What brass type for making my own squamata?

[cannonfodder90]

Why not making steel or bronze squamata? Brass is the most unhistorical option. The best would be using bronze, then mild steel and just then brass. Brass was in ancient times very, very expensive, used mainly for coins and decorative items. Romans did not have access to pure zink (opposite to tin) and making brass out of copper was very, very expensive and difficult process. If anyone could afford brass squamata it was probably people with the highest status and probably just to show off (since brass is weakest metal out of steel and bronze).
Therefore, if you gonna make it yourself out of plate/strips, I'd recommend getting bronze strips (CuSn6-10) or simple mild steel
People are using brass becasue "it looks cool" and "brass is easier to get" but it doesn't have much to do with accuracy. Just sayin

Good question. I seem to recall that Robert Vermaat made the same point at an event where I was at. Altough I think we were speaking about late roman reenactment at the time. But I see what you are saying. I my case the whole thing is moot anyway. I recently discovered that no company in my area sells strips of brass. In their own words: 'we can't cut it that thin, because it will twist during cutting.' They only sell full sheets of the stuff. And I don't have any tools, or even workspace for that matter, for cutting it to size.

I asked around and spoke with people I met at events, Robert for example and he pointed me in the direction of Armae. They sell fully brass, iron with brass coating and galvanized iron plates. When talking with Armae it wasn't advised to buy the brass coated plates because they would, in time at least, lose their coating where the plates rub against each other in time. It was more suited for greek linothorax armor. I was also advised against the off the shelf squamata because the closing system wasn't up to par. I didn't look into the galvanized iron plates to be honest. While yes it would be a more economical option (0.12 against 0.35), I always tought galvanized iron is even more unhistorical. A quick google search tells me that galvanisation was found earliest in the 17th-century Indian armour in the Royal Armouries Museum collection. Combined with the fact that almost everywhere I read about lorica it is stated that galvanized iron is unacceptable. Who am I to second guess everyone, especcially because I'm so new at reenacting. But I concede that I haven't looked into it any further.

On a seperate note. I'm very pleased and gratefull for the advise and info from Vaginay-Darnetzof Armae for his honesty. So many other salespeople would have just been itching for a sale that they would just as easily steer me in the wrong direction. It is a testament to his intergrity as a company, salesrep and even as a person, that he deals with someone like me in an honest and truthfull matter.