Nightplate Hand Forged Blackened Steel Cuirass with Pauldrons | 18 Gauge Mild Steel | Burgundy Wool Lining, Hooped Fauld and Rune Plaque | Norse Gift | RK-1479

Bright armour is what museums show you, and it is a slightly misleading picture. A great deal of real harness was black, either finished from the hammer without polishing or deliberately blackened, and it was black for practical reasons rather than dramatic ones. A dark oxide surface resists rust far better than bare polished steel, it does not need scouring every week on campaign, and it does not flash and give away a position at dawn. Blackened harness was the working soldier’s armour, and this cuirass is built in that tradition.

It is raised and finished in Memphis, Tennessee. A ridged breastplate carries a riveted rune plaque at the chest, a hooped fauld hangs below it, and a pair of articulated pauldrons ride on the shoulders on sliding rivets. The whole thing is lined and edged in burgundy wool where it meets the body, and it hangs on black leather shoulder and side straps with steel roller buckles. The wooden stand, the rolled gambeson and the canvas bag in the photograph are studio props and are not included.

Specifications

What blackening actually is, and what the lining is for

Blackened steel is not paint and it is not powder coat. It is an oxide layer grown on the surface of the metal itself, which is why it does not chip off at an edge the way a coating does. The trade off is that an oxide is thin and porous, so it holds oil beautifully and resists rust well while it is oiled, and it will bloom if you leave it wet and dry. Wear rubs the high points back to grey over the years, which is exactly what happened to historical harness and is the reason black armour in old inventories is so often described as being repainted or reblacked.

The wool lining is the part most people never think about until they wear plate. Every edge of a cuirass sits on a moving body: the collar rides on the collarbones, the arm openings work against the deltoid, the fauld swings against the hip. Bare rolled steel on any of those points will chafe through a gambeson and then through you over the course of a day. Wool is used rather than leather at these edges because it compresses, it breathes, and it does not go hard and glassy when it gets wet with sweat the way vegetable tanned leather can.

The pauldrons articulate on sliding rivets. The rivet passes through a round hole in one lame and a slot in the next, so the stack fans open as the arm lifts and closes as it drops. That single detail is what separates armour you can move in from a costume shell.

Steel, gauge and honest limits

This harness is mild steel at 18 gauge, roughly 1.2 mm, described the way armour should be described: by gauge and by whether the stock is mild or spring steel. Blade grades and hardness figures do not belong on a cuirass and mean nothing here.

Eighteen gauge is display and light reenactment weight. This is real hand raised armour and it carries and wears like it, and it will take the ordinary handling of a long event. It is not certified armour and it is not built for full contact. Fighting harness is made from 16 gauge and heavier stock, frequently spring steel, and it is inspected against the rules of whichever society you fight under. Please do not take this into a bouting list.

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, so the chest plaque shown here will carry your text or your pattern instead. Cut lines show particularly well on a blackened surface because the graver takes the oxide off and leaves bright steel in the groove. See the engraving page.

Fit and sizing

Made to a stated chest size, with the standard build suiting roughly a 38 to 46 inch chest and the straps taking up the rest. Send us four numbers: chest at the fullest point, throat hollow down to natural waist, shoulder point to shoulder point across the back, and the total thickness of what you plan to wear underneath.

That last one is the one people get wrong. A gambeson adds an inch to an inch and a half all round, and mail under the gambeson adds more again. A cuirass sized to a bare chest will be tight and high over an arming coat, the collar will bite, and the pauldrons will sit inboard and foul your neck when you turn your head. Tell us the whole stack. If your measurements sit outside the standard range, message us before you order and we will build to you.

Care

A blackened finish wants oil more than a polished one does, not less, because the oxide is porous. Wipe the harness down after every wear and keep a light film of machine oil or paste wax on it, inside and out. Pay particular attention to the inside of the collar and the underside of the fauld where sweat collects. Do not use abrasive polish or steel wool on the black surface, because it will cut straight through the oxide and leave a bright patch. If a spot of rust appears, lift it with oil and a soft brass brush rather than steel wool.

Oil the sliding rivets two or three times a year and work the pauldron lames through their travel so the slots stay clean. Brush the wool lining and air it rather than washing it. Store the pieces separated and upright on a stand or rail, never stacked or sealed in plastic. Our notes on steel care cover oils and rust in more detail.

Forged in Memphis

Raised, planished, edged, riveted, blackened and lined in our own shop in Memphis, Tennessee. Nothing here is drop shipped from an importer catalogue with our name added. Because we make it, the lifetime warranty against defects in forging, grind, heat treat and fittings is a real commitment, with no end date and no receipt needed.

A note on handmade variation

This harness is hand made, not machine made or bulk produced, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. The blackened finish takes differently over hammer texture on every plate, lame spacing shifts slightly, the wool shade varies between bolts and the depth of the chased plaque changes with the graver. That is because each set 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 black finish painted on?

No. It is an oxide grown on the steel itself, so it does not chip like a coating. It will rub back to grey on the high points with wear, which is historically correct.

Will it rust more or less than bright armour?

Less, provided you keep it oiled. The oxide layer is porous and holds oil well, which is one of the reasons blackened harness was popular on campaign.

Do the pauldrons move with the arm?

Yes. The lames run on sliding rivets and fan open as the arm rises. They are not fixed decorative plates.

Is there a back plate?

No. This is a front cuirass with a fauld and pauldrons on shoulder and side straps. Message us for a quote on a matched back plate built to your measurements.

Can I wear it for full contact?

No. Eighteen gauge mild steel is display and light reenactment weight. Full contact requires heavier stock and a harness approved by your society.

How long does it take to ship?

Processing is one to two weeks because every plate is raised, fitted and blackened to order. Shipping inside the United States is free and returns are accepted within seven days.

What is in the box

• One hand raised blackened steel breastplate with a hooped fauld
• Pair of articulated pauldrons on sliding rivets
• Burgundy wool lining at collar, arm openings and shoulder edges
• Black leather shoulder and side straps with steel roller buckles, fitted
• Riveted rune plaque, or your own engraving in its place
• Light protective oil coat applied before packing
• Care and storage card
• Forged and finished in Memphis, Tennessee

Explore the range

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