First go at etching.

This was the result of my first attempt at etching bronze.
I did the etching on a flat bronze disk then dished it by hand with a hammer on a wood stump. Then I mad a spring clasp from bronze wire and sheet and then rivited it in place.

More photos can be seen here.

New Brooches for Oona

So, we went to Atlantia Fall Crown Tourney this weekend. In preparation Oona made herself a new dress and apron dress. So, when I got home from work on Friday afternoon I hammered out a couple new brooches for her since I would not have time to cast any. The whole project took only a couple hours. I even made the clasp pins by hand. They turned out so well that I am going to make her a couple more sets with combined copper and brass.



On Sunday, Oona requested more bead strands. I decided to make them so she could mix and match strands so when I make the additional sets of hammered brooches she will have lots of options.



When I fire up the casting furnace I will cast Oona a couple more sets of brooches and more trinkets to add to the bead strands. You know that a man should always give his wife jewelry.

New Helmet Padding

Well, anyone who fights knows that foam padding does not breath well in a steel helmet. So I decided to make a new padding system for my helmet. It is linen fabric stuffed with bamboo fiber batting. It is a little over stuffed but fits my head and the helm well and snuggly. There is no movement of the helm at all. It use to have a little movement with the foam lining. The reason I over stuffed it was because I believe the batting will breakdown a little with use.

I hope it will breath better than the foam and I know it will absorb moisture, which is a good thing. Now I need to make a new helmet strap and try it out next week at Celt Wars.

Alimunium Greaves

A friend asked if I could make him a set of greaves in aluminum. I said sure, how hard could it be. Well I was correct, it was not much harder than working in steel. The metal does not flow the same under the hammer but the same techniques work. Plannishing turned out to be a bitch. I just do not have a stake with the clearance to plannish something as long as greaves. New future project? And rolling aluminum is not in my skill set yet. Every test piece i tried cracked. So no rolled edges on these greaves.

All in all they came out well. I hope they provide the wearer with the function the hoped for.

Photos are located here:


The hammer marks show up more because of the way I sanded the metal to hilight them for planishing.

The New Gorget Revisited

Well, I got to try my new gorget out at Blackstone Raids. I really like the design and it was protective. It definitely gives more protection than a leather dog collar style gorget. Yet, it was not perfect. I really never realized what kind of abuse I put myself through when I take the field. Up until I met Oona I really only wore the minimum armor required and only took minor injuries and lots of bruises. So, where is this leading? It is leading to the fact that 22 gauge copper is not going to be rigid enough for a gorget for SCA Heavy combat.

The gorget was working great and I was loving it. It is light, fits me perfectly and it passed inspection. Then I get knocked over a hay bail backwards with my legs trapped. This leads to me landing on my back but, I landed on my head first. This caused my helm to crash into my gorget with great force. One of the laims on the lobster tail was creased by the bottom of my helm. My face grill hit the front of the gorget and caused it to bend up a little. I never even realized that the helm came into contact with my body other than the ringing in my head. I found the damage after going to resurrection and heading back into the line a few more times. Then during the break between battles I took my helm and gorget off and found the damage. The crease in the lobster tail is a perfect match for the back edge of my helm.

I learned that even though it creased it was very protective. I would hate to think what might have happened if the lobster tail from the gorget had not been there. Maybe a nice crease in a vertebra. I learned that even though hammered 22 gauge feels rigid enough to normal pressure and force, it is not rigid enough for SCA Heavy combat. Now where do I go from here? I have 14 gauge copper in the garage but that might be a little over kill and an increase in weight. I could buy 18 gauge and give that a try. Or, I could continue to fight in the one I have and see if it holds up over time.

I believe that if I had been wearing the old aluminum on that I would have been injured because it does not have the lobster tail down the back. So, in that regard it was more protective. The design is good the materials are OK but need improving.

Now it is time to start the gorget mark II. I guess I will use the 14 gauge copper I have on hand.

New Gorget project part 2

Well, except for padding and lining the new gorget is finished. I learned a few things about compound curves and there are some hammer nicks. I decided to leave the hammered look instead of sanding and polishing. I feel it gives it character. It is surprisingly rigid for being only 22 gauge copper and brass. It fits perfectly and is lighter than my old aluminum one.

Oona has already placed a request for one. I will make her new belt this week and try to get her new shoulders done before Blackstone Raids and then I will make her a gorget.

Oona is making me a new fighting tunic from a honey colored linen we found a Joann's on sell at 50%off. It will look sharp with the gorget.

The new gorget project

So, I have an aluminum gorget that is to large for me and it bruises my collar bone. Last night I decided to make a new one. It gave me the chance to make something with compound curves and a rolled edge. It is just in the beginning stages but I hope to have it ready for Blackstone Raids next weekend.