Originally a small, tight-fitting helm worn beneath a Great Helm, the Bascinet became larger over time and by the mid 14th century was preferred over the Great Helm. The reasons are obvious – The Great Helm was a large, bulky helm that greatly restricted vision. For the knights and professional men-at-arms who could afford them, the less bulky Bascinet brought good protection and better visibility. The standard Bascinet though is an open-faced helm, and those who wanted the facial protection the great helm afforded, could opt for a hinged visor. This protected the face in the manner of the Great Helm and had the great advantage of being able to be raised when not in direct combat, making it essentially a convertible helmet. Good visibility and free ventilation was a great advantage when maneuvering in formation and on the march, and the ability to quickly tilt a visor and give full head protection was greatly desired when the mounted man was about to charge, or about to face a barrage of arrow fire.
There were several forms of visored Bascinets such as the Pig-Face Bascinet, The Klappvisier, and the one shown here – The Houndskull. The pronounced, snout-like nose of this helm helps to deflect direct blows to the side of the face and dissipate some of the force that would otherwise harm the man within. Its a similar design to the Pig-Faced Bascinet, though with a less pronounced visor. The Bascinet had a long history, though it was on the eve of obsolescence by the early 15th century.
Modeled after a 14th century original, this Houndskull Bascinet is crafted from 14 gauge steel. The visor is hinged and has a small, integrated pin to keep it in place when down. The interior is blackened and lined with padded, quilted fabric. The fit of the lining can be adjusted with leather ties at the top of the helmet interior. An integrated leather chinstrap with small brass buckle is riveted to the helm to keep it firmly affixed to the head during the sudden movements of the melee. The helm has brass anchoring points along the bottom of the helm by which to attach an aventail.
Jeff Webb –
Very Good Helm In This Price Range This is a very good helmet for the price. It is comfortable with room to wear an arming cap. It give a great level of solid protection in contact sparring. Breathing is no real problem at all in comparison to some other helms, and the helmet just looks really nice in person when worn with harness. The leather strap and buckle are satisfactory as is the liner. All in all, a darned nice helm for the price.
Wireboy77 (verified owner) –
Immaculate helmet.
Upon arrival it had several blemishes around the joints in the face plate. Nothing some shine and a rag couldn’t fix.
The face plate snaps into place using a small metal pin which makes it hard to open and close while the helmet is on your head.
The large fit me (6,1 205lbs) perfectly.
The inside of the helmet is a nice quilted fabric covering leather.
I highly recommend an arming cap while wearing the helmet.
I took it out and hit it with several things.
Hammer-no dents
Cutlass(sharpened)-small scratch
Wooden bat-no dents
Overall an incredible helmet. Functionally it’s perfect.
Other than some small I had to clean and some adjusting I had to do to the straps I highly recommend this helmet.
Francis Overman (verified owner) –
As someone who has a slightly larger melon than a lot of people, this helm fits perfectly with enough room left over for an arming cap and maille coif. Well crafted and exceptional quality all around. Love the inner lining and chin strap. The only way I could think of to possibly improve it is if it had some kind of latch setup to keep the visor up while no in direct combat or for walking faire.
SKITTLEMANBOY (verified owner) –
Its great looking, seems durable, but the visor is kinda stiff. Its fine after you move it a bit, my only complaint is that the visor does not lock at all, the peg isint long enough for it to stay in the hole, and was angled in such a way it did not line up with the hole.