What helmet's really cost

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What helmet's really cost

Postby Forkbeard » Wed Dec 01, 2010 8:13 am

I feel like there aren't enough helmets on people in the pictures I look at.
Why? They make your head immune to arrows. That's pretty **** awesome sauce, but not enough.
I think they are too expensive and it's hard to get a good one(one that is not just a mask).
I also feel like I'll sell more stuff if people know I'm not ripping them off or just pulling prices out of my *.
Right now I am in the midst of a test to see what it really costs me in time and money to make basic helmet domes, then basic Viking Helmet. My original price for these is $75 with a potential discount for bulk orders. But that's a guess.
I feel like it could be cheaper.
I paid $80 for the leather and got 14 domes from it. Thats $5.75 each. it takes string and needles(which I break too much) so lets say 6.50 for materials. It took 8 hours to cut all these peices out and punch the holes. That costs 10/per hour(not enough, but I am doing this at home).
So thats 174.50 to get them cut out and ready to form. Or 12.50 each.
Today I'm going to see how many I can form in what kind of time.
Very soon I'm going to have 14 helmets in a pile in my house, just sayin.
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Re: What helmet's really cost

Postby Slagar » Wed Dec 01, 2010 9:11 am

I applaud the scientific approach. Now hit me with a price tag and some photos, man. Christmas is coming up. :)
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Re: What helmet's really cost

Postby Forkbeard » Wed Dec 01, 2010 11:57 am

Gimme a * minute.
3 hours of stiching on 4 domes.
They are in the oven, we'll see if I can shape 4 at a time and have it be worth it.
It's break time, then more cutting and hole punching.
I've changed stiches twice for more speed so far. This is really working out. I'm learning alot.
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Re: What helmet's really cost

Postby hrakogo » Wed Dec 01, 2010 3:20 pm

will it just be domes or will you have others?
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Re: What helmet's really cost

Postby Azgarehta » Wed Dec 01, 2010 3:32 pm

I'm willing to bet you can sell those for $20 or even $50. Forkbeard, the Walmart of Leatherworking. Don't be an indonesian child laborer, make them moneys!
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Re: What helmet's really cost

Postby Forkbeard » Wed Dec 01, 2010 6:52 pm

Well, they aren't domes in the traditional sca, perfectly round, spun dome. They are the 4 base segments for a spangenhelm-type helmet shell.
I can make them into any style of helmet you want. I'll have a couple viking type base models up in a few days. I'm making a barbuta for a guy in my realm and I'm doing some corinthian style custom jobs for a guy in FL. I'm hoping to do a Roman and a couple celtic style helms to give people ideas.
Right now I'm no track for 14 helmets in 22-23 hours. With materials thats about $23 for just the 4 peice dome. But they aren't for sale. I'm going to time out how long it takes to add the finishing touches to the base viking helm and that will be the base line for my pricing.
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Re: What helmet's really cost

Postby Fitz Caliston » Wed Dec 01, 2010 7:30 pm

We gotta get that stitching time down for ya, that's way to much labor. Sent you a PM, let's talk this weekend.
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Re: What helmet's really cost

Postby Arrakis » Wed Dec 01, 2010 10:42 pm

Ooooh a barbuta-style one. Brutal...
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Re: What helmet's really cost

Postby Forkbeard » Thu Dec 02, 2010 7:45 am

But if I come to your house and use your machine I have to show you how I shape them. That **** is secret.
Also, If I had a machine, it would take less time, but the time would cost alot more.
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Re: What helmet's really cost

Postby konradr » Thu Dec 02, 2010 11:08 am

You bake your leather in the oven, with the Stitches in??? Waxed thread, that synthetic sinew they sell at Tandy??? It doesn't burn?

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Re: What helmet's really cost

Postby Derian » Thu Dec 02, 2010 12:05 pm

The oven shouldn't be nearly hot enough for it to burn.
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Re: What helmet's really cost

Postby Forkbeard » Thu Dec 02, 2010 12:55 pm

I am a great and mysterious Wizard.
Four more on the way. I need to go get more **** string.
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Re: What helmet's really cost

Postby Arrakis » Thu Dec 02, 2010 2:48 pm

Forkbeard wrote:I am a great and mysterious Wizard.
FB


LOL. With the word "beard" in your name, it was about 1 in 3 that you were a wizard...



konradr wrote:You bake your leather in the oven, with the Stitches in??? Waxed thread, that synthetic sinew they sell at Tandy??? It doesn't burn?

Konradr


You understand that even regular notebook paper won't burn until you get it up to around 450°F, right?

Which, incidentally, does mean don't put parchment paper under fish on the pan if you're gonna broil it. Figured that one out the awesome way. Derp.
Last edited by Arrakis on Thu Dec 02, 2010 5:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: What helmet's really cost

Postby Magpie Saegar » Thu Dec 02, 2010 3:50 pm

I'm interested to see how this experiment turns out... for both price and photos.
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Re: What helmet's really cost

Postby Fitz Caliston » Thu Dec 02, 2010 8:55 pm

Forkbeard wrote:But if I come to your house and use your machine I have to show you how I shape them. That **** is secret.
Also, If I had a machine, it would take less time, but the time would cost alot more.
FB


Oh that's right, because I haven't read your posts discribing how you've done it, where to get the patern you use, studied the pics you've posted of many of the steps, talked to you in person about it... and I'm completely unable to extrapolate the intermediate steps with me being such a newbie leatherworker and all. ;)

It's ok, I don't take offense at the rejection, just thought I'd offer to either help you with the Painful Steps (for a little labor trade), or offer you the use of a machine every now and then when you want to mass produce the tops. Ya know, come over on a Boarder Wars Saturday evening, Crank out a bunch of tops in a fraction of the time it takes you to do it by hand, shoot the ****, go home.
Last edited by Fitz Caliston on Thu Dec 02, 2010 10:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: What helmet's really cost

Postby Tiberius Claudius » Thu Dec 02, 2010 9:17 pm

Fork, you live in Utah. There should be some kind of Mormon group that will volunteer to do all the menial, painstaking repetitive steps for you so they can get their service to others cards punched. Find them and show them how to do it once, watch them all do one, and if satisfied, just drop garbage bags or giant tupperware storage bins full of materials off for them to slave .....err uh, "serve" away on.

If they doubt the rationale behind it, play your realm off as an after-school type youth program to keep kids off the street. Remember: busy hands can't do the Devil's work blah blah blah.

Hell, if that doesn't work, take a page out of the playbook of a woman I work with who takes quilt pieces to the local homeless shelter to have them slave....err uh, "volunteer" to sew them together so she can donate them to the other, more genteel poor - in her ward, of course.
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Re: What helmet's really cost

Postby Fitz Caliston » Thu Dec 02, 2010 9:44 pm

Tiberius understands where I'm coming from all to well. How ever will I get my card punched this week?
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Re: What helmet's really cost

Postby Dondarian » Thu Dec 02, 2010 10:50 pm

Fitz Caliston wrote:Tiberius understands where I'm coming from all to well. How ever will I get my card punched this week?


I love you all for this thread and that's not just the rum talking. Maybe mostly the rum.
Tiberius Claudius wrote:Gotta love how Fork just sets the record straight 8)


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Re: What helmet's really cost

Postby Fitz Caliston » Fri Dec 03, 2010 12:14 am

Dondarian wrote:I love you all for this thread and that's not just the rum talking. Maybe mostly the rum.


Nah, I know the real reason, it's because you helped me get my Service card punched last week with those shields I made for you and your wife.

I give and I give, Fork just refuses to partake, I don't understand.... :(
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Re: What helmet's really cost

Postby Forkbeard » Fri Dec 03, 2010 2:41 pm

Alright. this has been a worthwhile experiment.
I now have 14 helmet shells.
It took 25 hours all told to turn a side of leather into these shells. Thye have no trim and are NOT for sale as is.
With the material cost($6.75) that's roughly $25 bucks each.
I just put together the finished base model helm I am selling. It took another $4 in materials and 2.5 hours of labor.
So that's $54. Lets round it off to 55.
That is the lowest price I can afford to make helmets for.
So in closing, we learned that my original price was $10 too high.
$55 will be the price if you buy 10 or more helmets at a time($10 off).
The price for one helmet is $65. Here are a couple pictures of the first one. Keep in mind, adding stuff on costs more.
Image
Image
Thank you for playing along.
Who want's a helmet?
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Re: What helmet's really cost

Postby Zuloo » Fri Dec 03, 2010 3:10 pm

i have actually been thinking of asking you to make me a new helmet fork lol
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Re: What helmet's really cost

Postby Fitz Caliston » Fri Dec 03, 2010 3:59 pm

Fork if anything your original price was to low! Don't go undercutting yourself man!
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Re: What helmet's really cost

Postby Tobia Blackthorn » Sat Dec 04, 2010 6:30 pm

I'm definitely up for a helm!
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