Easiest medieval metal helmet to make? -- myArmoury.com

Phillip H. Lee

Hello! (I'm not sure where to put this thread, so I shall place this here in the Off-topic section.)

I'm trying to find out what metal helmet from, say, 500 AD to 1400 AD is easiest to make. I'm looking for the easiest since I have almost no experience in metalworking.

This helmet is for a school project and is due sometime in mid December, so time isn't too big of an issue. Ease of manufacture, however, is. I am somewhat limited financially as well and I have little to no acess to advanced metal cutting equipment.

Currently, I suspect that the nasal helm and the kettle helm are the easiest. What say you, myArmoury folks?

Lafayette C Curtis · Posted: Mon 09 Jul, 2007 8:11 pm Post subject:

I'd agree with that. However, it might be even easier to do helmets joined from several pieces of metal (as opposed to being raised from a single sheet of steel), such as the spangenhelm. Some kettle-hats might have been made this way too, though I'm not sure about it.

Phillip H. Lee · Posted: Mon 09 Jul, 2007 8:17 pm Post subject:

Ah, I should also mention: no welding for me. It is highly preferable that I bang this helmet into shape out of one piece and perhaps rivet the rest.

...I'm really limiting my options, aren't I? Sad

Chad Arnow · myArmoury Team

I agree a spangenhelm or a kettlehat would be good. A number of kettlehats were made in pieces.

Here's another option: a great helm. If you have cut sheet out, hammer some curves into the pieces and rivet it together, you should be able to make one.

Reinier van Noort · Posted: Tue 10 Jul, 2007 1:19 am Post subject:

I have to agree that the Greathelm should be the easiest. Added bonus: no compound curves (only cylindrical ones).

Find a pattern on armourarchive; there's also a pdf floating around the internet (don't remember where) that explains all and costs 5 dollars or so, try out the pattern first on linoleum or cardboard to see if it fits, then cut it out of steel (an electric jigsaw would help). For mine I used 1.5mm steel (~16 gauge); a little thinner is easier to cut, but this worked excellent. Bend the plates over a piece of pipe, and rivet it all together.

It really is quite easy.

Elling Polden · Posted: Tue 10 Jul, 2007 1:49 am Post subject:

Actually, i suspect that the easiest ones would be one of the Quick n' Diry models from the crusading eras;
the coronett helmet, or one of the "lampshade" kettlehatts.
Alternately, two piece cervilet shouldn't be to hard.

These have less pieces and simpler shapes than the spang og greathelm.

Reinier van Noort · Posted: Tue 10 Jul, 2007 2:09 am Post subject:

Well, I've made a lampshade and a greathelm and found the greathelm the easiest to make. It is also easier to find a pattern for that (and making your own pattern takes some time, insight and trial-and-error).

Sean Flynt · Posted: Tue 10 Jul, 2007 8:20 am Post subject:

I'm not sure when it first appeared, but the simple iron skullcap or "archer's sallet"-very simple bowl shapes--were common by the mid 14th c. You might be able to form one of those with a hammer, small anvil and makeshift raising stake.

I found it pretty easy to form the shell of the hanger shown below using only a $25 anvil, hammer and a cheap sheet of 16 ga. steel from Lowe's. I've never made a helmet or anything larger than this piece, so I don't know if it's possible to coax out a full bowl. Anyway, forming this much--maybe 1/5th of a bowl--was no problem at all. You could certainly use this method to form plates to be joined by welding or rivetting. I doubt you could form a deep bowl this way. At some point you'd run out of room to move the hammer inside the bowl. Then you'd need a stake inside so you could hammer freely outside the bowl. I'm just now trying to figure out what would work as a stake without costing much of anything.

Here's a simple but very cool late 15th c. helmet from the galleries at the Guild of Stl Olaf pages:

Phillip H. Lee · Posted: Wed 11 Jul, 2007 4:40 pm Post subject:

Thank you for the replies!

What do you guys think of an early great helm, a la:

This LOOKs easy enough...too bad I can't find any patterns for this though...

Nathan Keysor · Posted: Wed 11 Jul, 2007 6:09 pm Post subject:

i believe Doug Strong at TalbotsFineAccessories.com sells the pattern for that helm...And yes that is a fairly easy design to make. Just get a stump and make a depression in it and you can dish out the compound curves.

Nathan

Robin Smith · Posted: Wed 11 Jul, 2007 7:22 pm Post subject:

Though I love this style of helm, I don't know if I'd call it a good first project. With no experience, you are going to find the compound curve in the faceplate difficult to pull off looking nice. I think the suggestion of a simple kettlehat with an angular top, or a fully developed greathelm, are by far the most practical. No compound curves to contend with.

Phillip H. Lee · Posted: Thu 12 Jul, 2007 7:12 am Post subject:

Reinier van Noort · Posted: Thu 12 Jul, 2007 9:46 am Post subject:

A curve along more than one axis

So while a cylinder (for instance a whine bottle) has a curve along only one axis, a globe (basketball for instance) has a curve along two (perpendicular) axes.

Nathan Keysor · Posted: Thu 12 Jul, 2007 9:51 am Post subject:

it's basincally a convex shape like the faceplate on that helm. If you roll a piece of paper you are only curling it in one direction. If you make something out of metal you can get it to curve in multiple directions. I don't consider this too hard to do. I dished helmet tops, knees and elbow cops with a hollowed out stump and a ballpein hammer when I was a teenager. It's a lot easier if you have a rawhide mallet and a steel dishing form but that doesn't mean it can't be done.

Chuck Russell · Posted: Sun 15 Jul, 2007 1:10 pm Post subject:

the easiest helmet to make would be one of the 5th century. its 2 helm halves with a central band holding them together and a brow band.