Grimward Hand Forged Steel Great Helm | 16 Gauge Riveted Crusader Helmet | Brass Cross Reinforce and Knotwork Engraved Band | Display Gift | RK-1523

A flat topped great helm built from riveted steel plates, with a brass cross reinforce running from the crown down the face, a band of engraved knotwork above the sight, a pair of horizontal eye slits and a field of drilled breath holes across one cheek. The top plate is riveted down to the sides with domed rivets all round, the lower edge sweeps to a point at the chin and the whole thing sits over the head and rests on the shoulders rather than gripping the skull.

The flat top is the interesting part, because it turned out to be a mistake. A helm with a level crown takes the full force of a downward blow square on, with nothing to deflect it, and within a couple of generations armourers had responded by drawing the top up into a cone, which is the helm we now call a sugarloaf. Watching a design fail and get fixed inside about fifty years is rare in medieval equipment and this is one of the clearest examples of it. The version here is the earlier flat topped shape, which is the one everyone pictures when they think of a crusader helmet. Cut, formed, riveted and engraved in our Memphis workshop. The leather arming cap in the photograph is a studio prop and is not included.

Specifications

Why a great helm rests on your shoulders

Most helmets fit the head. A great helm does not, and that is deliberate. It is a bucket that goes over everything, over a mail coif and a padded cap, and it is built with enough internal space that it can turn slightly without turning your neck. On a horse that matters, because a helm clamped to the skull transfers every impact directly into the neck, while a helm carried partly on the shoulders spreads that load across the trapezius and the collarbones.

The consequence is the price you pay for the protection. Vision is two slits, so your peripheral view is almost nothing and you find yourself turning your whole upper body to look at things. Hearing is muffled. Air comes in through the breath panel and it is never quite enough, and inside twenty minutes of exertion the inside of a great helm is hot, loud and close. Anyone who tells you a great helm is comfortable has never worn one for an hour. It was worn because a lance to the face is worse.

The brass cross is structure as much as ornament. It is a reinforce, a second layer of metal laid over the face where the plates join and where a point would most likely land, riveted through into both the front plate and the crown. Every rivet you can see on this helm is doing a job, holding plate to plate, reinforce to plate or liner band to shell.

Steel, gauge and honest limits

This is mild steel at 16 gauge, roughly 1.6 mm, which is a step heavier than the 18 gauge we use for wearable display body armour, because a helmet is the one place where thickness earns its weight. It still is not certified armour. It is right for display, film, stage, costume, museum mounts, living history and light contact, and it is not built or rated for full contact steel combat leagues, which specify their own gauges, liner standards and impact testing for head protection.

Take head protection seriously and do not treat that as a formality. A helmet is the one item where buying the wrong specification has consequences you cannot undo. If you fight buhurt or heavy list, buy a league approved helmet from a maker who certifies to your rules, and hang this one on the wall.

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 helm the band above the sight already carries knotwork and that is what your line would replace, and the brass cross itself takes a cut beautifully because bright brass shows a line better than steel does. See the engraving page.

Fit and sizing

Measure the circumference of your head above the ears and across the brow, then tell us everything you plan to wear under it. A great helm is normally worn over a padded arming cap and often over a mail coif as well, and both of those together can add two inches or more to the measurement. Build it to a bare head and it will not go on over the kit you actually own.

Two more numbers help. The distance from the top of your head to the point of your chin sets the depth of the helm, and your neck to shoulder measurement tells us how far the lower edge can come down before it fouls your collarbones. If you intend to wear it seated on a horse or with a high collared coat, say so, because the rear edge is what usually catches.

Care

Wipe the outside after handling and keep a light film of oil on the steel. The inside matters more than owners expect, because condensation from your own breath collects on the underside of the top plate and runs down the inner faces, so dry the interior after every wearing and re oil it two or three times a year. Polish the brass with any metal polish or let it darken, both look right. Store it upright on a stand or a padded ring rather than resting on the rim, and never stack anything on top of the flat crown. Check the liner rivets each season. The routine on steel care applies here.

Forged in Memphis

The plates were cut, formed over stakes, drilled and riveted here in Memphis, Tennessee, and the knotwork band was cut on our own bench. Nothing on this helm came from an importer catalogue. The lifetime warranty against defects in forming, riveting and fittings 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. Rivet spacing is set by hand, the sweep of the lower edge is trimmed by eye to the size we are building, and the planishing texture under the finish is never the same twice. The dimensions, the material and the build are the same every time. The character is not.

Frequently asked questions

Can I actually see out of it

Enough to walk, stand and be photographed, and not much more. Two slits give you a narrow forward view with almost no peripheral vision, which is authentic and is also the main reason a great helm is a display and parade helmet for most owners.

Can I fight in it

Not full contact. It is 16 gauge with no impact certification and no league approval. For light contact, stage, film and display it is right, and for heavy list or buhurt you need a certified helmet.

Does it come with a padded cap

No. It has an internal suspension liner and a chin tie, and you need an arming cap under it. Measure your head over that cap, and over a coif too if you wear one.

Which side are the breath holes on

Your choice. Tell us at the order stage and we will drill the panel on the side you want, or on both if you would rather have the airflow than the extra plate.

Will the brass cross tarnish

Yes, and it looks better for it, dropping to a warm honey against bright steel. Any metal polish brings it back to gold if you prefer that.

How long does it take to make

One to two weeks of processing because each helm is built to your measurements, then shipping is free inside the United States.

What is in the box

• One riveted steel great helm with a flat crown
• Brass cross reinforce, riveted in place
• Engraved knotwork band above the sight
• Internal suspension liner and chin tie
• Care sheet for steel and brass
• Lifetime warranty against defects in forming, riveting and fittings
• Forged and finished in Memphis, Tennessee

Explore the range

See more in medieval helmets, viking helmets, plate armor and kite shields and bucklers, or read the guides on helmet sizing.