Greetings

Agincourt armour project update. This time I wish to present you the complete leg harness with sabatons. Fully closed cuisses, full greaves with characteristic line around outside ankles. Demi-greaves connected with greaves on rotary pin. All are very characteristic features for English style leg harness. Made of medium carbon steel of various thickness from 1 mm up to 1,5 mm. Heat hardened and tempered up to 42 HRC. Brass bands decoration motive based on example visible on Henry V tournament helm. Hand made steel buckles in set.

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Klappvisier bascinet inspired by Sitten helmet from last post now with complete hand sewn lining and riveted mail avential: 9 mm rings.

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And another klappvisier bascinet, this time inspired by helmet and visor from Deutsches Historisches Museum in Berlin c. 1370-1390.

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More photos you can find on my website.

Keep safe and healthy!

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Exactly 10 years ago I became professional armourer, however I made my first armour pieces about 15 years ago. Through these years I develop my craft step by step by making many interesting projects, but some of them were a really cornerstone for future ones. General I’m content of effect of my work, however I know my limits and understand that there is still a lot to learn and improve. Tens of thousands working hours and uncounted numbers of hammer blows…all this wouldn't be possible without passion, stubbornness and without customers for whom I’m thankful for trust and patience.

Peaceful and cheerful Christmas and all the best for New Year. Especially I wish you a lot of health and let's kick covid's ass in incoming year.

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Greetings everyone!

I hope that you all are doing well and in good health despite the nasty Covid. I wish to share with some fresh armour pieces.

Klappvisier bascinet, inspired by helmet and visor from Deutsches Historisches Museum which I presented you some time ago was upgraded by hand sewn lining and riveted mail avential from 9 mm flat rings. Helmet in this "suit" acquired more historical accurate appearance.

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Agincourt armour project 1415 update. Finally, last but not least, I wish to present you last part of this set: the great bascinet. Made of high quality mild steel of 2 mm and 1,5 mm thickness. Heat hardened and tempered up to 34 HRC. Brass bands decoration motive based on example visible on Henry V tournament helm. Brow plate and vervelles cover is interpretation based on few effigies from this period. Hand sewn lining from red linen. Weight 6 kg.

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More photos you could find on my website.

Best regards from Poland!

Good day!

Some latest armour pieces from my workshop.

Braces with anatomical vambraces made of medium carbon steel.

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Transitional leg harness made from medium carbon steel and wax boiled leather, second half of XIV c.

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Klappvisier bascinet with “keyhole” visor
Source: bascinet Wallace Collection A74, London; visor Museo Stibbert, Florence
Date: 1390-1410
Culture: Italian
Material: bascinet 2 mm steel 0,3% carbon; visor 2 mm medium carbon steel
Heat treatment: heat hardened and tempered up to 34 HRC (bascinet) and 42 HRC (visor)
Weight: bascinet 2,6 kg; visor 0,72 kg
Height: 31 cm (bascinet); 25 cm (visor)

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More photos are on my website.

Greetings!

Some summer news from my workshop

Composite braces and hourglass gauntlets
Material: medium carbon steel heat hardened and tempered up to 42 HRC, formed and beeswax hardened leather
Weight: brace 1 kg; gauntlet 0,750 kg
Dating: 1370-1380
Provenance: Italy
Source: BNF Nouvelle acquisition française 5243 Guiron le Courtois

P.S. you can notice that this time the finger plates have slightly dished shape

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And hare is new pattern of visored bascinet directly from my workbench: combination of Burgos bascinet and Löwenburg visor.

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And another visor (not last one) to the Burgos bascinet is in so called plow style - a little controversial becouse we don't have any original example of such visor for the bascinets survived to our times, however they are richly represented in iconography and art from the period. My interpretation this time have single horizontal eye slit reinforced by inward roll of it bottom edge.

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More photos you can find on my website.

Greetings!

Some classic shapes: early XV c. arm harness with separated spaulders which were inspired by depicts from Altarpiece of St. George, dated for first quarter of XV c., currently in Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

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More classic: breastplate based on Churburg CH14 piece. Forged V-shaped stop rib to deflect the points of weapons away from the neck.

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Agincourt armour project update: thanks to kindness of my customer I can share with photos of completed armour set as part of potrait of royal family knight. Maybe even the Henry V itself could wear such harness during Agincourt campaign in the north of France.

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Greetings!

Some winter news from my workshop.

Complete lining and aventail update for klappvisier bascinet with “keyhole” visor.

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Composite braces and hourglass gauntlets based on Guiron le Courtois manuscript in action directly from Italy.

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The bascinet based on original from Burgos combined with three visors: Loewenburg, Churburg CH16 and a plow like visor. Each visor is raised without welding. All hardened and tempered up to 34 HRC. Hand engraved brass caps for the hinge's rivets.

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And last but not least is visored bascinet based on example from Le Landeron in Switzerland circa 1380-1400.
Front-to-back: 36 cm
Ear-to-ear: 19,2 cm
Height: 29,3 cm
Weight: 4,090 kg
Material: 2 mm steel with 0,3 % carbon
Heat treatment: hardened and tempered up to 34 HRC

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More photos you can find on my website.

In this special time I wish you Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

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Greetings!

After longer break I wish to share with little updates from current and past projects.

At first some new look into Burgos bascinet with three visors now complete with lining and aventail.

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And also complete Le Landeron visored bascinet with lining and aventail.

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Helmet inspired by the Lyle bascinet from Royal Armouries in Leeds, formerly part of Churburg armoury.
Provenance: north Italian from late 14th century
Height: 29 cm
Front-to-back: 35,5 cm
Weight: 4,220 kg

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Breastplate with ridge based on various sources from late XIV c. Material: hot forged 2 mm medium carbon steel. Heat hardened and tempered up to 42 HRC. Very narrow tailored natural waist line.

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Some more photos you can find directly on my website.

That was a long journey but finally I can share with you my new armour workshop. After almost 12 years in rent place, which was in the past old tractor garage, I moved to workshop designed and built directly to my requirements. I started planning it 5 years back and it took 2 years of building. In last few months despite the regular armouring work I was preparing the new workshop and in last weeks it become fully operational...this is huge step forward for me and huge step in developing my craft. This is it.

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Congratulations, Piotr,
It must be quite a reward to have a purpose-built space. It looks very tidy, organized, and ready to put to work!
-Adair

Thank you very much Adair. Well I used my around 17 years of expierence in armouring to make it to be an ergonomic wrokshop and so far I find as quite rewarding workplace. After some grinding and polishing some dust camouflage appeard all around ;)

New workshop is established so I can focus more on finishing all the projects in progress and move forward with next ones. For example here are a hourglass gauntlets made without welding in raising process. They have brass decorations with roping motive, inspired by sources of Iberian provenance. I plan to make segmented fingers construction for them, which are not too common construction in modern reproductions.

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Visored sallet in progress, inspired by example from Philadelphia Museum of Art, dated for circa 1460. Associated bevor is based on Churburg CHS25 piece. So far it's my second attempt for a sallet, first one many years ago wasn't too good.

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I hope that you like it.

Greetings

It's time to little update from my recent and current armour projects.

Full leg harness
Period: end of XIV c./begin of XV c.
Material: medium carbon steel and spring steel
Thickness: 1,5 mm; 1,2 mm and 1 mm
Heat hardened and tempered up to 42 HRC
Weight:
Cuisse 2,2 kg
Full greave 1,6 kg
Sabaton 610 grams

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Lyle visored bascinet with lining and riveted aventail:

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Compilation of a bascinets I made since 2019, or at least major part of them. Klappvisiers, hundsgugels, plow and great bascinet. Each cost a lot of efforts and dozens or even hundreds working hours to make them as good as possible. I feel that I'm little closer to understand the nature of bascinets ;)

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I would like draw your attention to visor raising process on hundsgugel example. Each visor I made without welding from one piece of steel. I start from flat 2 mm steel blank. First 2-3 phases are dooming from inside an initial shape. Then I switch for hot raising which takes several phases to achieve pointed shape. When done then last several phases to form the eye slits, mouth, accurate fit with bascinet skull etc.​ During so many phases of raising real armour magic happens: the visor final thickness changes from 2 mm at the beginning up to 2,5-3 mm on the peak area down to 1,5-2 mm and the edges.

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Greetings!

Some new finished pieces and armour projects in progress from my workshop.

Visored bascinet based on original from the Cluny museum. I underlined it French provenance by making a fleur-de-lis motive on the aventail leather band. As is stands total weight is 6,5 kg.

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Sallet inspired by example from the Philadelphia Museum of Art and bevor inspired on Churburg CHS25 piece
Period: 1460-1470
Material: 2 mm steel with 0,3 % carbon (sallet); 1,5 mm medium carbon steel (bevor)
Heat treatment: hardened and tempered up to 38 HRC (sallet) and 42 HRC (bevor)
Lining: handsewn from fustian
Weight: sallet 3,640 kg; bevor 1,380 kg

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Full suit in progress: the Spanish armour project ad 1410 based od depict from Altarpiece of St George of Valencian provenence - more information and photos you can find here https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O17807/altarpiece-of-st-george-altarpiece-master-of-the/ Here we have cuirass with separate paunce made in English style, early pauldrons not connected with the rerebraces and early version of great bascinet (without a visor yet).

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Some more photos of finished pieces you can find on my website.

Greetings!

Last update in this year of recently finished and current armour projects.

My first interpretation of the Churburg CH15 visored bascinet. I hope that I was able to catch up a little of that "mad hound" look.
Height: 29,5 cm
Front to back: 38,7 cm
Ear to ear: 19,5 cm
Weight: 4,1 kg
Heat hardend and tempered up to 36-38 HRC

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Finally I managed to finish these gauntlets. Hourglasses forged without welding. Fingers in articulated construction inspired by finds from Sweden. Heat hardened and tempered up to 42 HRC. Brass decoration with roping motive.

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Spanish armour project ad 1410 update: the great bascinet is now with the pointed visor (one piece raised) and brass trimmings with decorative motive matching the rest of the harness.

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I wish each and every one of you Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

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Greetings!

After longer break I want to remind that I'm still here and share with some last armour projects.

At first fulfilment for the CH15 visored bascinet, now complete with black lining and riveted aventail. Heraldic shield from my customer gives to it more splendid appearance.

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There is never too many bascinet so here is another one mainly based on well knowed Churburg CH16. I changed some details, mainly on the visior, to make it look more like from the depitc of men-at-arms from Thouzon altarpiecie (circa 1410) in Louvre Museum. Some stats:
Weight 4,190 kg (without lining and aventail)
Height 29,5 cm
Ear to ear 19 cm
Front to back 36 cm

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Transitional leg harness
Source: Guiron le Courtois Manuscript, 1370-1380
Provenance: Northern Italy
Material: medium carbon steel and spring steel 1,2 – 1,5 mm thick; leather 3 mm thick
Heat treatment: steel heat hardened and tempered up to 42 HRC
Weight: cuisse 1,760 kg; greave 0,960 kg

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And some hourglass gauntlets with a new fingers design based on several effigies from England. All in shiny satin finish.

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More photos you can find on my website. More to come soon as I have new projects in progress.

Greetings!

Before end of the year I want to share with some new armour pieces I made in my workshop.

Hourglass gauntlets based on the effigy of Don Juan de Vallterra from Segorbe (circa 1388) with charateristic two lines of pyramid shape knuckles. Combined with braces inspired by Churburg CHS10 and Oakeshott Collection 408 - typical for late XIV period. All heat hardened and tempered up to 42 HRC.

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Segmented breastplate based on find from Bosnia (not verified yet, however depicts of such breastplate we can find in art from late XIV c. and eary XV c.). Lance rest is based on one from the CH13 breastplate. Neck guard and lance rest were made without welding. The breastplate was raised from 2 mm thick steel and side panels are 1,5 mm thick. Heat hardened and tempered to 42 HRC. Weight: 4,150 kg

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Reproduction of the helmet from Nysa in Poland. Equipped with a nasal guard based on the original from Amersfoort in Holland. Bascinet made of 2 mm steel and nasal from 4 mm thick plate on top and forged down to 2 mm on the bottom.
Dating: 1350-1375
Height 23,5 cm
Width 19 cm
Height of face opening 15,3 cm
Interior circumference 63 cm
Weight: 1,950 kg

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Original was found in Nysa in Poland, during excavation works in 2021-2022. High resollutions photos you can find in my Flickr album: https://www.flickr.com/gp/128474793@N08/zx2L2Q86Mg

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The helmet was found in a latrine in a damaged state as you can see from pictures. Although it is a very rare find because we know about merely a few such helmets from our territory. Luckly all 15 vervelles in trapezium shape were preserved. In the forehead there are 2 holes - suggesting that there was a face protection, most probably a nasal. Characteristic is the rectangular cut on the back of the neck. The bascinet is exhibited in Muzeum Powiatowe in Nysa, Poland.

More photos you can always find on my website.