Legiondrake Hand Forged Steel Lorica Segmentata Cuirass | 18 Gauge Banded Plate | Brass Buckles and Leather Straps | Roman Reenactment Gift | RK-1510

This is a banded plate cuirass built in the Roman manner, a torso of overlapping steel girth hoops carried on internal leather straps, closed down the centre with a column of buckled billets and topped by articulated shoulder units that ride over the collarbone. The chest plate carries a panel of Norse knotwork above a line of Elder Futhark runes, which is our own addition rather than anything a legionary would have worn. Everything else about the layout follows the archaeology closely, from the way the lower hoops step downward so the plates slide over one another when you bend, to the brass hinge leaves and buckle plates that let the whole thing come apart into girdle halves and shoulder units for storage.

Here is the part most people do not know. The Romans never called this armour lorica segmentata. That name was invented in the sixteenth century by antiquarians. The reconstruction you see everywhere today only became possible in 1964, when a wooden chest was lifted at Corbridge in Northumberland with the fittings of several sets packed inside it, hinges, buckles, tie loops and hoops still in their relative positions, which finally settled how the pieces hung together after four centuries of guesswork. This cuirass is forged, dished, rolled and assembled in our Memphis workshop, and it ships with its leather internal strapping fitted, the brass buckles and hinges riveted in place and the centre closure laced ready to wear. The wooden torso stand and the loose leather belt in the photograph are studio props and are not included.

Specifications

How a banded cuirass actually articulates

A solid breastplate protects the chest and stops there. The whole point of a banded cuirass is that it protects the chest and still lets you fold at the waist, twist to throw and raise an arm above the shoulder line. It does that through overlap. Each girth hoop sits over the one below it, and the hoops are not riveted to each other. They hang from vertical leather straps riveted to the inside face, so the steel can slide along those straps like slats on a roller blind. When you bend forward the lower hoops close up on the front and open at the back. When you stand the armour returns to its own shape under its own weight.

The shoulder units work the same way turned through ninety degrees. The upper shoulder plates and the lesser shoulder guards are stacked leaves that pivot as the arm lifts, which is why a segmented cuirass lets you get a spear above your head in a way a rigid muscled cuirass does not. The two halves of the torso are joined at the back by hinges and closed at the front by the buckled billets you can see running down the centre. That front column is also the sizing adjustment. Let the billets out and the girdle opens, take them in and it closes. It is a genuinely clever piece of design and it is the reason the pattern stayed in service across the empire for the better part of two centuries.

Steel, gauge and fittings

The hoops and shoulder plates are cut from mild steel at 18 gauge, which is roughly 1.2 mm. Be clear about what that means. Eighteen gauge is display and light reenactment weight. It holds its shape, it takes a knock, it looks and sounds like armour when you move in it, and it will not turn a hard weapon strike. This is not certified armour and it is not rated for full contact steel combat leagues such as Buhurt or heavy list fighting, which specify their own minimum gauges and impact standards. If you want plate for that kind of fighting, buy from a maker who certifies to your league rules. If you want armour for a reenactment line, a Roman display, film and stage work, a museum style mannequin or a wall, this is exactly the right weight, and it is far more comfortable to stand in all day than a heavy gauge suit.

The fittings are solid brass rather than plated steel, so the colour goes all the way through and a polish brings it back rather than wearing it away. The internal strapping is vegetable tanned leather, which stretches slightly to your body over the first few wearings and then stays put. The rivets are steel domes peened over on the inside face. There is no welding anywhere in the torso.

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 this cuirass the natural place is the upper chest plate, where the existing knotwork and rune line already sit, and you can also ask for a short line on the inside of a shoulder unit where only you will ever see it. See the engraving page for what the cut looks like at size.

Fit and sizing

This is made to a stated chest measurement rather than sold as one universal size. Give us your chest circumference measured over the padded garment you intend to wear underneath, not over a bare torso, because that padding is usually worth two to three inches on its own. The front billets then give you around four inches of adjustment either side of the built size, which covers a winter tunic, a change in season and a change in you.

Height matters as much as chest. The number of girth hoops sets how far down the body the armour reaches, and a short torso in a long cuirass will find the bottom hoop fouling the hips when seated. Tell us your height and your torso length from the base of the neck to the top of the hip bone and we will set the hoop count to suit. A cuirass of this pattern is meant to sit on the hips as much as hang from the shoulders, which is what makes twenty pounds of steel bearable for hours.

Care

Bright steel rusts, and armour rusts fastest at the rivet heads and along the leather lines where sweat collects. Wipe the whole cuirass down after every wearing, then put a thin film of mineral oil or a light gun oil over the outside and inside faces. Store it assembled and hanging if you can, or split into its four units and laid flat with a sheet between the plates. Never put it away damp and never seal it in a plastic tub. Feed the leather straps twice a year with a neutral leather dressing so they stay supple and do not crack at the rivet holes. Brass responds to any household metal polish. The same routine we set out on steel care works here.

Forged in Memphis

Every hoop on this cuirass was cut, dished, rolled and drilled in our shop in Memphis, Tennessee. Nothing here is pulled from an importer catalogue and relabelled. We buy sheet, we cut it, we form it, and the person who set the rivets is a person you could come and meet. That is also why the lifetime warranty against defects in forging, forming and fittings is real, has no end date and needs no receipt.

A note on handmade variation

This is hand made, not machine made or bulk produced, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. Hammer texture on the hoops, the exact sweep of a shoulder leaf, the tone of the polish and the grain and colour of the leather straps all vary a little, because each piece 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 wear this for full contact reenactment fighting

No. At 18 gauge this is display and light reenactment weight. It is right for a display line, a parade, stage and film work or a static mannequin, and it is not built or certified for full contact steel leagues. Those groups set their own gauge and impact standards and you should buy to those rules.

What do I wear underneath it

A padded garment, always. A subarmalis, an arming doublet or a thick gambeson. Steel on a bare shoulder is miserable within twenty minutes and the padding is what turns a load into something you can carry. Measure your chest over that padding when you order.

Does it come apart for travel

Yes. The back hinges and the front billets release so the cuirass splits into two girdle halves and two shoulder units, which pack flat into a case far more easily than a rigid breastplate.

How long does it take to ship

Processing is one to two weeks because each set is built to your measurements, then shipping inside the United States is free. If you have a date to hit, tell us at checkout and we will confirm whether it is possible before we start.

Will the brass tarnish

Yes, and most owners let it. Brass darkens to a warm honey tone over a season, which looks better against bright steel than a mirror finish does. If you want it bright, any metal polish will bring it straight back.

Is the stand in the photograph included

No. The wooden torso stand and the loose leather belt in the studio photograph are props. You receive the cuirass with its shoulder units, internal strapping and fittings only.

What is in the box

• One banded steel cuirass in four units, two girdle halves and two shoulder assemblies
• Internal vegetable tanned leather strapping, fitted
• Brass hinges, buckles and tie loops, riveted in place
• Leather closure billets for the front column
• Care and fitting sheet
• Lifetime warranty against defects in forging, forming and fittings
• Forged and finished in Memphis, Tennessee

Explore the range

See more in plate armor, viking armor, roman and greek helmets and chainmail armor, or read the guides before you choose a size.