The Armour Archive

I am interested in starting a basic helm project in the spring/summer, but I am not sure which one will be easier for someone with a limited amount of space to work (apartment living).

My choices seem to be a spangen ( http://www.armourarchive.org/patterns/n ... _halberds/ and http://www.arador.com/construction/span ... ruc1a.html being the two guides/patterns I looked at) and a late roman ridge helm (http://www.comitatus.net/HelmetsandArmo ... ehelm.html though I cant find a pattern).

I have a few of the basics down.. dishing, riveting, planishing.. so I figured this might be a good direction to go.

Any suggestions? If these are a bit advanced for someone new to it, alternates would be appreciated. My goal is to take what I can learn from doing this, and eventually produce a helm such as this (which is accurate for my period):

http://www.geocities.com/egfroth1/ConcentricHelm.html

Your persona's place and period being Eastern Mediterranean and 12th-c., right?

Spangen construction is fairly simple if a bit fiddly fitting the panels. It doesn't need a huge inventory of tools.

You can find a pattern for a roman ridge helm (Burgh Castle), here. It's under the pattern section, towards the bottom of the page.

http://members.aol.com/gijchar/forge.html

Konstantin - Yes, I should of mentioned that. The exact period is the early/mid 11th century, around the time of Basil II (1000-1025). Place could range from the middle east to southern italy. I think I am going to settle on Armenia though. Never been there, but from what I read, it seems the closest in all of the Empire to what my current home (Colorado Springs, CO) is like.

Anyway, yes, something that requires very few tools and experience works best. A spangen was recommended from among my SCA friends who know anything about it. Not entirely sure its appropriate for my period or region, but if not, I can always trade/sell it or use it for decoration or something.

Garreth - Thanks for the link. Looking through that site, found several other things I might like to try after (or instead of) the spangen. Mostly just adding the cheeks and neck protection like the complex spangen patterns (like the ridge helm).