Helmet Blackening Update: Goodbye 2011

New Year's Eve and just enough time to put up some pics of my Elizabethan Burgonet and how the blackening is getting on.

Yesterday Jon T came round to do the next bits for my brig that I am making (Hmm going to need some articles about that too) and we just had a little time to do some more on the burgonet. So with blow torch and paint brush in hand. The main part of the helmet needed all its brass fitting stripping off and the chin strap too. We then went about heating the helmet and applying the oil.

This is an extremely smelly task and needs to be done outside. Unfortunately we had left it rather late and the darkness came down and then it started to rain, which eventually drove us indoors and forced work to stop.


Blackening the neckguard. you can see the rain on Jon's van, hence why we had to stop.



Friday afternoon's progress



So Saturday came about and as luck would have it a couple of spare hours. Now I could either cut out new plates for my brig or get the blowtorch out again. Blowtorch won, and I decided to take advantage of the reasonable weather. (It wasn't raining)


I got quite a way with it before I lost the light again. Most of the helmet now is black, to some degree or another. The oil in several places still requires some more cooking off. Then it will need another coat or two, at least. Some places are proving quite tricky, like the ridge of the comb and the roundest part of the crown of the helmet as the oil needs cook on it immediately or it flows away. Even so I am delighted with how it is going and I am looking forward to putting the whole thing back together and adding all the brass fittings.



What I am really pleased about is that if I can do this helmet successfully I should have far less problem with the helmet I really want to blacken which is my 15th century Barbute, the helmet I do most of my medieval combat in.



This one. Can't wait to give it a go. Next will be the finishing of the burgonet and polishing it, then the leather work for its web to make the whole thing fit better. But that will all have to wait until next year. See you in 2012:0)