the "angle" of the point. Some just seem to look right when other dont. I guess it's just a matter of preference.

Actually there is more a function clasification and medieval aesthetic than meerly a visual preference. (Am I getting ready to put my foot in it)
The 3 large categories as I see them are;

1 a high point going up over the head as in the black prince's and Walther von Hohenklingen. These bascinets were worn under the great helm so the point could not sweep back. It also seems high enough to have ther great helm touching the point of the bascinet.

2 The second is the Bascinet worn without an over helm. The ones with the pointed visors. These have a long swept point that matches the line of the visor to give smooth glancing surfaces front to back.

3 The third is the german low point bascinet which has influences from eastern europe. It is without an over helm usually and has the central visor hinge. This is also the style more commonly used in the SCA, but many times mis-matched with a side pivot visor.

So basically you need to look at as many styles that are available paying attention to the time, country, weights, dimensions.

Then either make as exact a copy as you can to learn the proportions for yourself.(one school of armouring).
Or make one for combat using the period aspects that you feel will work well for your specific use. (Other school of SCA modification loosly based on history)

Just my observations,
Langdon

As an experiment I was also pondering doing a low crested bascinet similar to the crest I've seen on some close helms.

Any comment?

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Been there; Done that; Made the hauberk.

Armored Dillo Highway/Knitting Steel:Guide for the Contemporary Maille Craftsman

I agree with Langdon that function is important in the shape of the bascinet, as well as aesthetic considerations, although I would add construction technique to this also.
It is likely that bascinet's were raised from a single piece of sheet up until about 1380, when the very pointed bascinets make an appearance. The points on these are placed right at the back, sometimes leaning further back than the lower edge. A theory has been put forward that this shape of bascinet was reached by shaping it from a forge welded cone, thus achieving that deep point. They seem to have been invariably worn with the pigface/houndskull visor, whether it be side or center pivoted.
This shape of bascinet is indeed very distinctive and came to replace other shapes among the upper classes after about 1380.

Before then, however, I would not try to divide the rest into distinctive shape groups, especially not only two groups.
The shape of the top of the bascinet varies from totally rounded, through egg shaped, to pointed to various degrees.

In regard to function, the lower point or rounded topped bascinets would most likely have been produced with the intention of wearing a helm over them, those with a higher point can be seen to be too tall to accommodate a helm, and would therefore have been made to be worn without one.

Langdon, I don't know how you can classify the low point bascinets as German, given they are common everywhere, and that many of the german bascinets prior to 1380 are too tall to wear under a helm. Also, what influences are there from Eastern Europe on the German bascinets. The only one I have seen with obvious Eastern influence has a very high point with concave shaping of the top around the point to give it a very Eastern pointed helmet look.

Patrick, not being familiar with close helms, do you mean you want to make a bascinet with an actual perpendicular "crest" or ridge running along it's center??
All I can say is; NOT PERIOD!

Erik

Not period. True.

I'm still experimenting and trying a few different things and not going for exact reproductions yet.

I shocked myself when I figured out how to get the bacinet top together more easily than I originaly thought so I'm doing some sketching on paper and plotting out what I'd need to try doing a complete one.

I still have a four oval panel spagne style kettle helm I want to try, and I'm down to getting the back neck protection lathes put in the face helm I've puttered together unassisted.

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Been there; Done that; Made the hauberk.

Armored Dillo Highway/Knitting Steel:Guide for the Contemporary Maille Craftsman

I'd argue that the very considerable slope of a bascinet skull makes the roof-peak shape of a crest or crease unnecessary -- that hat is all glancing surface. Bascinets aren't all that easy to hit well if the angle of your sword blow is just a little bit off.