Although my primary focus is european armour from the plate period, spanning the 14th to 17th Centuries, I am occasionally asked to work outside this realm. When I was approached to make armour for "The Last Samurai" I took the opportunity to explore an entirely new approach to armour construction.
understanding of the particular requirements of the mounted man in armour and can bring this expertise when producing armour for this application.
This enables me to ensure my armour is not just comfortable to ride in but also safe for both rider and horse.
The following Introduction has been reproduced with kind permission of Portal Magazine International.
Graham Nixon is one of those rare and talented individuals who lives in a world that most of us only dream about. When asked how he defines his profession he modestly jokes ‘...I beat up metal...’. In truth, Graham is one of the world’s leading Armour makers. He has created suits of armour in styles that range from the 8th to the 17th centuries and re-call the histories of countries and cultures across the whole of Europe and beyond. Costume production-and-design for Film and Television are Graham’s favoured work and he already has an impressive list of credits to his name including Master Armourer for the Hollywood blockbuster “The Last Samurai” …’That was something really different for me...’ he remembers ‘...I have done so many productions involving European armour so it was a fascinating challenge to suddenly shift my focus to a completely different culture...’…. //…. Now, if you think his profession is an interesting one, wait until you see him “at play”. Graham’s true passion is Jousting. If you haven’t seen Heath Ledger in action in the movie “Knight’s Tale” then imagine two fully armoured “knights” on horseback charging each other at a combined speed of 60kph and smashing 12-foot wooden lances on each other. This medieval sport-of-kings has now resurged as a modern equestrian pursuit and Graham has climbed to the top of this sport. With more than a dozen major international tournament titles under his belt he is poised to have a crack at the world championship. He is also a registered grade-4 Jousting instructor with the International Jousting Association. Graham attributes his success on the Jousting field partly to his work as an Armourer. Producing armour for so many Jousters has given him a unique perspective on the complex relationship between rider, horse and armour. He explains ‘…most of the private commissions I produce are Jousting harnesses. For International Jousters, safety and authenticity are the primary focuses. So I have to produce historically accurate armour that is completely safe in this extreme contact sport. I make all jousting armour in high-carbon spring-steel using single-piece construction with no welds. This makes it as safe and strong and light as it can be while still remaining completely historically accurate. So weather it’s for a stunt-rider or an actor or a sports-jouster it will look perfect and give them the protection they need…”.
Seeing Graham at work really is a step back in time. The walls of his mobile armoury are hung with works-in-progress bearing esoteric titles like “burgundian gothic cuirass” and “16th century burgonet”. The tools being used tell their own story. They range from futuristic looking machine tools to traditional blacksmithing tools that look like they are straight out of the middle ages. ‘…Actually most of the tools I use haven’t changed since medieval times…’ explains Graham ‘...I use modern tools to cut out forms and to give me complete control of the hardening and tempering process. But apart from that, everything I use is the same as it would have been centuries ago. At the end of the day the armour hasn’t changed so these traditional tools are still the best ones for the job...’.
As an avid and experienced Jouster I have a particular interest in producing Armour for the equestrian re-enactor. I have a first-hand
Armour in action:
Armour should be made to be used and all my armour is made with that in mind, comfortably wearable, allowing freedom of movement and the best protection possible.
Most of my work is in hardened and tempered 1055 spring-steel and formed in one piece without welds (Although mild steel is available on request).
My work is proven in the field, Protecting Foot Combatants and even enduring the punishing environment of the Jousting lists.
Every effort is made to ensure not only excellent protection but also thorough attention to detail to produce truly authentic pieces, when only medieval forming techniques are used the result is armour correct in every detail.
Protection is one thing but we all want to look good too!
Quality reproduction armour
made by hand
using medieval techniques
