Ocrae thickness - Printable Version

Ocrae thickness - Printable Version

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Ocrae thickness - Marcus Mummius - 01-10-2007

Salve,

Does anyone how thick these ocrae are? What would be a good thickness to use in a reconstruction?

[Image: ocrae_ocrae03.jpg]

Thanks in advance,
Vale,

Re: Ocrae thickness - Gaius Julius Caesar - 01-10-2007

Those have a "Greek" look to them! Where did they come from? Nice looking greaves!

Re: Ocrae thickness - Tarbicus - 01-10-2007

Quote:Those have a "Greek" look to them!

Could make them an ideal choice for a tribune :wink:

Re: Ocrae thickness - Marcus Mummius - 01-10-2007

I should have given a source :oops:

I don't know much about these. They definitely have a Greek look. I'd like to use them for my future tribune impression.

The picture can be found on the Roma Victrix website. They are dated to the 2nd century AD. I don't know any more details... Cry

Here's the link: Roma Victrix

Re: Ocrae thickness - Marcus Mummius - 01-10-2007

Quote:
Gaius Marcus:194li2gp Wrote:Those have a "Greek" look to them!
Could make them an ideal choice for a tribune :wink:

lol so I'm not the only one :lol:

Re: Ocrae thickness - Gaius Julius Caesar - 01-10-2007

LOL No, I guess we all aspire to be consul one day! :lol: :lol:

Re: Ocrae thickness - Matthew Amt - 01-10-2007

Like most armor back then, I'd guess about 1mm or thinner--probably thinner for greaves. I made my own Greek greaves years ago using c. 1mm bronze, and they are too thick to "spring" open and clip onto the leg like the originals apparently did. With Roman greaves you can avoid that problem because they don't have to wrap around as far, generally having straps to secure them. But you'll get better embossing with something thinner than 1mm (maybe 20 or 22 gauge).

Valete,

Matthew

Re: Ocrae thickness - Marcus Mummius - 01-10-2007

Thanks Matt. So you think 0.81mm brass would be thick enough?

Re: Ocrae thickness - Martin Moser - 01-10-2007

Hi Jef,

just looked through Junkelmann's Das Spiel mit dem Tod - he gives very precise data on most of the equipment shown in his book and the gladiators' greaves go from 0.7 o 2.5 mm, 1.1 - 1.2 mm being about average, so that's what I would head for if I were you.

Re: Ocrae thickness - Magnus - 01-10-2007

I used 20 gauge steel for my early 2nd century Roman greeves.

Re: Ocrae thickness - Matthew Amt - 01-11-2007

Thanks, Martin, that's very helpful! Gosh, for so long it has seemed like it was illegal for thicknesses or weights to be published... One caveat, though--I have heard from folks who research such things that gladiator helmets tend to be thicker and heavier than army helmets. (They can get away with it since they aren't being worn as long.) So possibly gladiator greaves were thicker on average than those used by the military. Just a thought.

Yeah, Marcus, 0.81mm should be fine, I'd say.

Matthew

Re: Ocrae thickness - Marcus Mummius - 01-11-2007

Thanks for all the help guys! Big Grin