Armour Restorations
Restoration is often just a big word for repair, so please don’t hesitate to contact me for the small stuff too - like the small restoration projects shown on this page. The small jobs are usually a pleasure, as they are always a nice break from the big projects!
An Armour Restoration Story
16th Century Italian Pisan Close Helmet
Thought to have been made for a boy, this Italian Pisan 16th Century Close Helmet came to me minus the Ventail and the lower half of the upper visor and with many corrosion holes throughout. Showing signs of many old repairs the helmet had also been slightly crushed resulting in a ‘twisted’ skull and owing to the loss of all lame corners by corrosion, all lames had been hard-riveted to each other and excessively overlapped preventing any movement. No doubt this was repaired when the helmet served a purely decorative purpose. Luckily one original brass rosette remained which I was able to copy using 19th century brass. The scalloping on the Gorget lames could suggest that this helmet was once part of an ‘Anime’ armour.
Gallery
A 001 16th Century Italian ‘Pisan’ Close Helmet before restoration.
A 002 16th Century Italian Pisan Close Helmet after restoration
B 001 Early decorative Tonlet armour for a boy before restoration
B 002 Early decorative Tonlet armour for a boy after restoration
C 001 3-Bar pot helmet (used as a cement bucket) before restoration
C 002 3-Bar pot helmet (used as a cement bucket) after restoration and lining
D 001 Rare Milanese miniature armour before restoration
D 002 Rare Milanese miniature armour after restoration and re-leathering
E 001 Hunting sword shown bent before restoration
E 002 Hunting sword shown straightened after restoration
F 001 Hunting sword handle before restoration
F 002 Hunting sword handle after restoration
G 001 English Civil War troopers Cuirass before restoration showing missing shoulder straps
G 002 English Civil War cavalry troopers cuirass after restoration and fitting of replacement shoulder straps
H 001 English Civil War once Cuirassiers backplate before restoration
H 002 English Civil War Cuirassiers backplate after restoration and re- blacking
J 001 Left hand 17th century Cuirassier gauntlet before restoration
J 002 Left hand 17th century Cuirassier gauntlet after resoration
K 001 Right hand 17th century Cuirassier gauntlet before restoration
K 002 Right hand 17th century cuirassier gauntlet after restoration
L 001 English Civil War 3-bar pot helmet by rare maker before restoration
L 002 English Civil War 3-bar pot helmet by rare maker after restoration
M 001 English Civil War 3-bar pot helmet shown before restoration
M 002 English Civil War 3-bar pot helmet shown after restoration
N 001 Damaged French patinated bronze figure before restoration
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“I found working with Nigel very rewarding. In explaining to readers, the problems fighting men faced on an English Civil War battlefield I had to find a non-technical, highly practical but also an entertaining approach. The logistics underlying the opposing armies’ operations were intimately linked with arms manufacture, and the design of helmets and armour was governed by the real requirements of active service. The professionalism, knowledge and enthusiasm Nigel brought to clarifying the problems and demonstrating the solutions led to picture and caption sequences that are as interesting as they are informative. I am in his debt.”
~ Martin F. Marix Evans, Military Historian & Author, Chairman of the Naseby Battlefield Project ~
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“To call Nigel’s work reproduction armour would be accurate, but would miss the point however. His pieces are truly works of art, and Nigel’s encyclopaedic knowledge of his craft is manifest in his work.”
~ Jeremy Wilton, The Four Shires Magazine ~
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“A fantastic restoration… I am looking but I can’t tell.”
~ Dave Allen, Private Collector ~
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“Thank you for returning my miniature armour to its full glory! It really does look fantastic and has pride of place in our living room here in South Africa! I can’t believe how good it looks. I don’t remember ever seeing it like that. You did a great job. It will now hopefully last a few more generations.”
~ Anna Dalrymple, Private Collector ~
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“I nearly fell over backwards when I opened the box. An absolutely stunning restoration! You’ve done a really excellent job Nigel and I am really thrilled with the final result. The photos you sent me just don’t do it justice. It really is a beautiful helmet now that it is complete. Merci mille fois!”
~ Colin Fox, Private Collector ~
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“The nasal bar arrived today and it looks fantastic! The patina and age match the helmet perfectly and the fit is just right. Thank you for making my lobster tail helmet look complete again.”
~ Gary Shepard, Private Collector ~
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“I greatly enjoyed visiting you at your workshop yesterday. I find the whole business of armour construction fascinating so it was a real pleasure to see a true craftsman at work.”
~ John Kliene, Photographer for Osprey Publishing ~
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“Great work, finished to a very high standard”.
~ Eric Slyter, The Arador Armour Library ~
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The Sympathetic Touch to Armour Restoration
As time goes by, I am lucky enough to handle more and more period pieces. Sometimes, this is a lesson in how far as an armourer I have yet to develop as sometimes the workmanship making up a period piece is astounding, then other times (like when working on plain blackened munitions grade armour) it is a lesson on how we shouldn’t all be so fussy and worry so much about rivet placing or following too uniformly to a lame edge when embossing a border line. But in any case, it is all about the detail in my workshop. I pride myself on sympathetic restoration work, ultimately resulting in a finished piece with an overall harmonious appearance.
Get in touch
Please feel free to contact me with any questions or requests at all, whether it be for full size armour for wear or display, a study in miniature, a single helmet, or all the kings’ men, I welcome any challenge or restoration.