Historical background

Conical helmets of "Norman" type seem to have proved an effective defence against sword, axe and mace, since they remained popular in various part of Europe, especially the east, from the ninth until well into the thirteenth century.

Conical helmets can be made in two ways:

The first method consists of welding the two halves of the bowl. A good example of this technique is the helmet found in Lake Orchowskie, Poland.

The second method is to forge the helmet entirely out of one piece of steel. Such helmets were probably reserved to wealthy warriors, being very expensive, due to the difficulty in manufacturing it. One of the greatest example of helmet made this way is the St. Wenceslas helmet.