Learning how to Raise

Replicating medieval armor requires a large number of techniques which I have only begun to understand. The first technique that I learned for is called "dishing", or "sinking", which means holding a sheet of metal over a depression in a stump or swedge block and hammering from inside of the piece so that the hammer strokes stretch the metal outward. There are advantages to dished work such as speed of manufacture and the simplicity of the technique, but there are disadvantages too. Dishing thins the metal by stretching it, and sometimes a piece calls for a technique that allows the armorer to wield more control over the shape than is possible with dishing. "Raising" is basically when a sheet of metal is held over a stake and hammered from the outside in several passes so that the metal gradually compresses into the shape that the armorer wants. It thins the gauge of the project less than dishing does and allows more control. Especially when raising a thick gauge piece of armor, raising requires heat from a source such as an oxyacetylene torch or a coal forge. Raising is a more advanced technique than dishing and is more difficult. I can think of no better example of what raising looks like in action than armorer Eric Dube, who films his raising passes with great panache and detail.

Eric making a 15th century German sallet helmet with the raising technique:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuuC4Bq4Y2U&list=PL33EB5A691939149F&index=13

I first had to learn how to use an oxyacetylene torch equipped with a gas-saver device to turn off and reignite the torch at will. I gradually learned how to set up and adjust the torch by myself. With four months of trial and error, I have come a long way in my technique and the use of the tools at my disposal. I owe thanks to my friend and Hampshire alumnus Tom Emerson for making me interested in armor and encouraging me to push boundaries, to shop supervisor Donald Dupuis for teaching me the tools of the trade, and to armorer Eric Dube who inspired the method that I use.

In a few days I am going to document my attempt to make two viking-age Norwegian shield bosses and the boss of a late 14th century English buckler on this blog.