High Crest

[Chris B]

I am making a high crest for a Chalcidian Helmet. I do not recall ever seeing it discussed in depth in any of the threads.

Does anyone have any pictures of their own high crest?
What are the basic dimensions of modern reconstructions?
How high should it be off the helmet?
Has anyone seen a template before for proper shape, size, and height?

The thing I am most concerned about is where on the helmet it should be. I would assume it would "tip" the helmet forward or back if it isn't balanced just right. Any help on the issue would be greatly appreciated. I have all the supplies, but I will wait to make it for a few weeks until I finish a linothorax first.

The only attachment I have seen on others high crests is one bolt running through a hole in the helmet. I do not want to drill a hole in the top of my helm until I am absolutely sure it is placed right so this is the issue I most am interested in getting help. Thanks in advance.

[ouragos]

Here is one of mine if it helps.

[Chris B]

That does help some. Thanks.

How many tufts are in each section? If you only look at one row of holes on the edge running the full length of the crest box, how many is it? That will give me an idea how long the outer perimeter is for the crest itself. Thanks.

[ouragos]

It stands 180mm high, 75mm from the top fitting on left straight across to the fitting on right, 50mm from the bottom fitting left straight across to the front edge.

This is an interpretation of a piece currently in Italy, but that only has the main stem, the pieces stitched on with copper wire (there is a left and right side here) and the brass mounting brackets for the wooden crest are all conjecture. I simply made a copy of what had been found and then worked out how to mount a crestbox. There are 10 individual pieces here (although there should only be 9 - the centre stem is actually two strips as I did not have a thick enough piece for this and thus bonded two pieces together.

As you can see - the box is pinned in and can be removed.

The Crest itself is attached to a fitting on the helmet. It had wire pins in originally but I have replaced them with wood. I have a theory - a high crest it a liability if swiped at IF it does not detach. Thus either gluing or having a breakable release system seemed most likely.

See the original piece in Connolley's Greece and Rome at War.

[ouragos]

Sorry - for clarity - the crest mounting is 180mm high - all measurements are for the mounting, not the box.

[hoplite14gr]

Chris check you P.M.s
Kind regards

[Chris B]

Okay. I have made the attachment for the helmet that will hold the crest. It is based off a find that I have personally seen pics. The original was a little more narrow and welded to the helm as opposed to small rivets, but I do not trust my brazing skills with brass and the small rivets are very small/unnoticeable.

[Chris B]

[Giannis K. Hoplite]

Well done Chris. Rivets are acurate,other crest attachments had been kept by rivets. I would prefer it a bit narrower,it would also be lighter,but yours is nice,too.
Khaire
Giannis

[Chris B]

Yeah, I was going to try and make it narrow. My requirements when starting was to make a three row high crest alternating between black and white. That meant a width of 1 1/2 inches for the crest box minimum. I started to experiment with different ways of making a thin "riser" for the box, but any thin ones just didn't look symetrical or balanced enough for my tastes. The obvious solution was to leave the "riser" the same width as the box, hence what is seen.

I have been wondering what was actually attached to that helmet. It looks like two pieces of wood are inside although I realize it could have rotted or deteriorated over time. I wonder if there was some sort of bronze shell that slid over what was seen there that would have then been attached to the crest box or if it was a thin riser pegged into the bottom of the crest. A wide crest would have had a wider box than that. I guess you can't know for sure.

I think mine will look much more aesthetic after painting the designs over the box. It really isn't that heavy on the head compared to my other crests. I think it will be comparable to the Corinthian you have already seen. I am going to hold mine tight into the attachment by placing one small wooden wedge on the rear edge so the tail of the crest hides it. It initially fit very tight, but I had to sand a few minor defects which made it too loose.

[Chris B]

Okay. I finished the Chalcidian helmet. It has a leather and wool felt liner, and I finished the crest today. Here it is.

[Chris B]

This is my last Greek project for a while. I will finish the spear once I get the new custom head. Then it is on to my next planned armour set which is a Japanese Samurai from the 15th or 16th century. Thanks for all your help. I will still be reading and responding to the boards, but will be moving quite a ways forward, century wise, in focus for a while.

[Giannis K. Hoplite]

Well done Chris. Nice work. Laudes again. Also nice work in the lining. But now i think we deserve some photos in the "Show here your greek impression" thread with all your "alternative" greek kit. Your lino,the Chalkidean,the greaves and your new aspis. We haven't seen them all worn with full kit.
Khaire
Giannis