How do I make a horse hair helmet crest

[Naomi Lazarus]

I need to construct a very small, very lightweight helmet for a show, and all the horsehair crests I've found are a) too heavy, as they have a wood base, and b) too expensive. I'd like to make one, with a leather base, but I need some instructions. All the sites I've found, online, are either excessively cheesy, or start out with a wooden base.

Basically, I need to figure out how to sandwich the horsehair between two pieces of leather so that it won't come out, constantly. The helmet doesn't get a _lot_ of wear-and-tear in the show, but it does get a hood pulled over it, and then removed, every night. I could make a plastic cover for the crest, for that scene, as we never see the crest; just the shape of it under the hood. But, I'd like to figure out how to glue/sew the horsehair so it stays put.

Any suggestions/websites/ideas?

Thanks!
N.

[comicus]

Naomi, The site im linking has instructions on how to make a crest, maybe you can scale it down to fit your need. It's the only Place I seem to have found with instructions but i'm sure thier are more out thier somewhere.

http://www.larp.com/legioxx/crests.html

Mike Young

[Magnus]

Use some pine..and only make it 2 rows wide. I think you're going to run into trouble trying to use leather.

[Forty-One]

Many years ago, in my blissful ignorance, I bought myself a "Greek Corinthian helmet" (in scare quotes!). It's made of steel and is brass plated. It's a vile, horrible, cheap-assed, old coal-scuttle of a thing...anyway... It has a horsehair crest that is made by sandwiching the hair between three layers of thick cardboard and caking it all in glue (stop laughing there, you re-enactors!). Its construction is as follows; a layer of carboard (curved to fit into the crest holder box on the helmet)...a row of hair...another piece of curved cardboard...more hair...a final layer of cardboard. Its (only) virtue is that the hair stays in and it's very light.
Or maybe this is what you were meaning by "excessively cheesy" in your O.P.?