helmet liner -- myArmoury.com

Mark T · Posted: Fri 20 May, 2011 6:57 pm Post subject:

Oh, just remembered why I actually sought out this thread, before getting distracted about hair!

Just wanted to re-ask the OP's question: who else do we know sells and/or installs liners? I only know of Steel Mastery, Revival.us, and Mercenary's Tailor.

Any others?

Jean Thibodeau · Posted: Fri 20 May, 2011 10:16 pm Post subject:

Gwen Nowrick · Posted: Fri 20 May, 2011 11:06 pm Post subject:

Greetings all!

I'm new here, just signed up thanks to Mark's query.

Let's see-

@Sean-Regarding Jeff's recommendations, I think you'll see part of that recommendation is to use tow (the fibrous waste from linen production) as a filler. IIRC, Hemp Traders sells hemp tow very inexpensively. Tow is good stuff! It is coarse enough to provide good padding, doesn't soak up sweat too much, and because it is coarse, it breathes. Certainly we've used cotton (and it was used in period), but we like tow better.

Sean says Historically, a soldier wearing a sallet and suspension as fancy as mine (and many of the classic German/North Italian sallets of ca.1475-1510) would most likely have shoulder-length hair gathered on top of his head in a decorative net
That is a very interesting assumption! Can you elaborate on why you believe this is correct?

Very nice tutorials by the way!

@Mark- I'm not clear on what you're calling 'Gwen/HE's 'German' scarves'. Do you mean the fringed hood?

Gwen
Black Swan Designs

Mark T · Posted: Sat 21 May, 2011 12:37 am Post subject:

Hi Gwen,

Thanks for coming over here to play! You have a lot of friends and fans here ...

Yes, sorry, not sure why I said 'scarf', I meant the fringed hood.

Folks: if you're into 15th C 'German' style, Gwen's fringed hoods are fantastic, and can make a really good addition to a helmet liner for insulation and protection.

Better than that, they absorb some sweat and grime (and are easily washable), thus making your liner last longer!

They're also sexy (check out the Durer image, first one below); historically accurate for use under a helm (second image is from Das Mittelalterlische Hausbuch); and look great with armour (I'm pretty sure this third image shows one of Gwen's hoods; the pic is from Francois L'Archeveque's site).

In my experience, as the hood sits under the helm, and within the liner, it will form some folds as it 'finds its place'. This is in no way uncomfortable, and in fact adds to the padding effect that complements the helm liner.

This relates very much to Sean's point above that you may not need a super-thick liner if you have some other addition, be it a coif (and we do have images of these during later times), a hood (or both - there's an image of this from the Hausbuch on HE's hood page), or ... hair.

Mark T · Posted: Sat 21 May, 2011 2:24 am Post subject:

Mark T · Posted: Sat 21 May, 2011 6:08 pm Post subject:

I just realised that the knight in Dürer's 'Knight, Death, and Devil' also has a fringed hood ... just hadn't seen that detail before. So, if anyone needed it, here's something drawn with a little more realism than some of the Hausbuch images have.

This also led me to check his 'Knight' of 1498; this image also looks like he's wearing a fringed hood, but is not as clear as in the 'Tod and Teufel' detail.

Again, this is a bit of a side-issue to that of lining helmets, but, as Sean said, we need to take into account such other padding when we work out both the protection required by a liner, as well as its size.

Mark T · Posted: Sun 29 May, 2011 5:01 am Post subject:

I've just found another maker of helmet liners, 'Hammerbreaker': https://picasaweb.google.com/hammerbreaker.ua/HammerWork#

Below is a photo of one of his (pic taken by someone who sold it to me). This liner is supposed to be thicker than the ones from Steel Mastery, the hemming is apparently better, and the leather tabs for the thonging make for stronger construction.

Rich Knack · Posted: Tue 11 Sep, 2012 2:16 pm Post subject:

Now, I have a couple of questions:

1) Were all original sallets made with a lining? Or were some made to simply be used with an arming cap?

2) I can't quite tell from the photos, but how is the lining held on to the leather "ring" that is riveted to the inside of the helmet? Seems like it would be hard to sew it in place once the ring is riveted in, but what do I know?

I ask, because I have an open-faced sallet that came with a chin-strap, but no liner (it does, however, have rivets that make it look like there is a liner in place).

I don't know if I should bother with a liner, or just use a padded cap. It won't be used for SCA combat anyway, but I will be waring it to Renfests so comfort is an issue.