What metal should you use to make a helmet?

[Max_]

I hope I'm not annoying yet with all my questions, but if you were to make a helmet/armor, does anyone know what type of steel should be used, an how thick it should be?
thnx!

[Shinyhead]

I am using 14g mild with brass and copper trim, fully welded construction with rivets holding on the trim. But I am going to get hit in the head a lot so accuracy in materials must take a backseat to keeping my brain safe from further damage.

[John M McDermott]

If you look at real helmets, you will see they are made with a thickness of metal we modern folk would consider wholly inadequate. Remember, they were not trying to stop bullets, but muscle powered weapons.

[Shinyhead]

And SCA helmets are overbuilt compared to historical counterparts.

I might get hit 10 times in the helmet in an hour (yeah, I aint all that good) and do that 4 or 5 times a month. A real helmet might get hit 10 times in its entire useful life before being replaced.

I am also getting hit with a light blunt stick, not a sword edge. Entirely different then historic, so for your purposes it will probably be easier to fabricate then mine.

[Matthew Amt]

For a reasonably historically accurate helmet, mild steel is the usual accepted material, or brass. My helmet was made of 18 gauge steel (c. 1mm) and it seems to weigh a little more than most originals. It also seems to be plenty strong for general reenacting purposes. If you are trying to dish out a helmet bowl in one piece, it's probably better to start with something a little thicker (16 gauge), since the metal will get thinner as you go. But if you are *raising* it (hammering from the outside), it will get *thicker* towards the edges! So a lot depends on your techniques.

18 gauge is also a good average for most armor. Lorica segmentata shoulder sections tended to be a little thicker than that, while the girdle sections were a little thinner.

Yeah, original armor and helmets are often surprisingly thin and light!

Vale,

Matthew

[Matt Lukes]

And if you're heating it while working it, you have to consider the scale loss- so definitely start thicker than you expect to end up with.