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![Blackened Helm.jpg](files/blackened_helm_214.jpg)
Jeff A. Arbogast wrote: |
I have a modified Black Prince helm made by William Hurt of Age of Armour. After some experimentation and a few less-than-perfect results, he came up with a virtually perfect heat-blackened helm seen below. |
Eric S wrote: |
Jeff...any idea if the heat treatment changed the temper of the armor? |
Jeff A. Arbogast wrote: |
Jeff...any idea if the heat treatment changed the temper of the armor? |
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Hi Eric,
No I am sorry I don't really have anything to add regarding the tempering of the helm during the heating/blackening process, but as Chad stated, it probably had some benefit, as heating and quenching a sword does. I admit I wasn't really concerned so much with that as with appearance (the "Black Knight" theme), and this helm is so sturdy and heavy that I have no doubt that it would withstand anything but the HEAVIEST blows by an impact weapon, (say, a twenty pound sledge, which would annihilate me by concussion alone anyway). William wasn't very familiar with doing this blackening process, but he was willing to give it a shot. This particular attempt turned out perfectly I think. A blacksmith at the Silverleaf Rennaisance Faire was impressed with the quality of the finish, and he too agreed that it must have been very evenly heated to get such a smooth consistent finish, as heat-blackening (or blueing) can often look uneven and mottled if done carelessly. As an aside, William also made me a quilted period adjustable liner for the inside that is laced and tied through holes all around the side of the helm since I may have wanted to wear it alone without a coif or a small helm underneath, as I usually do. A nice option to have, and it looks like it came straight out of the 12th century, which is pretty sweet. Comfortable too, and complete with a chin strap attached. What more could you ask for? |
Matthew Fedele wrote: |
Jeff,
From your description the helm could be heat blued, oil blackened, or both (blue with a oil black over.) It's masterly work either way. Heat blueing will not necessarily ruin your temper. Blue is close to the temper color you want for a spring which sounds like a good temper for armor. Oil blackening happens around 350F with animal and vegetable oils. If you go much hotter than that and it turns grey and starts burning off. Steel's temper isn't altered until 420F so if done correctly oil blackening is safe on tempered steel. Cheers, Matt |
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You could always contact William at http://www.ageofarmour.com/ and ask if he could make you a liner and strap. I'm sure he could, as he really is a jack-of-all-trades with this sort of thing, and he did make me a superb liner, and a nice mantle as well. The only problem is he seems to be pretty much a one man show and is always backed up on orders. But maybe he could fit this in among his other jobs. He is a most pleasant and helpful man to deal with also. He was having some internet problems a while back and sometimes missed some e-mails, but hopefully that has been resolved. If you do try to contact him and get no response, he may still be having some trouble. Keep trying because he is not someone to simply ignore a customer. He just had unreliable internet service for a while.
As for how the Japanese managed to paint mail and keep it from sticking, I guess that's just one of those lost secrets of the trade, unless someone else knows how it was done. I sure wouldn't presume to. |
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I can't believe I forgot about this until just now. Paulus Kal has an illustration of two mounted combatants with mostly mail. One is wearing shiny mail and armour, and the other is wearing all black mail and armour. It's a two page spread
http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/download.php?id=27777 http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/download.php?id=27776 |