historic armor

[Steven Blakely]

my question is what historicly was the gauge of steel used in armor?
for helmets would 16 gauge steel be apropriet?
what about chainmail? how big should the links be and what weight of wire should i use?

[Timothy Gunther]

first off making armor IMO is a good idea considering there are no places online that i know of that make worth wile armor that will not leave you selling your car or a kidney on the black market.

first off I myself would not recommend making a helmet without the knowledge and use of a forge since forged steel will protect your head allot better than just a sheet of steel that you might find at your local hardwere store as the forged steel will be far more durable...tho since the store near me just sells non descriptor steel sheets in different gauges I can't really say how well other kinds of steel will hold up.

as for the gauge of steel, 16 will be more durable than 18 for obvious reasons however the price is that it will weigh more also, tho on the up side it all depends on what kind of armor you wish to make, which for a beginner to armor making I would suggest brigandine even tho its not as sturdy as plate it has some of the same qualities such as the protection offered by solid steel however it is also flexible(in some cases) which is nice tho if caught in the right place when made of a softer leather a stab can end you.

If you don't know what brigandine armor is, it's basically small or large steel plates riveted to a sheet of leather or fabric tho fabric is rare and I have only seen it once as unless the fabric is extremely sturdy the rivets will pull through the weaving.

brigandine can range from a curas with fewer larger to many smaller plates to resembling a leather trench coat with the same variation of plates(tho usually not the larger)

on mail ring size and steel gauge is usually determined by personal preference as historically there was no such thing as steel guaging.

however ring size and steel gauge correlate to strength and time to weave, smaller ring size takes longer to weave however is stronger and 16 gauge wire is harder to wined and twist but stronger tho heaver than 18 gauge.

as i don't use armor very often i cant give you the full rundown but i do think brigandine is a good starter armor

[Brian Hunt]

Wow!

that is quite a dissertation you have asked for.

You might want to log into The Armour Archive forum and start doing a lot of reading.

most historic armour was anywhere between 18 gage to 16 gage. However, due to the way that plate was manufactured and the methods used to shape it into armour a single piece such as a breast plate may be around 15-16 gage in thickness where it would most likely be hit and then thin down to under 18 gage at the sides.

Armour was probably worked hot at a forge (we have historic images that show armourers doing this). A lot of modern made armour is cold worked as this helps work harden our modern steels and make it a little more springy. Historic armour may or may not have been hardened and tempered, some was and some wasn't. Depended on the time period, the regional area it was made, etc.

Now onto mail. Mail armour in Europe was formed from flattened rings. Sometimes every ring was riveted closed and sometimes it was made of alternating links that are similar to washers combined with riveted links. If you took a piece of 18 gage wire and flattened it, you would have a close approximation to a lot of survinge mail rings. Modern butted mail is not a good aproximation of historic mail.

hope this little bit helps.

Brian Hunt

ARMA Senior Researcher
GFS

[Steven Blakely]

thank you that is what i was looking for. I am looking to build armor from the hastings time period. and was curiouse what gauges of steel i should be looking for