GDFB Helm -- myArmoury.com

Sean Flynt · Posted: Wed 21 Apr, 2010 6:38 am Post subject:

Nice! Are you going to line it and make an aventail?

Craig Shackleton · Posted: Wed 21 Apr, 2010 7:04 am Post subject:

I have that Klapvisor already. Like Sean's thoughts on the sallet, it's a good deal for the price, but it's really a project piece.

GDFB used to sell a matching aventail, but I don't think you can get them easily anymore.

The helmet itself is rock solid and nicely shaped and polished. The liner is okay, but there is no padding at all, and it appears to be glued and sewn into place. Mine also fits me really well, but that means I don't really have room for more padding.

The visor does not quite close flush with the helmet, and kind of wobbles in place. On mine, the breaths pattern is a little crooked as well.

My biggest disappointment though is that the latch for the visor is pretty crappy. After buying the helmet, I looked at how they should really work, and it's a pretty cool mechanism. This one is clumsy, and kind of ugly. Also, the turn-pin is big and loose, and I could easily see it getting bumped during use, and then the whole visor would just fall off. Actually, it looks like there's a good chance that the pin mechanism could accidentally get broken right off by a sold sword strike, and it's a pretty big target.

I'm debating whether to kit-bash mine, or just sell it off, since I now have a much better later period bascinet. I might just ditch the whole visor and get a great helm to fit over it, for earlier period use.

Julien M · Posted: Wed 21 Apr, 2010 7:36 am Post subject:

Sean Flynt · Posted: Wed 21 Apr, 2010 7:45 am Post subject:

You'd have no problem at all with a liner. You can even find pre-quilted cloth at fabric stores--then you just stitch it together in the shape you want. As for the brass--I don't know how others do it, but for my sallet trim (which follows a very complex curve and is of complex section as well) the solution was to build a thick layer of masking tape all around the rim, trim the bottom edge of the tape flush with the edge of the bowl, then draw a line around the top of the tape as deep as I wanted it. For that process, I made a simple device to hold a pencil an even distance from the edge. I'll sketch that and post it shortly. Then you trim off the tape along that line, peel off the tape and stick to the sheet of brass. Trace the tape, cut out the brass and you're ready to engrave, emboss, shape, drill, etc. You'll probably want to anneal the brass. Just heat it to red with a torch (goes pretty quickly) and immediately quench in water. Easy.

Sean Flynt · Posted: Wed 21 Apr, 2010 8:00 am Post subject:

Here's an early fitting of my edging before cleaning up the edges, polishing and drilling for the rivets, plus some examples of earlier styles more relevant to your project.

Sean Flynt · Posted: Wed 21 Apr, 2010 8:08 am Post subject:

Here's the edge-marking tool I made from scrap wood:

Sean Flynt · Posted: Wed 21 Apr, 2010 8:12 am Post subject:

I thought I remembered a DIY bascinet lining online, but found this instead:

http://steel-mastery.com/index.php?&model...duct_id=84

16 Euro! If shipping to the US wouldn't more than double the price, I'd get their sallet liner in an instant. 10 Euro for linen! I'll have to make my own, instead Sad

Very interesting site....

Julien M · Posted: Wed 21 Apr, 2010 8:31 am Post subject:

Great stuff Sean, thanks!

The road is traced now..that's another item on my never ending pending project list Happy

J

Julien M · Posted: Thu 29 Apr, 2010 3:02 am Post subject:

Well I've received my GDFB klappvisor bascinet. I think it's great for the price. It's rock solid and pretty well made. It's also a very impressive display piece, one that I can leave on the shelves without worrying (all my swords are locked up). The visor has a hard time staying still though, and I might have to use a small string of leather to hold it closed...I wonder if that's historically correct though.

Now the bad thing is that the helm is too small for me, despite measuring my head carefully before ordering. No matter what I do, my eyes end up facing the middle of the visor, and there is not one cm left for me to add any lining in there...so I'll have to return it for the bigger size.

Will post a few pictures when I've got the new one.

Cheers,

J

Reece Nelson · Posted: Sat 01 May, 2010 5:11 pm Post subject: GDFB Helm

I got my GDFB sallet the other day and I love it! It fits me extremely well and its got a good weight to it. My thanks to Sean Flynt for his review Happy

Right after reading you're review I place my order with KOA and it arrived within the week. Luckily my head size was the same as yours...so I knew what size to get Cool

I put some padding in the front and rear of the helm cuz it was rubbing me wrong Mad

That was an easy fix...but i'v still gotta find a way to prevent it from moving around on the side of my head. The chin strap helps a little but not quite enough. I plan to fit it with some padding....hopefully that will address the problem.

Sean Flynt · Posted: Sun 02 May, 2010 10:34 am Post subject:

Looks great! I love the scarf! I'm going to display mine with a white or red scarf when it's done. Whatever other purpose the sallet scarf serves, it helps keep the visor closed. They seem to become less common after the invention of the spring catch. I'm probably going to add a catch to my GDFB, though.

It might interest you to know that although the GDFB weighs about a pound more than the heaviest visored sallet in The Medieval Armoury From Rhodes, the other dimensions are within spec. The weight difference will most likely be due to the use of 14 ga. throughout rather than the varying thicknesses of an original. On the other hand the specs in Rhodes are of deteriorated helmets without liners and straps, so the GDFB is probably closer to correct than one might think at first glance. Eight pounds seems to be a reasonable expectation for both when fully finished, and I'm guessing mine will come down to that weight after it loses a bit of material from the visor.

Reece Nelson · Posted: Mon 03 May, 2010 6:59 pm Post subject:

That is interesting Big Grin

Thanks for sharing the info!

In my reenactment group we educate people about the armour and weapons used during medieval and renaissance times. I let people hold the weapons and try on the various armour we have...so its nice to know that this will be historically accurate in the looks and of the weight Happy

Give the people an idea of how it really weighed and everything.

Do you happen to have any photos of the helm displayed at Rhodes?

Sean Flynt · Posted: Thu 06 May, 2010 7:36 am Post subject:

Check out this thread, Reece!

http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?p=191453#191453

Sean Flynt · Posted: Thu 06 May, 2010 8:11 am Post subject:

So...I'm thinking I'll stick more closely to the RA sallet than I first thought. I still think the GDFB has some elements more German in style (late 15th) but the RA sallet is so very nice. Maybe I can get the visor to close well enough that I won't need a catch.

In a side-by-side comparison between the RA sallet and the Photoshopped GDFB you can see which corrections are and are not possible with the latter. The lower part of the visor is off the mark (but closer to some later German and Austrian examples) and the pivots are too high and too far forward, which is the cause of the visor problem. The GDFB lacks the usual little "step" to the side of the sight (although the flange over the sight can be removed). No easy way to fix those problems, but we are making a DIRECT comparison to a single very fine original export sallet from the Churburg/RA collection. Taken out of this context or placed with a gallery of visored sallets of 1460-1490, the GDFB would fare better in comparison. Whaddaya want for $160? Big Grin

Sean Flynt · Posted: Thu 06 May, 2010 11:43 am Post subject:

Here's that Rhodes sallet, Reece, along with an Austrian sallet of the same period (ca. 1480). Dimensions and weight are close but, of course, result in very different profiles. Notice the variation in the shape of the lower half of the visor/face. Some German/Austrian sallets of this period are deeper below the sight as well, like the GDFB.

Sean Flynt · Posted: Mon 20 Sep, 2010 9:12 am Post subject:

I've started transforming this Italian-style export sallet of ca. 1460 into something a bit later and more German. Why? It's big and deep, more like German styles, and needed lightening. The easiest way to lighten was to cut pretty deeply into the brow of the visor and sides, in the German style, exposing the forward strap rivet hole. The sides need to be deeper still and the pivot terminals will have to be reshaped. Hopefully, I won't be adding back all of that weight with the lining rivets. I still need to add the hole on this side for a spring pin (which helps shift the date/culture) and do some filework to bevel the edges and clean up the sight a bit. I'll use a large decorative bolt for the pivot (still too high and far-forward on the bowl, but not something that's easy to fix). The spring pin mechanism will be in the usual location. After all of that, the next big step is to mark and drill the rivet holes for the liner. It's going to look good, especially considering the price, but will still be a bit large for me. Sad

Reece Nelson · Posted: Mon 20 Sep, 2010 12:17 pm Post subject: GDFB helm

wow that looks great Sean! That'll be a nice piece when finished Big Grin

Be sure to document the steps, I wanna try these modifications myself Wink

Sean Flynt · Posted: Mon 20 Sep, 2010 12:32 pm Post subject:

Most of the work will be identical to what I did to my other sallet (though with a thicker liner) DIY photos here: http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t...ight=liner . The visor is the main challenge on this one, and even that's manageable because it's just a matter of cutting out four crescent-shaped chunks with the Dremel cutoff wheels (LOTS of Dremel cutoff wheels) and refining with my ridiculous Harbor Freight belt sander. It's a lark compared to the brass edging on the sallet in my avatar.