Hi I'm Kevin Legg Plessis Armories. I'm an Armour and conservator. I make
reproduction armor as close as I can to the original pieces. Every technique I
use is based on the marks left behind by the original armorers. I first started
making armor at the age of 13, far too many years ago, but over those years I've
built up a wide knowledge base and the research that I've done specifically on
this breastplate uses the latest up-to-date information we have. The
breastplate that I've made here is a close representation of the original
Churburg 14 breastplate that I could physically make. The original is dated at
1390 so we're right on key ready for the build up to Agincourt. The way that
it's constructed: absolutely astounding just like the original the central
section here on the breastplate is thicker it's up to two and a half
millimeters thick and it tapers down to one and a half millimeters at the side
where you need less thickness. Just like a modern tank if an armor plate is
square it needs to be thicker and stronger where it's angled you can get
away with losing that weight. The latest research shows us so much more
information than we used to have, so we know the carbon content of the original
piece, we know the thicknesses of the original piece, and I've copied those
as best I can. The original breast plate is made from an up to 0.6
percent carbon steel but it varies throughout. This is a modern steel at 0.5
percent carbon. It's the closest modern equivalent we can go to. The original
wasn't heat treated, just heated and air cooled. This has also gone through that
treatment, so heated and air cooled, not fully hardened and tempered. Same
hardness, same thickness, same weight; close as I can get.
So we've replicated the weapon and now we're here on the other end, at the
French Knight being shot at. It's very very important that we're shooting at
something that really closely replicates the reality. So what have we
done to get there? Now we are limited on original surviving pieces from that
period. So I've looked for a piece which we know the most about
Churburg 14 breast plate. We've got a mine of information, so
we know the the material it was made from, we know the heat treatment that it
had undergone, we know the thicknesses, we know the weight and the dimensions.
It's two and a half millimeters thick in the center, a robust piece of steel, and
then the thickness eases off to the side so at the very sides here, we're down to
one and a half millimeters thick. As you drop down it drops to two millimeters
and then one and a half just on the edge, where the edges are rolled, and the same
coming up. My copy here is only 50 grams heavier than the original piece. I
think we can live with that; I'm willing to say a few years of cleaning will
bring that down. So we've got there's a number of different things that are
important here we've got the shape, we got the thickness, what about the steel
itself? I mean what it what is this supposed to be made out of? Now the
original carbon content is up to 0.6% carbon. Now
the steel that they produced was very very different to the way we produce
steel now. We've got a more homogeneous steel with a better carbon distribution.
So rather than use a point six percent carbon on everything, I've dropped that
down and used a modern 0.5 percent carbon steel. Now the other thing we know
about the original is the heat treatment. Because of the makeup of the steel
we can see that it's been heated and air cooled, so it's not been fully hardened
and tempered but it's still improved. It's
way tougher to work, its a way tougher material than the older irons and lower
carbon Steel's that we've seen seen in years before. So with a modern steel
matching those thicknesses, tapering out the sides as it's worked,
and obviously the rolls on the edge the shape, all adds to the strength. So as
well as the shape though it also has other features that imply that they're
aware of the dangers involved in a battle like this. Like the applied V stop
rib and that's a very revealing detail isn't it? Yeah it is, I mean as we as we
mentioned before, what you need to penetrate a breastplate is to hit it
squarely if it doesn't hit it squarely, what tends to
while I expect to happen is that the arrow will slide and will move off. Now
it wouldn't matter so much if it moves off to the side, but if it moves up,
the throat is very very vulnerable. So we've got this this stop
rib. Now the stop rib is only located in
those three places, it's not solid, so I expect it as it gets hit to distort to
bend. But in bending it will absorb that that force. And it didn't go in his
throat. Just the fact that these are on the original
breast plates, and there are several surviving examples of these, suggest that
they're really concerned about the skating and sliding of
something bouncing off a primary area but then going into the throat or into
the shoulder or whatever. The rolls that you
see on the side here are actually stood up on end they're not just a simple fold
over. You stand them up and again it gives you that little rib to catch
and stop that slide. And it also creates a strong frame around the hole.
Exactly it's it's a very rigid piece of armor and and even just holding it
against yourself you feel quite secure in there. So that's the breastplate,
Obviously he's not wearing that on his bare chest, theres other stuff going on
underneath, which is hugely important, it would gain us nothing just to shoot at a
random breastplate. What's underneath? Well obviously at the time we're looking
at maille, directly underneath. Agincourt period you are starting to move
away from the full maille shirts. But they did wear them. But they did wear them.
And that's there for a reason Now you've got an air gap between your
body and the breastplate here, just purely from its shape. Then inside that air gap
you've got maille. Now the maille here, every single link
riveted together. That's going to slow down anything that comes through so even
if it does get penetrated you you've got something there, you've got an extra
layer of protection. Getting through the links is still going to take that much
energy out before it gets to you. It's a war of attrition its to slow it down, and slow it down, and
slow it down so you're still safe inside. Then obviously beneath that we've got
our representation here of the arming doublet, which again is layers of fabric. Now
arming doublet is the foundation garment that you wear over just a shirt, or even
next to the skin. That's what supports the whole armor, but
it also adds a crucial layer of padding and protection underneath as
well. That's it. It's a sturdy garment and each of those layers is
going to take some energy. You'll still get some protection, even if
the maille is compromised the breastplate is compromised, you've got that extra layer.
And then even after all those layers everything you're wearing, it's still got
to go into the human body underneath to make a
difference. This is ballistic gel, so if we get penetration through the
breastplate, through the maille, through our arming doublet, we're going to actually
be able to see what it will do, how much penetration into the body.
It's not just replicating the physical forms and materials
what about the movement? The ballistic gel itself, if
I press you can see it compresses just as the human body does, but the
whole thing here is not mounted solidly. It's mounted so it it'll
give. It gives like a human, just like getting shot. If you were hit sturdily it
would knock you back. Right. So we've replicated that as best we can.
It's no good just bolting it all on to a solid back. No bolting it solidly
would misrepresent it. It's not going to act like that, whereas this, it's
going to act like a person being hit.