Types of Roman Armor Steel Fasteners
If you are looking to add roman armor, or lorica segementata, to your collection, then you may want to consider what types of fasteners are used to hold the overlapping steel plates and torso together. Most roman armor you will see in online stores (and maybe some brick and mortar stores) will be held together by leather straps. These straps are going to hold the lower torso armor to the upper should armor. Also, many lorica segmentatas have leather straps holding the left and right shoulder plates together by a couple of straps in the center of the armor. While this is the standard way to do it, you’ll want to make sure that the leather straps are going to be strong enough to hold the torso’s weight. Buffalo horn leather is a good, strong leather that is used on many of the roman armors for sale. There’s cheaper and weaker leather straps as well, so you’ll want to ask questions before considering which one to buy.
The actually individual steel plates themselves are going to be held together by a stretchy leather material that’s strongly glued to the inside of the plates. Of all the roman armor I’ve bought, this is how all of them are fastened. They seem to be very strong and it also allows for plenty of freedom of movement.
Now, if you’re looking for an alternative fastener besides leather for your roman armor, then you’ll want to look into strong steel hooks. I’ve seen a couple different types out there. They are usually a bit more money, but they will be worth the extra dollars if you start seeing your leather strap loricas start breaking. Basically, the steel hooks are connected to the lower torso armor, and holes for the hooks are on the top chest and should armor. Once connected, this provides a very strong and secure hold on the armor and it will not break. This is especially great for display armors because you’ll be hanging it there for quite a while. It provides a little less adjustability because your unable to adjust it like your would with leather straps (which are like a mini belt. One of the best lorica segmentatas I’ve seen is a premium brass lined armor that makes use of these steel hooks. I would recommend asking questions about the differences between leather straps and steel hooks before you make your purchase.
Speaking of fasteners, I wanted to touch base on how roman helmets are fastened together. Most of the helmets you see will not have any sort of leather strap connecter, but there are some out there that have a leather chin strap that you can adjust to pull the cheek guards close and secure the helmet. I would highly recommend this type of helmet if you are looking to use it for reenactments. Otherwise, the normal non-chinstrap helmets are going to work just fine for you.
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