Assistance with steel outfit

[ZDragonLord]

Hey everyone,
I need some help with "upgrading" my outfit by downgrading it. Makes sense right? I was drawing up a self-portrait in my college art class, and got some inspiration. Well, the project made me want to actually do it to my real outfit, but I don't know the first thing about smithing and metal work. Here is what I had in mind:

The slashes across the right eye are as if a dragon or large animal took its claws to it. I don't want to take a chisel and hammer to it, but I want it to look natural. I also (as seen by my profile pic) have a full set to match, and wanted to make it look "battle damaged." Same concept of slashes and nicks, but again without brute force.
Any ideas or references will assist a lot! I live in central Texas, and sending the set out of city is out of the question. Again, any help will be awesome!

[Nidhoggr]

Honestly, there's multiple ways to do what you're talking about.  However a few things first:

A) What is the material? Stainless steel, galvanized steel (god I hope not), iron?  This will determine the best way to do it.

B) This is not meant to be condescending: I don't know if you understand how hard it would be for an animal (even a Dragon) to scratch it like that.  Think about what armor is designed to do.  The scratches would be far more faint than that.    That's how metal scrapes.  An animal would do something similar, and it would be very difficult for something to claw like that. 

C) If you're hell bent on doing it (admittedly, that stuff looks cool but it's more fantasy than anything)  think carefully: Will you like it years from now if you keep wearing it?  Helms are expensive.

D) Your best bet would be something along the lines of a dremel or an engraving tool and basically slowly but surely wear away at it.  Once you've got it worn down, sand it to make it grainy.  The other way is get a file and wear it down.  The problem is, almost none of them are gonna turn out as nice as the pictures without something like an etching machine.  You could take it to a machine shop and ask them come to think of it.

[ZDragonLord]

Thanks for the info.
It is stainless steel. I know how it scratches, lol I have worn it enough. I just wanted it to have more personality. I plan to damage it a little more each year, making it look like it has been through war after war. Heck, I'm going to make a cape/cloak for the back that will be tattered and burnt. Also, on a side note, I'm not being picky to what pattern or design the slashes are in, I just want them to look realistic. I just drew them like that for simplicity (I know claws have a more circular starting point and draw to a point).
If it comes to me being a hobo on the street, I will be that guy who nobody will want to mess with, seeing I will never get rid of this set.

[isabelladangelo]

Wear it to a few SCA events and join in the fighting.  It will be "damaged" enough naturally from that!

[Nidhoggr]

Isabella has as good idea lol.

Hell: You could always take it out in your back yard or something beat it with swords and throw rocks and daggers at it.

[LordSterben]

Tie some steaks to it and toss that sucker into the lion pen at the zoo!

Nidhoggr made a good point about the limits of clawing. I'm all about distressing costumes, but to some extent it looks better to do it along realistic lines. Every bit of armor that I wear, I beat the crap out of it, drag it through the dirt, soak it in tea or coffee, etc. etc.

In my opinion, a clean costume just looks fake. Especially if it's armor! For plate, I would recommend denting and accentuating with broken strips/scraps of chain mail. For a good example of how "battle worn" armor can look really awesome, check out the wardrobe design on Sandor "The Hound" Clegane on "Game of Thrones."

If you really want to pull off the claw marks that you've drawn, here's what I would try:

1) Take a Dremel with a stiff wire wheel and work the claw marks. You might try taping or masking to make sure you get the shape correct.

2) If you're not getting results of any kind with just the wheel, use a router bit to gouge the claw marks into the metal at a shallow depth. Don't cut through the steel, just gouge.

3) Use hydrochloric acid to force a patina on the claw marks. Again, mask for shape and mind drips. Patience. You will eventually get an obvious bit of battle damage without truly destroying the helm.
   

[Nidhoggr]

I had thought about hydrochloric acid as well but.. I wasn't sure how old the guy is lol. Didn't want tot ell  a15 year old "Go get some acid and dump it on stuff" lol

[isabelladangelo]

Could also always tie it to the back bumper of a truck (or car) and drive it around for a couple of miles then wash it off.  I know some people have done that to prom dresses for zombie outfits at Halloween.  It will distress the armor real quick on the East Coast right now - all the snow means tons of potholes and salt on the road.

[ZDragonLord]

A few good ideas, thanks. Still trying do decide what to do, however, but I have until late October/November to figure it out. Might get a few friends over and having a sparring match or two. I will keep an eye here, as this forum seems to have the most activity and people helping out!

Thanks again!

[LordSterben]

I'm glad to see you actually want your gear to look worn. When I watch the videos from Drachenfest I can't help but be drawn to the orc side. They look insanely tough, with battered armor and torn up tunics. Then you see the humans in shiny plate and perfectly clean tabards and they look like toys. That's just my opinion, I guess =) different strokes and all.

The other day I was finishing up my shaman costume by kicking it around in the dirt and ashes of the fire pit in the back yard. My girlfriend asked me if I was going to bring the nasty thing back through the house (carpets were just cleaned earlier that week) and I was like, "hmmm...good question." So I side armed it over the fence. I make fairly rugged stuff...if it can't survive my detailing process, how could it stand up in battle, right?

[Tudortriumph]

In real life I have been an FAA certified Airframe and Powerplant mechanic for the last 15 years...metal does not damage as you have it pictured (though the designs look cool).   From my point of view, which matters little since its your armor, you have to consider the plausible outcomes of the impact.

-A light blow will glance away, perhaps scuffing and hairline abrasion but nothing more...this is after all the main purpose of armor from body to tanks throughout history, deflecting kinetic energy (damage) in a more preferable direction (away from eyes in this example).
-A direct impact will usually scuff if abrasive, dent, or a combination of both, or in the event the impact is with an edge or faced item/projectile of greater mass, density and or velocity you will get cutting/tearing/folding/breaking (shattering) of the metal...Damage will follow the path of the cut unless the damage is breaking then it will follow the grain boundaries within the steel.
       ----the best example I can offer here is Leonidas' helmet from 300...the impact didn't scuff or dent, it gouged/cut on the flat plated surface separating the metal along the cut line and pushing it upwards and outwards (like the ripple a stone makes in water, or drawing a sharp knife across a stick of butter), at the eye opening the weapon bit in and tore and wider triangular cut before riding up on the next flat above the cheek flat of the helmet.

Honestly you have posed a question with no realistic solution...claws are made of keratine, which is a hard protein and not capable of more than very faint marring the finish of steel.  If I were looking at an engine fan blade from a jet with similar damage I would immediately conclude impact damage resulting from the ingestion of a metallic object...i.e.. metal on metal can do what you have drawn...perhaps a stone.  No claw from any animal living or extinct could result in such marking, with sufficient force it could dent it though...just my two cents.

Now, you probably didn't care about 90% of that here's the part you will...I would find some vaguely claw shaped stone and just think about the impact that would be required to result in the damage you would like your armor to display.  Think velocity and angle, then find a way to replicate it.  Test on something other than the helmet please. I would advise against wire wheel scuffing if you are going for a dragon mauled look...claws don't usually include bristles.  what you are looking for is a solid object, lightly and uniformly abrasive on its surface (again not a feature of claws but if I understand your goals you are looking for visible marking without compromising the helmet's integrity) with the contact area matching whatever you figure the cutting edge of a dragon claw's dimensions would be.  figure out what the digit spacing of your dragon would be and space accordingly.


Sorry if this went a little deeper than you were looking for...I've been on several crash investigations in the past so bent metal is kinda my area of expertise.