02-28-2012, 04:40 PM
Well I'm not 'aiming' for any particular weight really. I have to aim for the thicknesses in the helmet, the weight will end up being whatever these helmets actually weighed. In that respect, ancient or modern bronze is identical, that's what I was referring to. As to 'softness', Brinell 65 isn't soft per se, I was merely pointing out the difference between silicon and the old alloy. But I have to say this that the original recipe with its secret sauce is not amongst modern bronze alloys. While it is super hard this limits it use in industry or art for that matter. This is causing me to have to make it up special which is not a cheap endeavor.
Forming the helmet, like was done in antiquity, involves numerous processes. No two helmets are exactly identical but hammering the helmet for density and hardening the bronze in this manner is a common misunderstanding. Iron hardens this way, Bronze doesn't have the same structure. If you hammer bronze it becomes thinner and starts to become brittle, you have to alleviate that stress through annealing. Hammering bronze is a gentle affair done with the goal of only shaping not hardening. Early period helmets are as thin as 1mm but this is not due to thinning by hammer, the sheet used starts that thin. The helmet is then raised and constantly annealed to avoid hardening. Naturally early helmets were of a shape that was far easier to raise out of sheet as there is no undercuts or great changes in angles or circumferences. As warfare changed, the helmets had to also change. They become more complex with parabolic curvatures and angles that served the aesthetic and structural needs of the helmets. The alloy used also changes over time and is not the same bronze they initially used. By the Persian War period their bronze helmets were stronger (yes I said stronger) than steel. This fact alone probably warrants its own thread. This was a necessity as the helmets were routinely struck with steel weapons, so the paper thin hammer formed helmets of the 7th-6th century were useless as defense. A different methodology, metallurgy and technique is going on with the helmets here that is really unknown to anyone outside of the research personnel amassing this information. It is fascinating but it's forcing this reproduction into whole different directions than any currently available helmet made. I am attempting just to have a much more affordable helmet available to the market. One that has all the correct looks without being so super expensive in its materials.
Forming the helmet, like was done in antiquity, involves numerous processes. No two helmets are exactly identical but hammering the helmet for density and hardening the bronze in this manner is a common misunderstanding. Iron hardens this way, Bronze doesn't have the same structure. If you hammer bronze it becomes thinner and starts to become brittle, you have to alleviate that stress through annealing. Hammering bronze is a gentle affair done with the goal of only shaping not hardening. Early period helmets are as thin as 1mm but this is not due to thinning by hammer, the sheet used starts that thin. The helmet is then raised and constantly annealed to avoid hardening. Naturally early helmets were of a shape that was far easier to raise out of sheet as there is no undercuts or great changes in angles or circumferences. As warfare changed, the helmets had to also change. They become more complex with parabolic curvatures and angles that served the aesthetic and structural needs of the helmets. The alloy used also changes over time and is not the same bronze they initially used. By the Persian War period their bronze helmets were stronger (yes I said stronger) than steel. This fact alone probably warrants its own thread. This was a necessity as the helmets were routinely struck with steel weapons, so the paper thin hammer formed helmets of the 7th-6th century were useless as defense. A different methodology, metallurgy and technique is going on with the helmets here that is really unknown to anyone outside of the research personnel amassing this information. It is fascinating but it's forcing this reproduction into whole different directions than any currently available helmet made. I am attempting just to have a much more affordable helmet available to the market. One that has all the correct looks without being so super expensive in its materials.
Michael
