It has been a long time since i blogged but here it goes my sword section is wrong. I got confused with the timeline of  CE vs. BC and it seems that i have made a great mistake. So i apologize the swords are not representative of the right time period

Head plate 2

I have done it! I have made the leather harness for the headplate. Although i still need to actually put the mettle plate on the front of it. This is one idea of what they might of had. This would have protected many of the sword blows to the head. It does not have an inclosed top as is seen on many helmets. However i did this because my thinking is that they would have known what helmets were since the babylonians and many other nations had them. However they chose to call their head armor Head Plates and Head Shields. This is what braught me to this concept.

There is still some work left to do. I am going to have a cloth cap that i wear with this mostly for comfort because raw leather is uncomfortable. This is made from heavyweight leather. The leather i used is only good for armor and making soles for shoes. I aslo am going to make a chin strap to help fasten it to my head. The strap down the middle that you see in the third image is to keep it from slipping down over my eyes while in combat. There is a concept that it was fastened to the head like a head band being secured in the back by ties. However i believe this to be less than likely owing to the fact that once struck it would be forced down over the eyes. One of the most important rules of combat is if you can't see you can't fight.

I want to make something abundantly clear. First I am not backed by the leadership of the church. This is my own personal project with my own personal ideas. Second, I have no degree in history or anthropology. I am an armchair scholar and all my info was gathered from other sources that i found on the net. The Book of Mormon is the final word when it comes to my research because i treat it like a historic document. This project is something i have wanted to do for a long time.

Nephite Sword

Nephite Breastplate

I got the idea from the breastplate really from 2 sources. The first source was an image from an aztec warrior in full regalia. He had what was called a pectorial, I think. It was about 4 inches wide and about 12-14 inches long. It was worn around the neck. There is also a mound builders breast plate made of copper that is much larger. Having built armor and done some back yard sword fighting the first one seems like it was merely ornamental. Not to mention when fightinting it would most likely bounce up and hit you in the face than protecting anything. Mine is a rectangle shape with a cord to wear it around the neck and 2 belts that strap behind the back to help secure it. I believe that like all the armor it is made with leather and either copper or brass. I just think that iron and steel would be saved more for tools and weapons rather than armor. Although bronze might be possible. Alma 43:44 says "many of the Nephites were slain by their hands, (the Lamanites) yea, for they did smite in two  many of their head-plates, and they did pierce many of their (the Nephites) breast plates." this passage makes me think that the head plates and breast plates were not made from iron or steal. iron and steal are very difficult to split and pierce. So it is my thaught that the materials used in the armors was cloth, leather, Copper, and Brass. They could have also used bronze. Because these mettles can be split or pierced.

The Nephite Head plate

This particular piece of nephite armor has been the most difficult to construct. It is my understanding that it is not like any head armor known. For me it went through several changes. At first it seemed more like a large disk made of leather or mettle attached to a headband.This would cover mainly the forehead. However it was to unstable and looked rather strange. I looked for a better design. I found one when I looked at the Aztec head dress. I noticed that if you removed the mass of feathers there was a substantial headplate. Now, my idea stems from the concept that the aztec are a sort of post apocolyptic group of lamanites. One of the reasons that I did is because their armor so closely resebles the nephite armor. yet everything excet the thick cloth has been relegated to something more ornamental. The Mound Builders also have  head plates. You can find images of them here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Up1TK3lptE). I have made a mock up of one possible style of headplate. I used cardboard because it's inexpensive and if you make a mistake your not out allot of money. 

About Me and the project

The Nephites and lamanites were a civilization that lived many years ago on the American continent. This project is about my attempt to recreate the armor and weapons of the book of mormon. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints. I have been my whole life. I know the gospel to be true and i know the book of Mormon to be the word of god. The Holy Ghost has revealed this to me. My goal is share my ideas with people who are interested in this same thing.