Kinhelm Hand Forged Steel Viking Nasal Helmet | 18 Gauge Mild Steel | Riveted Dome, Elder Futhark Brow Band and Padded Liner | Norse Reenactment Gift | RK-1459

Kinhelm is a nasal helmet, the form that dominated northern Europe from the ninth century through to the twelfth and which most people picture when they picture a Viking. The dome is built from curved steel panels held by rows of domed rivets, a brow band runs the full circumference, and a single steel bar drops from the front of that band down over the nose. A short Elder Futhark line is cut into the brow band above the nasal. It ships with the padded liner and buckled leather chin strap shown alongside it.

The nasal is the detail people underestimate. It looks like very little protection for the amount of face it leaves open, and that is exactly the compromise being made. A closed helm protects the whole face and blinds and deafens you. An open face lets you see, hear and shout, which in a shield wall is worth more than armour. The nasal splits the difference by covering the one target that cannot be defended any other way. A cut to the face is survivable. A blade or a spear point coming up the centre line into the bridge of the nose and the eyes is not, and a vertical bar in front of that line turns the whole class of attack into a glancing blow. Every Kinhelm is raised, riveted and lined by hand in the Czech Republic. Free shipping inside the United States, one to two weeks processing, seven day returns, and a genuine lifetime warranty against defects in the forging, the grind, the heat treat and the fittings, with no end date and no receipt needed. Only a handful of Viking age helmets survive, and what Viking helmets actually looked like goes through every one of them.

Specifications

Why riveted rather than welded

Look along the seams of this helmet and you will see rows of small domed heads rather than a ground and polished weld line. That is not a shortcut, it is the correct construction, and it matters for three reasons.

The first is repair. A rivet can be drilled out and a new one set in ten minutes, on a workbench, with hand tools. A weld cannot be undone without grinding away metal you cannot put back. A helmet that is riveted can be maintained for a lifetime and a helmet that is welded is a single object that either works or does not. The second is stress. A continuous weld makes a continuous hard line through the steel with a heat affected zone either side of it, and a hard line concentrates stress and cracks. A row of rivets distributes the load through many small points and lets the panels flex slightly against each other, which is exactly what you want in a helmet taking a blow. The third is simply that this is how it was done, and a period helmet that is welded looks wrong to anyone who knows what they are looking at.

The domed heads also serve a small practical purpose of their own. A proud dome sitting above the seam means a blade sliding down the helmet meets a series of interruptions rather than running cleanly along the join.

The steel, the nasal and the liner

The helmet is mild steel at 18 gauge, brushed rather than mirror polished. Mild steel is what armour is made from and it is not the same thing as blade steel. It is soft enough to be raised and rolled without cracking and it deforms under impact rather than fracturing, which is the correct failure behaviour for something wrapped around a skull.

Eighteen gauge is the standard weight for display and light reenactment armour and that is exactly what this helmet is. It is not certified combat armour, it is not built for full contact steel and we are not going to suggest otherwise. Groups that run heavy fighting want 14 or 16 gauge and their own inspection.

The liner is a padded leather suspension that carries the weight of the helmet on the crown of the head rather than on the brow, which is the difference between a helmet you can wear all day and one that gives you a headache in an hour. It lifts out for drying and can be shimmed with felt if you need a closer fit. The chin strap runs through a roller buckle and is what actually keeps the helmet on your head when you move.

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 Kinhelm the brow band already carries a short rune line, so yours takes its place, and the chin strap leather is the other place we can cut it. Full detail is on the engraving page.

Fit and sizing

Take a soft tape around your head, level, just above the ears and around the widest part of the back of the skull, and order to that number. Size up rather than down if you are between figures, because a helmet can be padded in but it cannot be stretched.

Everything that lives between your skull and the steel counts. Long or thick hair takes up real space. An arming cap takes up more. A mail coif takes up a great deal, so measure with the coif on if you plan to wear one. Also check the nasal against your own face when it arrives. A nasal should sit clear of the nose rather than resting on it, and the liner can be padded up or down slightly to move the helmet on the head until that gap is right.

Care

Sweat is what kills helmets, not weather. Wipe the inside of the dome after every wear and pull the liner out to dry separately instead of leaving it damp against the steel. When it is dry, put a light film of oil or paste wax on the outside and the inside of the dome and work a drop into each rivet head. Store it upright on a shelf or a stand rather than face down where the nasal takes the weight. Feed the liner and strap leather with a neutral conditioner two or three times a year. Oiling and rust removal are covered in detail on our steel care page. Fit, steel gauge and the shapes worth avoiding are covered in buying a Viking helmet.

Made in the Czech Republic

This is a handmade piece from the Czech Republic, made in a workshop that still forges, grinds and finishes by hand instead of stamping parts out. The smiths there have kept the older way of working, and the wood, horn and leather are shaped and fitted by hand as well. Two pieces of the same design will never be identical, and that is part of what you are buying.

Ransack Viking is a United States company. We handle the import ourselves, look over every piece when it lands and ship from our warehouse in Chicago, Illinois. Engraving is done in the United States after the piece arrives, so your design goes on before we send it out.

A note on handmade variation

This helmet is hand made and not machine made or bulk produced, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. Rivet spacing, panel lay, the exact taper of the nasal, hammer texture across the dome and the tone of the brushed finish all vary because each one 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

Is the helmet riveted or welded?

Riveted, with domed heads set in rows along the seams and the brow band. That is the period correct construction and it means any single rivet can be drilled out and replaced.

Can I wear it for full contact reenactment?

No. At 18 gauge this is a display and light reenactment helmet, not certified combat armour. Heavy steel groups want a thicker skull and their own inspection.

Should the nasal touch my nose?

No. It should sit a little clear of it. If it rests on the nose, the helmet is sitting too low and the liner needs padding up slightly.

Does the liner come fitted?

Yes. The padded leather liner and the buckled chin strap are fitted before it ships, and the liner lifts out for drying or for shimming.

Will it fit over a coif?

Only if you size for it. Measure your head with the coif in place and order to that figure, because a mail coif takes up a surprising amount of room.

How long does it take to ship?

One to two weeks, because each helmet is raised, riveted and lined to your size, a little longer with engraving. Shipping inside the United States is free.

What is in the box

• One riveted Viking nasal helmet in 18 gauge mild steel
• Padded black leather liner, fitted and removable
• Black leather chin strap with a roller buckle
• Elder Futhark brow band line, or your own line in its place
• Care, drying and oiling notes
• Forged and finished in the Czech Republic

Explore the range

See more in Viking helmets, Viking armor and chainmail armor, or read the guides for how to measure your head for a helm.

Worth a look beside this

If this one is not quite right, there is the Hornreave Viking helmet. Also in this group is the Vendelgaze Viking helmet. Sitting beside it in the catalogue is the Cairnhelm Viking helmet.

From the same corner of the shop, there is the Ridgehelm Medieval helmet. Or start from a blank sheet on the design your own page.