Crafting Armor in Medieval Times

[Gregor]

Hey there all you history buffs. I was wondering if any of you roughly know how long it took to actually craft different suits of armor in the medieval era? I am under the impression that in fact, most blacksmiths did not forge entire suits, but specialized in different portions such as helms, greaves or breastplates. Is this true?

That aside however, I am looking specifically to determine how long a suit of plate mail took to be crafted.

I appreciate any help and my thanks in advance,

Cheers

 

[Vaxalon]

You are right in that armorsmiths did not, in fact, build entire suits.

One man made gauntlets, another made helms, another made breastplates, greaves, vambraces, and other large pieces, and another made elbow and knee joints. Another craftsman would take the pieces and fit them to the wearer.

It shouldn't take long to assemble a suit out of available parts.

 

[Wombat]

Well, it all depends on time and place.

For example, if you are the lone armourer at a castle, you would be in charge of everything.

If you were in one of those rare abberations called "cities" things could get quite specialized, but even then you had one guy coordinating the material to make sure it all fit together.

Making a shield is pretty easy -- I've seen people with a bit of training put together a war-quality wooden shield (complete with metal boss and rim) in 3-4 hours (a little bit longer if you want the double-layer wood set at a cross level of shiled).

Helms depend on style, of course, but a simple nasal helm can be pounded out in a few hours; a full Jousting Helm that attaches to your plate armour can take days.

Armour can get tricky. Armour is very, very individual. Sure a suit of Padded, Leather, or Studded Leather can be made in rough "sizes" and mass produced, but believe me you do NOT want chainmail that is not fitted specifically to you (and articulated plate even more so). Chainmail is not a fast process at all -- winding all those links and then essentially "knitting" them takes LOTS of time -- even longer if you are talking about rivetted mail. If you have someone who is fast at this (probably someone who already has 1000s of links in pre-set swatches) you can get a good hauberk inside of a week, but usually plan on much more time. Full Plate? Better expect 2-4 weeks, maybe more, depending on requirements, availablity for fittings, how well articulated you want it and the like.

Well, there are some rough scales for you -- it's a place to start at least.

(Oh, most of these answers come from a friend of mine who is a professional armourer -- one of the few people who actaully makes a living off catering to the SCA.)

 

[Vaxalon]

Keep in mind that SCA armorers generally use modern tools and modern materials.

Modern tools, being better, lessen the time it takes, while modern materials, being harder, increase the time.

Softer steel is easier to form.

Yes, mail takes a long time, but remember that an armorer usually has a crowd of apprentices to do things like cut links.

 

[Enkhidu]

Historical tidbit:

During the age of mail - that time period right around the crusades, when plates were not yet the standard for armor - entire villages would be conscripted to make chain mail. Most would be involved in making the wire, winding the links, and cutting them, and then a handful would knit the links into chain cloth. Such a village, due to the level of specialization that could occur, cranked out suits of chainmail dozens of times faster than otherwaise possible.

 

[Vaxalon]

The unique thing about making mail is how little of the process requires real skill. Making wire, making links, and hooking those links into sheets of mail doesn't take much expertise. The only expertise comes in taking those sheets of mail and fitting them into an armor garment for the wearer.

 

[Enkhidu]

I wouldn't say its unique - it simply the differece between making cloth and tailoring cloth...

 

[Gregor]

Thanks for the replies thus far. Im curious about the time it would take simply because Im trying to work on a variant crafting rule for my upcoming campaign. Im not too fond of the current craft skill so im trying to figure something out. Im thinking of instead of changing the price of the item from gold into silver, im trying to do it based on the weight of the item. Right now with my variant rule, on a score of about 15-20 on your craft check, you could create a suit of full plate in about 2 to 3 weeks. Is this too unrealistic? I figured some historical reference would help me to make it realistic. I know this thread should now probably go into the house rules section....Does anyone else have a variant crafting rule?

Cheers

 

[Vaxalon]

That REALLY depends on what you're making it from.

Are you making the armor from ingots of iron? Plates of armor-grade steel? An inventory of prefabricated parts?

 

[Zaruthustran]

Thanks for the replies thus far. Im curious about the time it would take simply because Im trying to work on a variant crafting rule for my upcoming campaign. Im not too fond of the current craft skill so im trying to figure something out. Im thinking of instead of changing the price of the item from gold into silver, im trying to do it based on the weight of the item. Right now with my variant rule, on a score of about 15-20 on your craft check, you could create a suit of full plate in about 2 to 3 weeks. Is this too unrealistic? I figured some historical reference would help me to make it realistic. I know this thread should now probably go into the house rules section....Does anyone else have a variant crafting rule?

Cheers

I suggest you go to the authorities:

http://www.armourarchive.org/

Most of this site is geared toward moder armour-making techniques, but the message boards are filled with guys who are real armorsmiths and real blacksmiths. Many are authors of history books, or historical re-creators (meaning, they only use methods/materials/tools that were available in the period they seek to recreate).

Post your question there, and you'll get more information than you want.

-z