Info Favorites Register Log in
myArmoury.com Discussion Forums

Forum index Memberlist Usergroups Spotlight Topics Search
Forum Index > Historical Arms Talk > Norman Phrygian Helmet Project Reply to topic
This is a standard topic Go to page 1, 2, 3  Next 
Author Message
Jeff A. Arbogast





Joined: 16 Oct 2008

Posts: 180

PostPosted: Wed 06 Jul, 2011 3:06 pm    Post subject: Norman Phrygian Helmet Project         Reply with quote

Hello all,
I recently commissioned a job with Greg at Thorkil Armour Replicas for a proper helmet to go with my kit. I sent him a picture of it (shown below, some of you have probably seen it before) and told him that my Great Helm is nice, but next to useless if all you want to do is walk around without tripping over everything that crosses your path. I wanted something that would go well with my kit, give better visibility, and still be ultra-cool. I thought the natural choice would be a Norman nasal helm of some sort. Greg recommended a Phrygian style Norman helm for my kit, and, based on his work, I took a deep breath, gathered my funds and agreed. He drew me a basic picture of his idea before he started. That is shown below as well. It will be hand-raised, darkened, with a steel cross on the brow, a brass headband running around it and a brass nasal. There will be some darkened period engraving on the brass as well that I leave to him. Finally, a long mail aventail running around sides and back with alternating rows of riveted and solid rings, with a couple rows of brass rings along the bottom. And a lining and chin strap, natch.
Anyway, he agreed to send some progress pics as the work went on. I thought some of you may be interested as well. This whole process fascinates me, especially the shaping of the steel. I asked him if it was okay to show them, and although I haven't heard back from him yet, I don't think he will mind.
So here is the first batch, and they may not be in exact order, and I also won't be much help as to what you are looking at, but I thought it would be interesting to see them at least.



 Attachment: 94.51 KB
Black Knight kit.jpg


 Attachment: 28.53 KB
Norman helmet for Jeff.jpg


 Attachment: 84.59 KB
100_7018a.JPG


 Attachment: 90.9 KB
100_7025a.JPG


 Attachment: 83.01 KB
100_7028a.JPG


 Attachment: 86.13 KB
100_7030a.JPG


 Attachment: 84.35 KB
100_7032a.JPG


A man's nose is his castle-and his finger is a mighty sword that he may wield UNHINDERED!
View user's profile Send private message
Jeff A. Arbogast





Joined: 16 Oct 2008

Posts: 180

PostPosted: Thu 07 Jul, 2011 6:36 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

And another batch Greg and Graciana sent me...


 Attachment: 71.45 KB
100_7113a.JPG


 Attachment: 73.26 KB
100_7116a.JPG


 Attachment: 85.14 KB
100_7119a.JPG


 Attachment: 91.75 KB
100_7120a.JPG


 Attachment: 49.04 KB
100_7125a.jpg


 Attachment: 53.42 KB
100_7126a.jpg


A man's nose is his castle-and his finger is a mighty sword that he may wield UNHINDERED!
View user's profile Send private message
Jeff A. Arbogast





Joined: 16 Oct 2008

Posts: 180

PostPosted: Mon 18 Jul, 2011 3:05 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Here is another batch of pictures Greg and Graciana of THORKIL ARMOUR REPRODUCTIONS sent me. It's starting to take a recognizable shape. Note the tilted peak that distinguishes the Phrygian style Norman Helm from the standard Norman helm.


 Attachment: 72.92 KB
100_7291a.jpg


 Attachment: 60.85 KB
100_7293a.JPG


 Attachment: 68.55 KB
100_7294a.JPG


 Attachment: 52.91 KB
100_7302a.jpg


 Attachment: 52.82 KB
100_7309q.jpg


 Attachment: 62.55 KB
100_7312a.JPG


 Attachment: 52.45 KB
100_7317a.jpg


 Attachment: 75.12 KB
100_7318a.JPG


A man's nose is his castle-and his finger is a mighty sword that he may wield UNHINDERED!
View user's profile Send private message
Jeff A. Arbogast





Joined: 16 Oct 2008

Posts: 180

PostPosted: Mon 18 Jul, 2011 3:08 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

And two final ones...


 Attachment: 79.34 KB
100_7333a.JPG


 Attachment: 70.41 KB
100_7344a.jpg


A man's nose is his castle-and his finger is a mighty sword that he may wield UNHINDERED!
View user's profile Send private message
Jean-Carle Hudon




Location: Montreal,Canada
Joined: 16 Nov 2005
Likes: 4 pages

Posts: 450

PostPosted: Mon 18 Jul, 2011 8:14 pm    Post subject: great pics.         Reply with quote

Jeff,
great pictures, fascinating to see how one sheet of metal gradually morphs into a complex curved form. Thorkil, well, kills it !
Looking forward to see the finished product. JC

Bon coeur et bon bras
View user's profile Send private message
Jeff A. Arbogast





Joined: 16 Oct 2008

Posts: 180

PostPosted: Tue 19 Jul, 2011 3:15 pm    Post subject: Re: great pics.         Reply with quote

Jean-Carle Hudon wrote:
Jeff,
great pictures, fascinating to see how one sheet of metal gradually morphs into a complex curved form. Thorkil, well, kills it !
Looking forward to see the finished product. JC


Thanks Jean. Isn't this fun to watch? Greg and Graciana were very gracious about taking these picture for me as it proceeds. I told them it's like going back a thousand years or watching Vulcan at work. I am going to keep adding pictures to this thread as I get them so they're all together. I expect this to go on for a while yet though. I told them to take their time and not to rush it. I can wait for quality.

A man's nose is his castle-and his finger is a mighty sword that he may wield UNHINDERED!
View user's profile Send private message
Jeff A. Arbogast





Joined: 16 Oct 2008

Posts: 180

PostPosted: Tue 26 Jul, 2011 1:57 pm    Post subject: Norman Phrygian Helmet Project         Reply with quote

Here is another batch of pictures Greg and Graciana sent me asking if I liked how the helmet looked before they proceeded with decoration. I was more than pleased. It is clearly recognizable now. I especially like the ridge down front and back that fades away as it moves towards the bottom. The nosepiece is still a bit rough but will be refined as things move along. Thorkil is actually moving quite fast I think. A lot faster than I expected. But what do I know? I'm just a spectator watching a pro at work. I have to admit I never thought much about the Phrygian style Norman helm until Greg suggested it, but I like it more and more as it takes shape. (Note the sketch of the helm in the background)


 Attachment: 57.48 KB
100_7392a.jpg


 Attachment: 57.98 KB
100_7393a.jpg


 Attachment: 55.87 KB
100_7394a.JPG


 Attachment: 53.9 KB
100_7397a.jpg


 Attachment: 56.54 KB
100_7399a.JPG


 Attachment: 56.63 KB
100_7400a.jpg


 Attachment: 57.95 KB
100_7403a.JPG


 Attachment: 59 KB
100_7404a.JPG


A man's nose is his castle-and his finger is a mighty sword that he may wield UNHINDERED!
View user's profile Send private message
Jeff A. Arbogast





Joined: 16 Oct 2008

Posts: 180

PostPosted: Tue 26 Jul, 2011 2:22 pm    Post subject: Norman Phrygian Helmet Project         Reply with quote

And one last one that wouldn't fit...


 Attachment: 58.19 KB
100_7405a.jpg


A man's nose is his castle-and his finger is a mighty sword that he may wield UNHINDERED!
View user's profile Send private message
Viktor Abrahamson




Location: Sweden
Joined: 07 Aug 2008
Likes: 2 pages

Posts: 74

PostPosted: Tue 26 Jul, 2011 4:08 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Amazing to see the whole helmet grow before your eyes like that.
And in one piece, even the noseguard!
Thank you for posting.

/Viktor
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Johan Gemvik




Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Joined: 10 Nov 2009

Spotlight topics: 1
Posts: 793

PostPosted: Tue 26 Jul, 2011 4:33 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

A perfect one-piece helmet. Very well done!
"The Dwarf sees farther than the Giant when he has the giant's shoulder to mount on" -Coleridge
View user's profile Send private message
Randall Moffett




Location: Northern Utah
Joined: 07 Jun 2006
Reading list: 5 books

Posts: 2,121

PostPosted: Tue 26 Jul, 2011 6:02 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Very nice. Greg certainly is good. It looks like every new piece is better than the last. I do like the front tilted apex. Nice helmet. It is not done all that often so a neat item to own.


RPM
View user's profile Send private message
Matt Corbin




Location: U.S.A.
Joined: 16 Jan 2004
Likes: 9 pages
Reading list: 12 books

Posts: 336

PostPosted: Tue 26 Jul, 2011 6:15 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Very cool!!
“This was the age of heroes, some legendary, some historical . . . the misty borderland of history where fact and legend mingle.”
- R. Ewart Oakeshott
View user's profile Send private message
Peter O Zwart




Location: Ontario Canada
Joined: 28 Nov 2010

Posts: 69

PostPosted: Tue 26 Jul, 2011 6:24 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

I really like this thread! beautiful looking helmet your getting there. and its really cool watching it all getting formed.
View user's profile Send private message
Jeff A. Arbogast





Joined: 16 Oct 2008

Posts: 180

PostPosted: Wed 27 Jul, 2011 2:02 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

I am glad so many find this process as fascinating as I do. Stay tuned. Greg and Graciana have been very diligent about sending these pictures regularly. I know it's a bit tedious to scroll through all the old pictures to get to the new ones, but I wanted a single start-to-finish thread to follow along on, since there's not much narrative.
A man's nose is his castle-and his finger is a mighty sword that he may wield UNHINDERED!
View user's profile Send private message
Ben Sweet




Location: 831
Joined: 21 Aug 2003

Posts: 519

PostPosted: Wed 27 Jul, 2011 11:49 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Thats just awesome to see the transformation!
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Stuart Thompson




Location: Walton-on-the-Naze
Joined: 15 Feb 2010

Posts: 118

PostPosted: Fri 29 Jul, 2011 11:54 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Fantastic! thank you for posting. This is going to help me on a similar project. Excellent outcome too!
sverð er manni vargr, af bardaga er dýrð, í dauða er dýrð.
View user's profile Send private message
Michal Plezia
Industry Professional



Location: Poland
Joined: 07 Oct 2005
Likes: 2 pages
Reading list: 1 book

Posts: 585

PostPosted: Fri 29 Jul, 2011 12:09 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Another great Thorkil's work Happy
www.elchon.com

Polish Guild of Knifemakers

The sword is a weapon for killing, the art of the sword is the art of killing. No matter what fancy words you use or what titles you put to
it that is the only truth.
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Jeff A. Arbogast





Joined: 16 Oct 2008

Posts: 180

PostPosted: Sat 15 Oct, 2011 9:35 am    Post subject: An engraving sample         Reply with quote

Well, there's been a bit of a dirth of pictures to add to this post for a while, but I finally got one from Graciana (Greg's wife) last week. It's a sample Greg came up with to use on my helm and they asked how I liked it. Graciana said Greg wanted to do something a little different with this helm and that if I liked the floral motif that they would be symmetrical to each other. I liked it just fine and told them to proceed. I think Greg's having a bit of fun with this job. I let him pretty much do his thing with a little feedback now and then going back and forth. Graciana said that they also had some pics of the mail aventail under construction that she will send after she gets them resized. I'll add them once they arrive.


 Attachment: 112.59 KB
-1.jpg


A man's nose is his castle-and his finger is a mighty sword that he may wield UNHINDERED!
View user's profile Send private message
Jeff A. Arbogast





Joined: 16 Oct 2008

Posts: 180

PostPosted: Thu 20 Oct, 2011 5:25 pm    Post subject: A flood of pictures         Reply with quote

Hi everyone,
I got a bunch more pictures of my helm from Greg's wife Graciana today. Here's the first batch. I'll post the rest tomorrow. Apparently the helm is done or very near completion. I should get another batch (possibly the final one) next week.
Anyway, these show the art work going into the engraving. You can see the design marked on the pieces by Greg before he went to work. All this was done by hand, as Graciana mentioned. I stand in awe of this guy. The engraving is even more elaborate than the sample sent earlier. I couldn't be happier with how it's turning out. I love the graceful curve of the Phrygian style Norman helm too. The next pictures are even better than these. The trim, etc. is just sort of held on with screws while everything is fitted and worked before final assembly, which is why there are screws showing. Naturally, they'll be replaced with rivets. You can see the old manuscript with the picture of the knight that Greg was using as a guide for this helm in the background.



 Attachment: 56.98 KB
-2.jpg


 Attachment: 59.53 KB
-3.jpg


 Attachment: 59.26 KB
-4.jpg


 Attachment: 63.7 KB
-5.jpg


 Attachment: 60.99 KB
-6.jpg


A man's nose is his castle-and his finger is a mighty sword that he may wield UNHINDERED!
View user's profile Send private message
Gregory J. Liebau




Location: Dinuba, CA
Joined: 27 Nov 2004

Posts: 669

PostPosted: Thu 20 Oct, 2011 7:36 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Greg posted this on his Facebook page today!

View user's profile Send private message


Display posts from previous:   
Forum Index > Historical Arms Talk > Norman Phrygian Helmet Project
Page 1 of 3 Reply to topic
Go to page 1, 2, 3  Next All times are GMT - 8 Hours

View previous topic :: View next topic
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You cannot attach files in this forum
You can download files in this forum






All contents © Copyright 2003-2024 myArmoury.com — All rights reserved
Discussion forums powered by phpBB © The phpBB Group
Switch to the Basic Low-bandwidth Version of the forum