[Martin Kealey]

I was wondering if any members have had dealings with Jolly Knight Armoury and can attest to the quality of the work as well as the customer service.

[Mark T]

Hi Martin,

I haven't seen his work discussed here often (and am guessing you've already used the search function! ), but I think he has a bit of a presence over at The Armour Archive, so you might want to ask there also if you haven't already.

Be aware that the participants there are a slightly different audience than here; you might also want to state what purpose you want the armour for: display only, living history/re-enactment with no contact, re-enactment with contact, armoured HEMA, SCA fighting, BOTN-type fighting, as these can influence what respondents might constitute as 'quality' and 'customer service' ... and almost what constitutes the definition of 'armour' in some cases!

[Harry Marinakis]

I have purchased two helmets from Jolly Knight.

The one on the left was a custom order, I wanted a "rough from the hammer" look. The helmet on the right was already made with a visor hinge, but I asked for him to change the hinge over to a historical clasp. I also purchased a heavy padded liner, a riveted aventail, and a grill face mask for SCA fighting. His helmet liners are thick and drape over the shoulders, perhaps good fight fighting in Minnesota in winter but not in the mid-Atlantic in summer!

The first helmet took almost a year because he suffered an injury to his hammering arm, and I insisted that I was not in any rush.

The second helmet was paid for in late April and I just received it.

His work is not museum quality, but it is not "munitions grade" either. He does good, solid basic work and I think the makes elegantly-shaped helmets that look truly Medieval.

Communication is spotty - he'll go a week or two without returning e-mails, and then he'll go another week where he responds immediately to all e-mails.

My only advice is to be patient if you deal with him. They're in the middle of a civil war, although he lives in the western part of Ukraine.