Runeheart Hand Forged Steel Breastplate Cuirass | 18 Gauge Mild Steel | Roped Edges, Chased Knotwork and Leather Harness | Norse Display Gift | RK-1471

A breastplate is the single most useful piece of plate a person can own, and it is the piece armourers argued about the longest. This one is a front only cuirass with a shallow central ridge, a peaked lower edge and a rolled and roped border running all the way round. That rope is not decoration for its own sake. Rolling the edge of a plate over on itself and then chasing a twist into the roll does three jobs at once: it removes the raw cut edge that would otherwise saw into a gambeson, it stiffens the perimeter so the plate keeps its curve, and it deflects a point that runs up the surface instead of letting it catch under the rim.

This piece is raised and finished in the Czech Republic. The face carries a chased Norse knotwork panel with a line of Elder Futhark runes across it, the shoulders are hung on russet leather straps with steel roller buckles, and a full leather waist belt draws the plate in at the bottom. The wooden armour stand in the photograph is studio furniture and is not included, and neither are the spare belt or the folded linen shown beside it. Where plate sits against mail and lamellar is laid out in chainmail versus plate versus lamellar.

Specifications

How a breastplate is actually shaped

A plate this size does not start as a curve. It starts as a flat disc of sheet, and every bit of the dome you see was moved into it by hammer, either sunk into a dished stump or raised over a stake. Raising is the slower method and the better one. The smith works from the middle outward in courses, thickening the metal as it climbs rather than stretching it thin, so the finished plate keeps material where it is needed instead of getting paper thin across the chest.

The central ridge down the front is the working part of the design. A flat sheet is easy to dent and easy to bend along any line you please. Put a ridge in it and the plate becomes far stiffer against a blow across the chest, and any point that lands near the centre line is thrown left or right rather than being allowed to sit and bite. The peak at the bottom of the plate is doing the same job for the belly while leaving the hips free to move.

Be clear about what this is and is not. It is a display and living history breastplate at 18 gauge. It is armour shaped by hand, it looks and hangs like the real thing, and it will take the knocks of wearing and travelling. It is not certified armour, it is not rated for combat, and 18 gauge mild steel is display and light reenactment weight rather than full contact weight. If you fight, buy a fighting harness specified by your society.

Steel and gauge

Armour is described by gauge and by whether it is mild or spring steel, never by blade grades. This plate is mild steel at 18 gauge, which is about 1.2 mm. That number is the honest middle of the range. Twenty gauge is lighter and cheaper and starts to feel like a costume shell. Sixteen gauge and heavier is what fighting harness is made from, and it is a genuinely heavy thing to stand around in all day. Eighteen gauge holds its shape, takes a proper polish, carries a chased line cleanly and sits comfortably on the shoulders for a long event.

The leather is vegetable tanned cowhide, cut heavy for the shoulder straps so they do not stretch and drop the plate over the course of a day, with a full belt at the waist to stop the cuirass swinging when you walk.

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 that means the chest panel is yours to specify. Details are on the engraving page.

Fit and sizing

This is made to a stated chest size rather than adjusted infinitely by strap. The standard build suits roughly a 38 to 44 inch chest, and the shoulder and waist straps take up the rest. Three measurements matter and you should send all three: chest at the fullest point, the distance from the hollow of your throat down to your natural waist, and the thickness of whatever you intend to wear underneath.

That last one catches people out. A gambeson adds an inch to an inch and a half all round, and a mail shirt under the gambeson adds more. A breastplate that fits beautifully over a shirt will be tight and high over a full arming layer. Tell us what is going underneath and we will build for that. If your measurements sit outside the standard range, message us before ordering; we would rather make it right than take a return.

Care

Bright polished mild steel needs oil. Wipe the plate down after every wear, because sweat that runs off the neck and pools inside the collar is the most common place for rust to start. A light machine oil, a gun oil or a paste wax all work. Store it upright and dry, not wrapped in plastic and not face down on a damp floor. Surface bloom comes off with fine steel wool and oil, worked with the direction of the polish rather than across it. Feed the leather straps once or twice a year with a leather balm and check the buckle stitching at the same time. Our notes on steel care apply to armour as well as blades. Steel armour wants oiling and dry storage, which we cover in caring for chainmail and steel armour.

Made in the Czech Republic

The work behind this piece happens in a Czech Republic workshop that has kept to the old methods. Steel is forged and heat treated by hand, the grind is taken down by eye rather than by machine, and the handle, fittings and sheath are cut and finished one at a time. Because of that, every piece carries small marks of the hand that made it.

Ransack Viking is a United States company. We import direct, check each piece when it reaches us, and ship from our Memphis, Tennessee warehouse. Engraving is added here in the United States after arrival, so the piece you receive is finished to your order.

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 under the polish, the exact run of the roped edge, the tone of the leather and the precise depth of the chased line all vary, because each cuirass 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 this wearable or display only?

It is fully wearable. It is intended for display, living history, costume and light reenactment. It is not certified armour and should not be used for full contact fighting.

Does it include a back plate?

No. This is a front breastplate only, hung on shoulder straps and closed with a waist belt. If you want a matched back plate, message us and we will quote for a pair built to your measurements.

What size chest does it fit?

The standard build suits roughly a 38 to 44 inch chest worn over a gambeson. Send your chest measurement, your throat to waist length and what you plan to wear underneath and we will confirm before we start.

Is the wooden stand included?

No. The stand, the second belt and the folded linen in the photograph are studio props and are not part of the order.

Will 18 gauge take a hit?

It will take the ordinary knocks of wearing, travelling and handling. It is not full contact weight and it should not be struck with a blade. Full contact harness is made from heavier stock.

How long does it take to ship?

Processing is one to two weeks because the plate is raised and finished to your size. Shipping inside the United States is free and returns are accepted within seven days.

What is in the box

• One hand raised steel breastplate with roped edges
• Russet leather shoulder straps with steel roller buckles, fitted
• Full leather waist belt
• Chased knotwork and Elder Futhark rune panel, or your own engraving in its place
• Light protective oil coat applied before packing
• Care and storage card
• Forged and finished in the Czech Republic

Explore the range

See more in plate armor, viking armor, chainmail armor and brigandine and gambeson, or read the guides.