Raising a helmet

[@MartinBavin]

Beautiful work Kev

[@toompyfloyd4074]

Absolutely gorgeous well done sir! Now THAT is a helm to be proud of. This is also one of the finest raising vids I've seen thank you very much!

[@dannygo500]

Would be cool if you tried making a bronze corinthian helmet, but since they have a lot of varied thickness it would be a bit of a challenge tho.

[@cudnm]

Wow... that is absolutely crazy! I had no idea how difficult it is! I have an insane amount of respect for that process now! Since most armor these days isn’t raised but is welded, right? Anyways, incredible vid and incredible job!

[@brutus4013]

Absoloutely amazing work ! Thanks also for saying how many man hours it took . Not many videos actually tell you that .

[@aleriaproductions2869]

That's gorgeous very nice job

[@ЖоржЗадунайский-о7и]

Well done! Made of a single piece of metal without welding and modern technologies. I wonder how they used to roll steel into sheets? Or flattened by forging?

[@PlessisArmouries]

Rolled steel as we know it is a relatively recent thing. Before rollers sheet materials were hammered to thickness using water powered trip hammers. Different thicknesses of material were available to the medieval craftsmen as well as different qualities of steel.

[@ЖоржЗадунайский-о7и]

​@@PlessisArmouries Thanks for the information.

[@jarroddepew2758]

Watching in 2020, any tips for getting started with armoring? I've got no experience but I have all the tools.

[@markpeels683]

@jarroddepew2758 What have you been making in the mean while?

[@ghostforge3303]

Thank You for sharing your craft and expertise

[@gregorcykf]

Beautiful work dude.

[@10THPROPHET]

Excellent metal working talent!

[@sindobrandnew]

It is amazing skill that steel sheet is not torn, especially edge of it.

[@ForgeDuLys]

wow 20 hours for this helmet ? Thats not a whole lot compared to the ammount of work that needs to be done... Also you show way more of the forging process than you do with the finishing process. Of course the forging part is way cooler to watch, and the technique involved is super useful, but to show us the pain it is to polish a beaten piece of trashcan into a beautifully made helmet is a whole painfully long and titious process ... liked the vid and +1 sub

[@patriksykora2172]

Would you share what mil steel this was please? Incredible video

[@Galloroemer]

Das ist wirklich ganz großes Handwerk. Danke für das wunderschöne Video!

[@PlessisArmouries]

Gern geschehen!

[@evanmorris1178]

Lovely job and good explanation. But I think it would be great if you added an explanation of HOW you are raising it. The placement of the blows versus the support of the stake, and the direction of metal “Flow” doesn’t come through in the video that well. I’m still not very good at raising, but I mostly get it. Having a bit of attention to that would be a big help. Thanks for the otherwise excellent video!

[@sbrmalott]

Thank you for a great video. I've been a part time blacksmith for 8 years and want to start making a suit of armor, any tips?

[@PlessisArmouries]

Practice, practice, practice.! The first helmet I raised took two weeks of hammering but I learnt a lot. Look at the originals as much as possible, exposure to the shapes and curves helps enormously to train your eye and don't forget to play with it, push the metal around till you think it will split and then push it some more. This will teach you how the steel feels under your hammer. Good luck!

[@moretar]

Spectacular!

[@ahab145]

Very helpful, thank you

[@ArmureDube]

So were do you keep the stake head position compere to the hammer blows

[@PlessisArmouries]

at first the stake sits just on the side of the heated area. The first few blows push the metal in and then the stake slides under the hot spot to smooth it .

[@danielarboncreations8022]

Great work!! Just wondering, is this carbon steel or mild? Also, what gauge?

[@PlessisArmouries]

This one is 14swg (2mm) mild steel though the technique is the same as the spring steel ones I make. The steel starts as 2mm and the finished helmet is 2mm

[@knightsdeeds]

Great work very skillfull

[@PlessisArmouries]

Thanks Mick.

[@braydenhelton298]

How did you get your measurements

[@123kkambiz]

Great hand workmanship and excellent outcome. But why are you not using power hammer and aneal the whole plate at once and work again in cold soft plate?

[@PlessisArmouries]

It's all about being able to control where the metal moves. The steel is a lot softer when it's hot and heating a small area allows me to push against the cooler metal controlling the steel better.

[@homemademedieval3935]

fantastic! you are truly skilled! I really struggle to raise with a coal forge, yours seems smaller than mine though, if you don't mind, could you do a short video of it and post to the united league of armorers?

[@toompyfloyd4074]

Homemade Medieval what's your problem I use a coal forge so maybe I can help!

[@yungvin7922]

Very good one

[@Seyfudin]

I've seen this done "cold" and then tempered (once the helmet was raised) does working it "hot" make a difference?

[@PlessisArmouries]

Heat makes it a lot easier and less likely to crack due to work hardening of the steel

[@Seyfudin]

@@PlessisArmouries how high carbon do you go (out of curiosity), I've heard the best armor is from 1075.

[@PlessisArmouries]

@@Seyfudin I have worked in that but 1050 is closer to the original carbon content so I use it whenever possible.

[@gregorcykf]

I'm not sure what you mean raising. Is the hammer used against the edge of the ball pushing the metal back into itself?

[@markpeels683]

Yes in raising you push the outer part of the circle towards the center instead of that you stretch out the center.

[@dwightlooi]

Why did the smiths of yore make helmets this way? Why not make a die and stamp them out by the dozen? I mean, if they can cast an anvil they can probably cast a stamping die. It won't be tungsten carbide or anything, but it doesn't need to be when you are stamping thin sheets of steel preheated red hot.

[@PlessisArmouries]

Casting on that scale was still beyond the technology they were using. I have a 15th-16th century anvil and it's hammered into shape. There is a current theory that helmet blanks were produced in batched to a rough dome using a trip hammer like that in Bienno in northern Italy. In Bienno they produce "buckets" which could be the first stage with the buckets then raised on by hand into helmets. Experiments using this technique are on going by armourers around the world including myself.

[@dwightlooi]

@@PlessisArmouries Interesting... I would think that something as big and dense while not particularly beset with fine features would be poured. The point however remains that it'll probably be a lot less work if there is some kind of cup, a bump and something heavy to drop on top of them. Pressing a sheet of hot steel it into a bowl with skirts would take a lot of work out of making a helmet. All that remains would then be trimming off the excess, rolling the edges and cutting the eye slots.

[@PlessisArmouries]

If only it were that simple :-)

[@dwightlooi]

@@PlessisArmouries How so? There is nothing particularly sophisticated or esoteric about a press. If you didn't have hydraulics, a boulder, a winch and a donkey will provide plenty of compressive force. How did they make the steel sheet to begin with?

[@alenirsic3500]

Respect!

[@Behwyelzebub]

Fantastic. Anyone who fancies having a go at this may be disappointed. I worked for forty years as a prototype sheet metal worker in the UK motor trade. We had wooden models to work to and specialist sheet metal tools. In our spare time we used to make all sorts of armour and helmets but we cheated by fabricating and welding. For making armour like this, you need to be a great metal worker, be strong and have the eye of an artist. Sadly I don't think the eye bit can be taught.

[@PlessisArmouries]

Thanks for your kind words, I agree, you need to have an eye for shapes and a mind that works in 3 dimensions for this type of work. Luckily my youngest daughter seems to have it so when she's a bit older........

[@josenildoferreiraassuncao8963]

Shere did you learn to make armours ? I want to be a blacksmith one day. I don't know if there are schools for this.

[@buttered__toast_2899]

d n b What you need to do is network and find a blacksmith taking in apprentices. I emailed my mentor and we talked a bit on the phone filling each other out before an offer was made. No matter what you have to show them your determination to learn the craft is unwavering and you won’t give up when things get challenging. It also helps to begin reading books on the subject and getting an understanding of the component of armor. 2 I’d recommend are Arms and armor of the Medieval Knight (dirt cheap, loaded with good pictures and info.) And the techniques of medieval armor reproduction by Brian Price. Any other questions ask away and good luck to you, one aspirant to another.

[@Moony16_]

How did you make the template?

[@PlessisArmouries]

GiulianixMoony16 I simply cut an 18" circle and added a small tail.

[@yoyotdf5761]

Thank you so much for this information

[@faffywaffy8872]

The music?

[@PlessisArmouries]

Faffywaffy check the end credits at 11:32 for the details

[@josenildoferreiraassuncao8963]

I didn't quit get it how you made a "tail" on the back of the helmet, if it was a circular plate originally.

[@kxm177]

look at the original blank it had a "tail". Basically a square trimmed to a circle on three corners.

[@theskysthelimit9609]

How it was done in the B.C age. One sheet of steel, no cuts no joins, just hammer to steel. nice to see it made, a true black smith at work 👏🎩

[@Vox_Popul1]

The Skys The Limit emmm, this is a late 15th century A.C. helmet my dude

[@JeddWick]

That was sick asf. Very, very nice work man, the helmet looks amazing. Don't mind the profile pic, my 5 yr old niece is a shitty artist xD. Hope to see more 👏👊