[Cynnabar] Proposed Armoured combat Helms

[Randy Asplund]

Jason, I'm sorry, but the link you posted didn't work. I got a 404  
Not Found message.

Regarding the helmet proposal, I'm going to offer some sage advice  
from my many years of experience.

1) Don't just go out and buy 2 helms that meet the simple criteria.  
That would be an expensive mistake that would make only minor progress.

2) Heads are round or heads are oval. The wrong shape helmet is a  
very bad thing. If you put a round shaped helmet on an oval head it  
won't fit. It can be padded a bit towards a fit, but not usually  
enough to work well.

3) Necks are long or short, and the armor worn near the collar makes  
a huge difference on how the gorget fits, thus making a huge  
difference on weather the helmet comes down the right amount to  
overlap the gorget, but not so far as to obstruct movement.

4) Too much padding changes how blows are felt, and too thin is just  
dangerous.

5) It must have the right chin strap. A variable length chin strap  
that is tied or buckled outside of the helmet should be used.

Here is what we should do to solve these issues:

1) The helmets should be a little short at the bottom so they can be  
worn with any amount of shoulder and neck gear. Since this would make  
them too short to cover the neck completely, some sort of flexible  
reinforced leather or brigandine drape should be added to the bottom  
as with a more expensive chainmail type camail. Obviously chain would  
be better, but it would be more costly.

2) The helmets should both be larger size (not huge) because we can  
pad up to their size, but not down. If we get two, the shape needs to  
accommodate an oval and a round head, so I suggest a larger diameter  
in a shape that is between round and oval. Plan "B" would be getting  
one round and one oval. (To fit all heads see 3 below).

3) The padding for the helmets should be removable and come in 3  
sizes for each helmet. I fought for many, many years in a helmet  
padded with closed cell foam encased in canvas. These are washable,  
slide in and out, and are quite durable. It is the key to making the  
helmets fit the most people. The thickness of padding for the three  
sizes must be the same, so the smaller head should be sized with  
something firm in the "coif" between the pad and the helm, not just  
more closed cell. Padding should not extend below the bottom of the  
ear for maximum movement. If both helms are between round and oval,  
then we need padded helm liners to make up for shape as well.

4) The chin strap needs to have a set of cords anchored low by the  
back of the jaw and high near the ear top to keep the helm from being  
driven back to the face or lifted. My leather ring on my chin works  
quite well this way.

5) The helmets should have full grill faces from the eyebrows down so  
that there is sufficient room for padding on the forehead. The  
removable pads should always be made so the amount of padding in the  
forehead is the same, and for the medium and smaller heads should be  
spaced farther with the firm material in the back and sides of the  
head. This keeps the eyes forward.  The grill must extend forward so  
there is room for the nose.

This will provide the most flexible and durable design criteria and  
will accommodate most anybody.

RanthulfR




On May 23, 2010, at 11:06 PM, Jason Jeppesen wrote:

> The link below is for the Helmets that have been proposed for the  
> barony to purchase as loaner gear. Should anyone else like to  
> purchase the same style of helmet let me know and we will place one  
> larger order. Currently the Barony is slated to purchase two  
> helmets. After discussion my recommendation is that the Barony  
> purchase a Medium and an Extra Large Helmet. For anyone else that  
> would like to purchase a helmet please follow the measurement  
> guides listed on the website. The ordering period for the large  
> order will be short as i hope to place the order by the first week  
> of June. So get your money and info to me ASAP.
>
> Link: http://www.ashcraftbaker.com/12g%20Spangen.html
>
> If there are any questions please let me know. I will also be at  
> the meeting tomorrow evening.
>
> Yours in Service,
> Jasen Irenfest, Sgt
> Champion King Radagaisus
> _______________________________________________
> Barony mailing list
> Barony at cynnabar.org
> http://lists.cynnabar.org/listinfo/barony

Randy Asplund
www.RandyAsplund.com
Maker of Medieval books and
Illustrator of Science Fiction & Fantasy
(734) 663-0954
2101 S. Circle Dr. Ann Arbor, MI 48103




-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.cynnabar.org/pipermail/barony/attachments/20100524/ff98fe27/attachment.htm