greave shaping

Thomas H · Post by **Thomas H** » Tue Jun 24, 2003 4:24 pm

how do i go about shaping some greaves for a mid 15thc germanic suit.

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coelum non solum

Thomas H · Post by **Thomas H** » Thu Jun 26, 2003 1:40 pm

are you lot sure you don't know how or am i a silly stick candidate for asking in the first place.

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coelum non solum

[This message has been edited by thomas hayman (edited 06-26-2003).]

Derian le Breton · Post by **Derian le Breton** » Thu Jun 26, 2003 1:59 pm

I think the question is too general... are you asking what shape should you aim for, or what method to use?

The shape to aim for can easily be seen on a number of extant suits. As for how to do it... not my area of expertise.

-Donasian.

Red Dragon · Post by **Red Dragon** » Thu Jun 26, 2003 3:32 pm

Actually, the problem is that your question requires a rather long answer, or a uselessly short one, like "you hammer into the correct shape."

The basic shape of the greave is called a gutter, but to get it correct requires additional shaping.

One place to start is with the 14th Century greave pattern that is here in the Archive. The 15th Century suit should have a closed greave, but the pattern should give you some ideas about how to create the shape for the front half of the closed greave.

You may even want to try the single piece greave before moving on to try the closed greave.

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Conor
Red Dragon Armoury
You should serve your boredom, unless you can make your boredom serve you.

Ambrogio · Post by **Ambrogio** » Thu Jun 26, 2003 5:52 pm

To make the pattern (wich is the most vital part of the project, since the greave should be TIGHT) I would draw a straight vertical line (front of greave)and from that line measure around the front half of your leg at even spacings (every inch or so) and then add those measures as horizontal lines crossing the first, (err, is this understandable at all???) that would give you a rough idea of what the pattern would look like. or you could just ducttape your leg and cut up the tape and use that as a rough pattern.

The hammering part.
You must decide where to stretch and where to compress the metal, this is partly a personal preference thing but you will end up doing a bit of both.

If you have welding skill you could try to adapt CAD's pattern to your size, I have tried it for two pair of greaves and it worked really well but I'm not sure whether the welding is time saving or not...

This could be a long post...

More refined question, please...