So I was digging through my old project photos last night when I stumbled across this half-finished knight helmet craft thing from 2020. Got me thinking – how many folks actually know their medieval buckets? Ended up falling down this research rabbit hole and figured I’d walk through what I learned.
Getting Started
First thing I did? Grabbed my trusty sketchbook. Found a YouTube channel showing armor restoration – dude was banging dents out of some crusty old helmet. Tried to sketch the shapes while he worked. Total mess at first. My pencil kept snapping ’cause I was pressing too hard trying to get those curves right.
Then I hit the books. Realized helmets weren’t just random tin cans slapped on heads. Different designs solved actual problems:
- Early knights just strapped metal strips – basically glorified colanders over their chainmail.
- Visibility sucked in early designs – imagine tryna swordfight through mail coifs!
- Nose protection was like the OG upgrade. Seriously – nasal helmets look ridiculous but kept your face intact.
Top 5 Breakdown
After cross-checking 3 museum sites and fighting with print-on-demand books shipping costs (who charges $40 delivery?!), here’s what stuck:
- The Great Helm: Literally a metal bucket. Tried mocking one up with cardboard – kept falling over my eyes. Knights must’ve had neck muscles like tree trunks.
- Bascinet: That pointy snoot-face one. Had the brilliant idea to test airflow – breathed on my phone screen through rolled paper “snout”. Whole thing fogged up instantly. Medieval windshield wipers when?
- Sallet: Back-of-head coverage matters! Dropped a textbook “accidentally” testing protection theory. My modern bike helmet caught it fine. Throat coverage though? Sketchy.
- Armet: All them moving parts! Sketching hinges gave me hand cramps. Imagine field repairs mid-battle? Hard pass.
- Close Helmet: That weird owl-face visor? My dog barked at the sketch. Historical accuracy: 1, Cujo: 0.
Finished Product & Reality Check
Attempted sculpting with air-dry clay. Epic fail. Thing cracked while drying near the heater. Stuck the pieces together with duct tape – looked like a knight zombie prop. Good for laughs at least.
Biggest takeaways?
- Every helmet solved SPECIFIC problems (arrow deflection? Breath holes? Swords sliding off curves?)
- Trade-offs everywhere – visibility vs safety, weight vs mobility
- Evolution wasn’t linear – smiths built what local warfare demanded
Honestly? Mad respect for those armorers now. My trash clay bucket took 4 hours and still looks like roadkill. Imagine hand-hammering steel without power tools. Blows my mind.
