09-27-2012, 10:17 AM
Hello everyone
Bill has been very helpful in posting stuff for me as I am so often not near a computer or lately, at my own home!
This helmet is the first one that I'm aware that really is a single contiguous helmet. There are no 'parts' or 'pieces' welded on later nor was it assembled in pieces. The nasal is solid nose with greater thickness in the forehead and ocular rims. This is accurate to the originals of this helmet type. Bear in mind the Corinthian helmet went through many stages to arrive at these zenith types. The old thought of these being hammer raised from a single flat sheet of bronze only applied to the earliest types and this can be readily observed in them. As the helmet evolved to meet greater requirements the techniques and even the alloy changed. Steel weapons with greater penetrating ability would quickly overcome those earlier helmet types. The bronze used for helmets was specially made for helmets alone. This bronze type is not in evidence in any other artifacts and is consistent from archaic to late Corinthian types. As the Greeks changed the helmet numerous design changes occur to accommodate their ever increasing abilities to make them. Part of this process occurs out of necessity. As the alloy had to grow stronger it became more and more impervious to hammer forming techniques. This particular helmet could never be made with just a hammer. I chose to reproduce this helmet as it personifies and evokes the Hoplite like no other class of these helmets. It is the most desirable helmet for the public market.
The blackfacing on the helmet is accurate. Numerous depictions of this type of painting and decoration appear in the pottery. It's intimidating and greatly shows off the delicate and gracile ocular rims. The crest is held on with pitch as was used. Some helmets show nail holes and some do not, pitch was most likely used with the nails for insurance. It holds the crest very tightly and it feels like the crest box would break before the pitch gave way. The hair is treated with a special solution and like a crest I made before has about 4 years to go before it even begins to droop. The crest hair treatment is a very easy mixture and in my opinion, would solve all the modern complaints and tricks to keep crests upright. I don't think anyone was hanging helmets upside down at night to keep their crests up. Easy fix and it has held for me in a hot climate for years.
The weight.... This particular one is 8lbs. Actually fairly average for a helmet made of solid metal. Bronze is a fairly dense metal and is 'fat' metal. It doesn't take a lot of it to add weight. As this is just the prototype and I needed it to be finished a bit sooner, I left it at 8lbs. Obviously head sizes vary and an inch up in size will add weight. That's physiques. Future ones of this size can probably end at 7.35-7.5lbs. Too often people fixate on weight and thinness. Someone will gladly spend $1200 on a super light and thin bronze helmet made to 7th century helmet weights and if it falls off a table it will rupture at its welded seams. Not really what the Greeks would call a good helmet in the 5th century. The helmets in the later period were expected to and need to be...impenetrable. This one is
It doesn't just give you a good 'idea' of the look of the helmet. The only difference mine and an artifact helmet....is time and dirt.
Forgive any spelling or syntax, I'm writing this late at night and I don't want to go back and retread everything again.
Bill has been very helpful in posting stuff for me as I am so often not near a computer or lately, at my own home!
This helmet is the first one that I'm aware that really is a single contiguous helmet. There are no 'parts' or 'pieces' welded on later nor was it assembled in pieces. The nasal is solid nose with greater thickness in the forehead and ocular rims. This is accurate to the originals of this helmet type. Bear in mind the Corinthian helmet went through many stages to arrive at these zenith types. The old thought of these being hammer raised from a single flat sheet of bronze only applied to the earliest types and this can be readily observed in them. As the helmet evolved to meet greater requirements the techniques and even the alloy changed. Steel weapons with greater penetrating ability would quickly overcome those earlier helmet types. The bronze used for helmets was specially made for helmets alone. This bronze type is not in evidence in any other artifacts and is consistent from archaic to late Corinthian types. As the Greeks changed the helmet numerous design changes occur to accommodate their ever increasing abilities to make them. Part of this process occurs out of necessity. As the alloy had to grow stronger it became more and more impervious to hammer forming techniques. This particular helmet could never be made with just a hammer. I chose to reproduce this helmet as it personifies and evokes the Hoplite like no other class of these helmets. It is the most desirable helmet for the public market.
The blackfacing on the helmet is accurate. Numerous depictions of this type of painting and decoration appear in the pottery. It's intimidating and greatly shows off the delicate and gracile ocular rims. The crest is held on with pitch as was used. Some helmets show nail holes and some do not, pitch was most likely used with the nails for insurance. It holds the crest very tightly and it feels like the crest box would break before the pitch gave way. The hair is treated with a special solution and like a crest I made before has about 4 years to go before it even begins to droop. The crest hair treatment is a very easy mixture and in my opinion, would solve all the modern complaints and tricks to keep crests upright. I don't think anyone was hanging helmets upside down at night to keep their crests up. Easy fix and it has held for me in a hot climate for years.
The weight.... This particular one is 8lbs. Actually fairly average for a helmet made of solid metal. Bronze is a fairly dense metal and is 'fat' metal. It doesn't take a lot of it to add weight. As this is just the prototype and I needed it to be finished a bit sooner, I left it at 8lbs. Obviously head sizes vary and an inch up in size will add weight. That's physiques. Future ones of this size can probably end at 7.35-7.5lbs. Too often people fixate on weight and thinness. Someone will gladly spend $1200 on a super light and thin bronze helmet made to 7th century helmet weights and if it falls off a table it will rupture at its welded seams. Not really what the Greeks would call a good helmet in the 5th century. The helmets in the later period were expected to and need to be...impenetrable. This one is
It doesn't just give you a good 'idea' of the look of the helmet. The only difference mine and an artifact helmet....is time and dirt.
Forgive any spelling or syntax, I'm writing this late at night and I don't want to go back and retread everything again.
Michael
