Cruxward Hand Forged Steel Great Helm | 16 Gauge Crusader Helmet | Brass Cross Reinforce, Etched Knotwork Sights and Domed Rivets | Medieval Gift | RK-1472

The great helm is the helmet everyone pictures when they picture a crusader, and it is one of the few pieces of armour that was genuinely a new idea rather than a refinement of an older one. Earlier helmets protected the top of the head and left the face to a nasal bar or a mail ventail. The great helm abandoned that compromise entirely and enclosed the whole head in a rigid steel cylinder with a flat or slightly domed crown, leaving only a horizontal sight slit and a field of small breath holes. It was heavy, it was hot, and it worked, which is why it dominated the thirteenth century battlefield.

This helm is built in Memphis, Tennessee from formed plates joined with domed rivets, with a brass cross reinforce running over the crown and down the face and a brass band across the brow. The sight slits are bordered with an etched knotwork line, and the breath holes are punched in the traditional cross pattern on both cheeks. The leather roll in the photograph is a studio prop and is not included.

Specifications

Why the cross reinforce is there at all

People assume the cross on a great helm is a religious statement. Sometimes it was. Structurally it is something else entirely. A great helm is made from separate plates, and the weakest lines on it are the seams and the area immediately above and below the sight slit, because cutting a long horizontal slot across the face removes exactly the metal that would otherwise hold the front rigid. Laying a band of brass or steel vertically down the centre and horizontally across the brow puts material back over both of those weak lines and ties the front plates together through a second set of rivets.

The sight slit itself is a deliberate compromise. Make it wide and you can see; make it narrow and a point cannot get in. The slot here is cut at the traditional height, which means you see the ground three or four paces ahead and very little above you. That is not a fault, it is how the original worked, and it is why knights raised the helm or wore a lighter cervelliere underneath when they were not in the charge.

The breath holes matter more than people expect. A closed steel box over the head fills with your own exhaled air fast. The clusters drilled into both cheeks are placed low, near the mouth, so fresh air can reach you rather than sitting in the crown where it is useless.

Steel, brass and gauge

This helm is mild steel at 16 gauge, roughly 1.6 mm, which is the standard weight for a wearable display helmet. It is noticeably heavier in the hand than an 18 gauge cuirass and that is correct, because a helmet carries all its weight on the neck and needs to hold its form without oil canning when you knock it against a doorframe.

The reinforce and rivets are brass, chosen for contrast rather than strength. Brass work hardens differently from steel and takes a polish that stays warm rather than white, which is why it reads clearly against a bright helm even at a distance. It will tarnish over time and that is normal; a brass polish brings it straight back.

Being honest about function: this is a wearable display and living history helmet. It is not certified combat armour, it does not have a padded suspension liner fitted, and 16 gauge mild steel is not full contact weight. Do not use it for steel on steel bouting.

Engraving, runes and your own design

Use the rune converter on this page to turn a name, a date or a short phrase into Elder Futhark and we will cut it into the steel or the leather. If you would rather have a Viking pattern than a rune line, choose your own design in the engraving option above the add to cart button and tell us where it goes. Where a piece already carries an engraved design, your chosen engraving replaces it rather than sitting alongside it. On a great helm the usual places are the brow band, the cheeks beside the breath holes, or the vertical face reinforce. See the engraving page for sizes.

Fit and sizing

A great helm is sized around the head, not around the face, and it is meant to be worn over something. The standard build takes a head circumference of roughly 22 to 24 inches measured around the brow, with an arming cap or padded coif underneath taking up the rest. Without padding it will move on your head and the sight slit will sit in the wrong place.

Measure around your head just above the ears and the eyebrows, then add the thickness of whatever you wear underneath. If you also plan to wear a mail coif beneath the helm, tell us, because that adds a genuine half inch or more all round and changes the build. If your measurement falls outside the standard range, message us before ordering and we will make it to your head.

Care

Wipe the inside dry after every wear. The inside of a helmet is the single worst place on a harness for rust, because your breath condenses on cold steel and sits there. A film of light machine oil or paste wax on both faces solves it. Keep the brass separately polished with a brass cream and avoid getting brass polish onto the bright steel, because the two want different abrasives. Store the helm upright and open, never sealed in a bag, and never with a damp arming cap inside it. Light surface bloom lifts with fine steel wool worked along the polish lines and then reoiled. Our guidance on steel care applies here too.

Forged in Memphis

Every plate on this helm was cut, formed, drilled, riveted and polished in our own shop in Memphis, Tennessee. Nothing here is drop shipped from an importer catalogue. That is why we can offer a genuine lifetime warranty against defects in forging, grind, heat treat and fittings, with no end date and no receipt required.

A note on handmade variation

This helm is hand made, not machine made or bulk produced, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. Rivet spacing, the exact run of the etched border, hammer texture under the polish and the precise tone of the brass all vary, because every helm is worked by hand from natural materials. The dimensions, the material and the build are the same every time. The character is not.

Frequently asked questions

Can I actually wear it?

Yes. It is a wearable helmet built to a stated head size and meant to be worn over an arming cap. It is not certified combat armour and should not be used for full contact fighting.

Does it come with a liner?

No fitted liner is supplied. Great helms were worn over a separate padded arming cap or a mail coif, and sizing here assumes you will do the same.

How much can you see out of it?

Not much, and that is authentic. The sight slit gives you a clear horizontal band ahead of you and very restricted vision up and down. Take that into account before wearing it on uneven ground.

Is the cross brass or brass plated?

Solid brass, riveted through, not a plated finish. It will tarnish and can be polished back as often as you like.

Will it rust?

Bright mild steel will rust if it is stored damp or sealed. Wipe the interior dry, keep oil or wax on the surfaces and store it open and dry.

How long before it ships?

Processing is one to two weeks. Shipping inside the United States is free and returns are accepted within seven days.

What is in the box

• One hand formed riveted great helm
• Brass cross reinforce and brow band, fitted
• Etched knotwork sight borders and punched breath hole clusters
• Light protective oil coat applied before packing
• Care and storage card
• Forged and finished in Memphis, Tennessee

Explore the range

See more in medieval helmets, plate armor, chainmail armor and engraved and personalized, or read the guides.