REVIEW Master Cet cervelliere with bretache

Bentz · Post by **Bentz** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 6:22 pm

Many months ago I had a Knuut aventail sitting around without a helmet to put it on and decided to commission a stainless cervelliere for SCA combat. So I started shopping around, asking reputable armourers to see if they were interested/available. The kicker was I wanted to have a mail bretache that was detachable on the brow. I knew it wouldnâ€™t have a ton of practical use â€“ the ventilation and vision wouldnâ€™t be too much different through a bretache than a bargrill and I doubted I would have it down much anyway, but I just thought it would be cool feature. Iâ€™d never commissioned a helm before and I just thought it would be a sweet touch that would set it off from a lot of other helms on the field. A handful or armourers said they could do it and fit it in, and based on several recommendations, I opted for Master Cet (Dave Rylak).

Good choice on my part.

I had a ton of ideas and twice as many questions, and I was very particular about the details. In short, I was a colossal pain in the ass.  But Master Cet exhibited the patience of a saint (or at least a Buddhist monk) and he was really helpful throughout. He went above and beyond for this one. Anytime we discussed options or ideas he had a photo of an effigy or a great explanation ready. I pretty much asked for the impossible, wanting the bretache to cover the majority of the grill when hooked to the brow and still look cool when detached and hanging in front, but he did his absolute best to accommodate. He was also more than happy to offer advice and make some adjustments as we went along, and he kept me abreast of progress with plenty of photos.

Communication: 6/5. Couldnâ€™t have been better. He probably had to kick a puppy or club some baby seals to survive this project, but his responses to me were always timely and pleasant.
End product: 5/5. I was too far away to be there for sitting and sizing, and the helm still fits like a dream. Clean lines, looks â€œorganicâ€

Klaus the Red · Post by **Klaus the Red** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 6:27 pm

That's really nice- I've been thinking of getting one of those myself, with the "stealth" grill.

Brandr · Post by **Brandr** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 6:38 pm

Nice....very nice. I must get one some day.

How about a photo with it on? with all your kit?

Bentz · Post by **Bentz** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 6:55 pm

I'm chasing my one year old around right now, so I'll try to get a photo of it on in the next day or two. When I first picked it up and tried to put it on, I said , "Uh-oh. Uhh, did I send the measurements for my arm or something!?" but it just took a minute to figure out the trick. I asked for a close-fit that allowed minimum but safe padding, and that's exactly what I got! If it was any more snug it wouldn't have worked, but it's just about a perfect fit.

Kían · Post by **Kían** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 6:59 pm

NICE! That's a really great looking helm.

And I agree, let's see the helm on your hed in your kit!

Effingham · Post by **Effingham** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 7:40 pm

Sweet. Very nice bucket.

Effingham

Vitus von Atzinger · Post by **Vitus von Atzinger** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 7:49 pm

Cet is a demigod.

Bentz · Post by **Bentz** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 8:30 pm

Cet, Mighty Demigod of Buckets!

Cet · Post by **Cet** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 10:47 pm

Thanks for the review Bentz. It was a fun project except the part where I sewed the mail onto the wrong side of the aventail band

Definitely post a pic with it on when you can, I'd love to see it worn

Cheers

Dave

Murdock · Post by **Murdock** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 10:57 pm

thats really close to what i'm thinking about getting

Andrew Young · Post by **Andrew Young** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 1:29 am

yeah nice job Cet!

chef de chambre · Post by **chef de chambre** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 3:56 pm

That is an impressive handling of makeing an SCA open helmet look historical. Nice work!

Cet · Post by **Cet** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 4:34 pm

Thanks guys!

Dave

Klaus the Red · Post by **Klaus the Red** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 5:08 pm

Point of order- I was under the impression that bretache referred to the actual plate nasal used in this configuration, and not just the technique of pinning the camail up over the nose. Am I wrong?

Bentz · Post by **Bentz** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 5:15 pm

Klaus the Red wrote:Point of order- I was under the impression that bretache referred to the actual plate nasal used in this configuration, and not just the technique of pinning the camail up over the nose. Am I wrong?

I've seen it used interchangably for both the plate or the camail triangle, but that doesn't mean it was used correctly. I'd be interested to know if I should be calling it something else as well...

white mountain armoury · Thu Feb 07, 2008 5:42 pm

sweet

Bentz · Post by **Bentz** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 7:49 pm

My wife and I were playing pass-the-baby, so a few buckles are undone and things are bunching where they shouldn't, but here are a few pics, as requested...

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd16 ... 0_0135.jpg

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd16 ... 0_0134.jpg

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd16 ... 0_0136.jpg

Brandr · Post by **Brandr** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 8:34 pm

NICE!!!!!

It gives a very good look.

Bentz · Post by **Bentz** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 11:00 pm

Thanks, Brandr!

There are things I want to change, but the helm isn't one of them.

Murdock · Post by **Murdock** » Fri Feb 08, 2008 9:27 am

who did the greaves?

I like that alot

Bentz · Post by **Bentz** » Fri Feb 08, 2008 9:34 am

Thanks, Murdock.

Dan at House of the Wolf leather did them. His shop is temporarily closed, but here's hoping for his safe return this fall.

Friedrich Parcifal · Post by **Friedrich Parcifal** » Fri Feb 08, 2008 10:03 am

Well done!!

Steve S. · Post by **Steve S.** » Fri Feb 08, 2008 12:55 pm

Very very nice kit.

Steve

Andrew Young · Post by **Andrew Young** » Fri Feb 08, 2008 1:13 pm

Yes looking even better!

Bentz · Post by **Bentz** » Fri Feb 08, 2008 2:26 pm

Thanks, guys. Cet's helm really pulls it up a few notches. The kit's moving in the right direction, and definitely a lot better than it was a few years ago.

But whenever I look at something like the Show Yourt Kit post on the Interpretive Re-creation forum I think, "Hot damn, now *those* are some sweet looking kits." After that all I see are things I need to do to improve mine. People keep raising the bar like this and it makes it really hard to keep up with the Joinville's, you know?

Steve S. · Post by **Steve S.** » Fri Feb 08, 2008 2:38 pm

I really like your coat of plates. The dags are cool.

Steve

Bentz · Post by **Bentz** » Fri Feb 08, 2008 2:44 pm

Steve -SoFC- wrote:I really like your coat of plates. The dags are cool.

Steve

I'd love to be able to take credit, but Master Geoffrey at GAA Armoury made it before he closed up shop a few years ago. If I had made it you'd be saying, "You're coat of plates is, uh, a coat, with plates. It looks... yeah. Nice lions though!"

Bentz · Post by **Bentz** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 1:30 pm

Seems like there's still some interest in cervellieres around here, so I thought this could use a good BUMP...

svonbaden · Post by **svonbaden** » Thu Feb 14, 2008 4:47 am

I've always loved the look of mail drapes, but one thing keeps me away:

The cost.

Okay, two things:

The cost and I think that mail would be so damned noisy on the field it'd be hard to hear. I knew a Monol-peer persona that finally got an excellent helmet with mail strung much the same way as with your cervelliere is done. He couldn't hear a damned thing. You'd have to shout directly into his face to be heard.

Anyone else have an experience like that? Or distinctly unlike that?

Bentz · Post by **Bentz** » Thu Feb 14, 2008 10:51 am

svonbaden wrote:I've always loved the look of mail drapes, but one thing keeps me away:

The cost.

Okay, two things:

The cost and I think that mail would be so damned noisy on the field it'd be hard to hear. I knew a Monol-peer persona that finally got an excellent helmet with mail strung much the same way as with your cervelliere is done. He couldn't hear a damned thing. You'd have to shout directly into his face to be heard.

Anyone else have an experience like that? Or distinctly unlike that?

I'd be interested in hearing if anyone else has experienced this too.

Get it? Hearing? Cuz he said...

Oswyn_de_Wulferton · Post by **Oswyn_de_Wulferton** » Thu Feb 14, 2008 10:52 am

I have a drape on my Norman and did not notice any loss of hearing from having the drape vs. not. It is from the brow down, along with about 2 bars exposed in front.

InsaneIrish · Post by **InsaneIrish** » Thu Feb 14, 2008 11:07 am

svonbaden wrote:
The cost and I think that mail would be so damned noisy on the field it'd be hard to hear. I knew a Monol-peer persona that finally got an excellent helmet with mail strung much the same way as with your cervelliere is done. He couldn't hear a damned thing. You'd have to shout directly into his face to be heard.

Anyone else have an experience like that? Or distinctly unlike that?

I would think that has more to do with the way he padded his helm than a chainmaille drape.

Although if the drape was short and did not rest out on his shoulders, I could see the "swish" sound of it along the sides of the helm being a little loud.

Bentz · Post by **Bentz** » Thu Feb 14, 2008 11:41 am

Thanks for the replies. I haven't fought in it yet, but the only thing I've noticed walking around with it on is a little "swishy-swooshy" going on. Doesn't seem like it will impair hearing. More like I'm just having a conversation near the ocean.