Armour Making Tutorial - How to roll the edges of armour

Some edges are easier than others

I suggest starting on pieces of 18g mild steel scrap rather than finished pieces as it does take a bit of practice. Rolling is a bit hard to do on small pieces like the top lames of a gorget and on tight curves such as those on the wing of an elbow. Also points of drastic transition are difficult to roll. An example of this would be the point at the top of a gauntlet cuff. I will explain why this is later on page 10.

On these spaudlers I am only rolling the bottom (easiest edge) as it would not be historical to roll the others on this style. In most cases I do not roll any edges until the piece is fully formed, trimmed, planished and ready for polish. It is important that the edge to be rolled is even an free of burrs.

Using my fingertip as a guide, I mark a reference line about 1/4" to 9/32" (approx.. 7mm) in from the edge on the inside of the piece to be rolled. This is good reason the edge should be thoroughly deburred hehe.

Page 3 - Starting the roll.