02-27-2012, 07:07 PM
Well it's not really a matter of silicone bronze (Si) being the best or most accurate, but it is the least expensive and most workable commercial bronze available. I have investigated and worked with a lot of bronze alloys and all work slightly differently.
Phosphor bronze is closer but the inclusion of many other alloying elements in this and all commercial bronzes make them unsuitable for a true reproduction. It is simple to say a 90/10 bronze but in the metals market that isn't cheap; the higher the tin content the higher the price. Additionally any commercial ingots of 90/10 bronze always includes elements of lead, zinc, iron and other elements. So my choice was to buy very expensive metals to make these helmets, custom mix the actual alloy used, or choose a commonly available and least expensive alloy to use. As I have made lots of items which always end up being unsold because they are too expensive for this reenactment market to afford I decided that the least expensive option is what I should explore.
Lots of threads on here with people arguing authenticity and fine points of what was really done, yet few are really willing to pay what that costs. A Silicon bronze helmet is going to price out around $1000 USD and that is not including my labor! That's simply the cost of metal and forming. The clean up and polishing ends up being free because this market won't buy a helmet more expensive than this. The brinell hardness would be about 65, the 'real' alloy or historical alloy hardness is 108! However it has to be custom made for me and the increased costs are significant. The historically correct version will be somewhere around $2000. If people are really willing to pay for the real one I'd love to make nothing but those, but I actually expect to make very few of either. The cheaper, poorly made import helmets are hard to beat for price or availability.
Phosphor bronze is closer but the inclusion of many other alloying elements in this and all commercial bronzes make them unsuitable for a true reproduction. It is simple to say a 90/10 bronze but in the metals market that isn't cheap; the higher the tin content the higher the price. Additionally any commercial ingots of 90/10 bronze always includes elements of lead, zinc, iron and other elements. So my choice was to buy very expensive metals to make these helmets, custom mix the actual alloy used, or choose a commonly available and least expensive alloy to use. As I have made lots of items which always end up being unsold because they are too expensive for this reenactment market to afford I decided that the least expensive option is what I should explore.
Lots of threads on here with people arguing authenticity and fine points of what was really done, yet few are really willing to pay what that costs. A Silicon bronze helmet is going to price out around $1000 USD and that is not including my labor! That's simply the cost of metal and forming. The clean up and polishing ends up being free because this market won't buy a helmet more expensive than this. The brinell hardness would be about 65, the 'real' alloy or historical alloy hardness is 108! However it has to be custom made for me and the increased costs are significant. The historically correct version will be somewhere around $2000. If people are really willing to pay for the real one I'd love to make nothing but those, but I actually expect to make very few of either. The cheaper, poorly made import helmets are hard to beat for price or availability.
Michael
