Brass for armour and mask

Hello,

I am currently entertaining the idea, for one of my future characters for Teonn (In case this one dies) to make some simple armour (Just a chestplate is the current plan, nothing fancy) and a mask (Perhaps with some detailing, not sure yet) of brass. I have no idea whether this is a good idea though, and if not, why its not.

I also have no experience with working with brass (Safe for making a bracelet of brass squares, linked with silver rings).
At the moment, I am currently not even sure whether I will do it, but yea.
Also, any sources of where to get brass such amounts of brass (Including prices) would be nice.

My current plan was to just go with plate-brass, and then hammer it into shape without heating it (Hence one of the reasons to choose Brass, since I believe it is significantly softer than say steel).

Thanks in advance.

Making a face mask from brass is a really difficult project, if you want it to be in one piece. I’ve been doing metal work for a long time and I’d probably not attempt this. Brass is slightly softer than steel when it comes to sinking and raising, but it does work harden under the hammer (meaning the more you hit it the harder it is to change the shape of it).

Copper on the other hand is much easier to work with. I’d recommend using copper sheet somewhere around the 0.6-0.8mm thickness. You can often pick up small sheets off trademe, but it is expensive. It’s also a lot of work, but the tooling is easier. Most of it can be done with a block of lead, ball pein hammer, and small wooden hand tools that allow you to shape the copper by just pushing into it.

But for a larp costume, I would recommend working with something like DAS over a former and painting it after it is dry.

EDIT: I’m assuming her by ‘face mask’ you mean something that looks like a face. If you mean a visor, disregard everything I just said…

You may want to just pick up something like this off ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Movie-300-Immortal-Halloween-Costume-Mask-W-Hood-/251046748649?pt=US_Costume_Accessories&hash=item3a738d61e9

I did consider Copper at first, but then figured the colour of brass would be more appropriate. I could still turn back to copper though.

As for the mask, I was not planning on doing something as detailed as that immortals mask you showed, I was thinking about a smooth mask, with only eye holes and probably nose elevation (As otherwise the mask would either be away from the face, be really thick, or have no nose… which all would be weird) Then perhaps engrave certain details on it, if the mask is not too thin for this.

I would definitely prefer it to be some sort of actual metal though, so if it cant be done with an actual metal (Or is too difficult) I wouldnt do it at all (Just personal preferences =3).

Now, about brass being harder to shape the harder you hit, to what extend does this apply? How much can you shape brass easily? (I am not affraid of hard work XD)

If you want it to me in metal, steel is probably your best bet then, because welding equipment is generally easier to lay hands on than a brazing set. Steel is also a lot cheaper…

I’d recommend making a prototype out of heavy cardboard, looking at sources like the ‘man in the iron mask’ for inspiration. I’d go for something around the 0.6-0.8mm mild steel to work with. It’s not too hard to do a template that has a big dark under the nose. Or to make a face out of several pieces.

You may find http://www.hammeredwombat.com has some nice ideas, but remember this guy is a professional armourer that other professional armourers have a lot of respect for, and you won’t be doing anything that pretty first time around :slight_smile:

I have hammers, an anvil, electric shears and a welder and you’re welcome to come and play next time I have an open workshop. But I suspect you’re going to discover what a lot of people who attempt armouring for the first time discover. Just wanting to do something isn’t always enough :slight_smile:

A simple breastplate is a lot less work than a face mask, but it’s still a lot of work. The breastplate I wear as Han took me a couple of weekends to make, after I’d been armouring for 5 years.

I am quite good at under-estimating things XD.

But yea, I would definitely prefer it to be some coloured metal, preferrably somewhere along the lines of gold-ish (Like brass) or red-ish (Like copper). The silver colour wouldnt have the wished for effect in combination with the rest of the clothing I plan to use (Which would be white).

And if it is really difficult, is there someone you know to whom I could outsource the project? =S

I plan on making nothing as advanced as that on that site, I think it could be compared with one of those ice-hockey masks, except without mouth-holes.
In other words, completely smooth, with only a nose shape, and eye holes. once that is done, I might decide to do some simple engraving, but that is not the plan yet.

artoflegendindia.com/brass-mask-p-157.html

Exactly like that, except less comical =D.

Would that be difficult to make?

Wouldn’t a metal mask be too heavy to wear for any long periods?
And would it be a problem sitting on your skin wrt sweat after a time?
I would think the attachement would need to be considered carefully. Not just a string around the head, but a full set of straps that goes over and around the whole head several times.
Definitely do the prototype thing to answer these questionsa and more …

Hmm, hadnt thought of those details… I will do some research, I could make the straps before I even begin with the mask, and then simulate the weight of the mask with… well, a weight, I will assume 350 grams would be the norm for such sized brass mask (Since the indian mask Derek posted is that heavy), and then I will see how well it stays =D.

Another question for Derek, since you seem to know your metals, I read here on the site you proved, that that mask should be kept away from water, does this mean that Brass corrodes when it comes in contact with water?

I have no idea why they said that. Brass is absolutely fine in water.

Cool, any other things that I might have to take care of when using brass?

If you’re purchasing a brass mask that’s already made, it’ll be one of two types:

Sheet brass that has been shaped with tools. This’ll be much lighter and you could do further work on it, like bend it to shape.

Cast brass that has been poured into a mould. This’ll be much heavier and you won’t be able to really do any further work on it.

You could always make it of copper sheet and dip it in a zinc salt/water mix to plate it and then just heat the plated mask through with a heatgun/torch to get the brass/gold color…its been done to make “gold” pennies (or 10 cent coins now) in science labs for donkies years.

Where would I get zinc salt O.o And how do I know what concentration I need to use for that?

http://tinyurl.com/799znu6

:smiley:

http://tinyurl.com/799znu6

:smiley:[/quote]

QFT! Hehehe,

Just a thought…

I have a few brass braclets and they tend to turn my skin green if I wear them too long. Dunno if the metal you’re being advised to use would do the same, but just be careful. As I imagine it’ll get really gross and sweaty under that mask I’d worry that’d contribute to the ‘greening’ of your skin.

“Instant” Orc makeup? :wink:

Perhaps I could, for both comfort and to prevent that problem, glue fabric of sorts to the inside. That seems to be done in one of the other brass masks I have seen on the internet.

Edit: I read the first page, and what you are basically doing with that zinc + copper thingy, is MAKING brass XD. But if brass is easier to shape, I could probably make the mask in copper, then do that trick, changing (atleast the surface) into brass =D.