12-12-2011, 08:17 AM
I don't doubt that greaves were made to measure but whether they stayed that way for the individual is what I would question.
To reshape the metal after damage would gradually become harder the more times the metal was subjected to the annealing process. The spring fit and "elasticity" of the metal comes from being annealed and work hardened otherwise they would not return to their original shape after each wear. It would not be possible to simply reshape them through beating them every time and continued annealing eventually leads to some loss of integrity of the metal. Therefore, there would come a point where the fit would be compromised in some way. Perhaps at that point the wealthy individual would have another pair made.
To reshape the metal after damage would gradually become harder the more times the metal was subjected to the annealing process. The spring fit and "elasticity" of the metal comes from being annealed and work hardened otherwise they would not return to their original shape after each wear. It would not be possible to simply reshape them through beating them every time and continued annealing eventually leads to some loss of integrity of the metal. Therefore, there would come a point where the fit would be compromised in some way. Perhaps at that point the wealthy individual would have another pair made.
