Helmet update

When I first started talking to Sir Donngel, the guy building my helmet, we agreed on May being the delivery date for my new helm. For the last week or so I've been thinking about emailing him, just to say, hey, where are we at? Can I still expect the helm sometime in May? I've tried really hard not to be obnoxious about it, or a pain in the ass. So I was going to sit on my hands until around May 3rd or so.

So imagine my delight when I got this email this morning:

Nickolas,

Attached are a few pics I have of the helmet. The brass is worked out, the skirt /wrap plate is done. I just have to finish up the drawings for the the etching.

And even more exciting, of course, were the attached photos.




Look out! I'm pinhead! Wow... just, wow. It looks really, really cool. The damn thing is nearly a reality now. I'm still a little anxious about what the final plaque will look like... but everything up to this point has been so amazing, I expect no less for that.

Damn.

Latest helm news

I got an email from my armorer, Sir Donngel, a couple weeks ago. After the successful mild steel test piece, he moved ahead on the stainless. But, after he had the top more or less completed, he discovered it was too small. He wasn't sure if the stainless just didn't stretch as much as the mild, or if his calculations were off. And, he told me that the friend he was going to have do the brasswork told him that he doesn't have the time to do it.

So, it seemed, we were basically back to square one.

This was pretty disappointing news, of course, but I told him again that I was willing to wait. Even though we had talked about a May delivery, I wanted the helm done right, not quickly. But, he said that he thought May was still do-able.

Then! I got an email from him this morning saying that he had the new top nearly completed! And there was a photo attached!

Awesome, huh? Looks really smart! This fills me with hope, because the top is the tough part. There nothing fancy about the rest of it.

Well, except the brasswork. That's the part that I'm worried about. Because if I can get this helmet anywhere near what it looks like in my head, it will be absolutely stunning.

Sir Donngel is suggesting that he etch the brass. He says it's not a period technique for this kind of helm, but I don't really care. I only care what it looks like when all said and done. I'm exploring some brass options on my own, too. So, I hope, I hope, I'm really close to getting this new helm.

Helmet update

After being screwed over by two different armorers, I half-expected it to happen again, great reputation or no. So, when I asked if my armorer had any photos of the work-in-progress and he drug his feet in getting them to me, I feared the worst.

I was overjoyed to find these photos in my inbox this morning:

This is a practice helm in mild. Sir Donngal wanted to be sure he got the shape right before making it in stainless. He worked the metal hot and pulled it up from one piece. I know next to nothing about making armor, but this technique is apparently a huge pain in the ass.

He's also penciled in where the brass plaque will go in the front. I think it looks amazing. I can't wait for the real thing.

Merry Christmas.

Historic Enterprises

Just bought two pairs of these from Historic Enterprises:


They were $16.95 each, which is a little more than I wanted to pay; but ever since I bought my period shoes at the last Pennsic (and found out that leg wraps are period for my persona) I've been jonesing for leg wraps. They will be a great addition to my garb.

Little by little I'm upgrading my appearance. In fact, from the ankle down, I rock!

Helmet plaque inspiration

NOTE: the helmet of my dreams has been commissioned. Master Sir Donngel of Windrose Armory is making it.

The most important piece will be the large front plaque brass. While the dome shape will be cool, the brass will be the focal point. I've recently been emailing with Donngel (and he emails me back! Promptly! This is nothing short of astonishing compared to my experiences with other SCA armorers) and these are the inspirational images I sent him:





These are all St. Michael, who is a patron saint of mother Russia. There are historical examples of Michael being used on helmet brasses.

I especially like the last one. The pose has plenty of drama and action... and a big, fat spear. And I do like to fight me some spear.

Arm armor update

More progress!

I modified the pattern a bit, made a cardboard template and cut out the leather. I'm only making one to start (the right). If the pattern works out, I'll do the left the same way; the pattern isn't specific to the right or left.

About you see the leather cut to shape, with holes punched for straps and stitching. I forgot to allow a slight overage for shrinkage when waxing (even though I wrote on the pattern "allow 1/4" for wax shrinkage!") but, since this is the first attempt, I just left it be. We'll see how it goes after wax is applied.

Above is the back-end halfway stitched up.

I cased the leather (that is, soaked it in warm water) and let it dry for about eight minutes before bending it to shape, above. That's Lily's mini-basketball in the center; my hope was that it would give the elbow a rounded profile.

Hanging up to dry. I was hoping that it would dry more evenly if suspected from the ceiling.

The next day. It's still damp in this photo and took most of the day to dry completely. An unexpected benefit of tying up the ball inside the elbow was the cool scalloped shape around the elbow. I like it a lot.

Tonight I'm going to wax it and hope to have it ready to fight in come fight practice on Wednesday.

Arm armor

I've made progress on the arm armor (e.g., naruchi). The House of the Wolf leather armor page has a really nice tutorial on how he makes his bazubands. The pattern he's using isn't exactly what I'm looking for, but it's a really nice place to start. I also looked up Duke Cariadoc's "The Perfect Armor" article just to review what he has to say. I like the shape of his bazubands better, but not the pattern he's using. I cut out a pattern the other night, but now I'm thinking I need to tweak it a bit. Once I have the pattern I want, it's a small matter of cutting out the leather and actually waxing it. That won't take long. I'll make a right-handed model and wear it to fight practice a couple of times, see how it feels. If all is right, then I'll make the matching left.

Have to check my beeswax supply, too.