I well recall one of our men at Tewkesbury saying that his foe told him that fighting him in his mirror armour was like being attacked by a disco ball.

for reflecting the sun into opponents' eyes, matt would just take his helmet off.

I imagine in movies they always prefer satin armour because they don't need to hire a guy to edit out the camera crew in post. The only time i've seen reflective armour is in The Mandalorian because they had a guy take a reflection map to make the surroundings accurate

Further about the status thing, though maybe less cool: A really shiny armour shouts "Don't kill me! Ransom me!"

Another thing, which might be part and parcel to #1, is that you become a big shining point of reference to your soldiers. Where do we retreat to? Just find Sir Shinybottom. Need help trying to execute this tactic? Just keep the big shiny dude to your left and you're halfway there. Also, having a very visible boss, may help with morale, much like a standard or unit flag. As long as Sir Shinybottom can be seen, we keep pushing.

I knew the 5th one because in kingdom come delivarance the perk knight in shining armour. In sunny weather your plate armor dazzles everybody and also you get a charisma bonus. Very realistic indeed😅

As a metalworker I can confirm that high polish has no effect at all on whether a harder cutting tip will bite in, but can have slightly lower friction with softer materials like wood so I guess it could have some small effect on a glancing club strike. Ripples in the surface though, like dents or a roughly hammered surface, will have some effect depending on the depth. It can absolutely helps with rust though, materials that you would expect to corrode rapidly can become more resistant by polishing to a mirror finish, but in easily corroded steel it must still have some tiny amount of oil for protection in humidity (I think I have heard of oiling being frequent? I'm not familiar though).

One final reason for a mirror polish: It shows off the quality and consistency of the steel. If you have bad steel with inconsistent grain sizes or inclusions, the variation will be immediately visible in a mirror polish. For that matter, so will any inconsistencies in the curvature from like hammer marks and such. So it not only shows off that you're wealthy enough to pay for the labor to polish it up that much, it also shows off just how good a quality the armor really is. (And lets you detect if the smith tried to cheat you...) You won't see that as much on modern reproductions since even the poorest modern steels are of a quality that a mediaeval blacksmith would have killed for, and modern tools make it way easier to get the shape exactly right.

Because the drip would have been immaculate!

The Romans and Byzantines do mention that the sight of men in polished iron was a huge intimidating factor. In most cultures at that time most people couldn't afford armor, and to see a force of Roman soldiers in shining scale, maille, lamellar, or during the classical period Lorica Segmentata advancing where most or all of them have armor would have been terrifying because to any force it communicates "they sent an army of their best, most experienced, wealthiest men" based on their own cultural experiences. It was actually a clever deception because the front ranks of Roman soldiers often were the least experienced men.

fun getting to see your other wall finally because of the reflections of your mirror armor

One of my favorite finishes for plate armor which is almost universally overlooked and very rarely mentioned anywhere is russet finish (or "russeting," which is a brownish-red to reddish-purple coloring) which is a variation on fire bluing. As we know, during the process of heat bluing, the color of the steel actually changes through a spectrum of colors dependant on the temperature it reaches, going from natural finish to begin with, then a weird yellow tinge, then kindof brownish, russet , purple, blue, then eventually dull graphite if you over-do it, as well as all the "in between" shades along the way. By arresting the heating process at very precisely controlled temperatures/times, one can effect a color finish anywhere along that spectrum. "Russeting" was most popular, I think, during the 16th and 17th centuries, when metallurgy and fine control of heat during creation was at its most advanced and precise, as before then it would've been extremely difficult or even impossible to stop the process accurately enough to reliably achieve an even coloring across the whole of a component, let alone an entire harness, especially for the more "transitional" shades that occur before reaching the final dark blue/violet color. But yeah, russeting is almost never talked about anywhere, to the point where it has even been confused in artistic renditions (such as Durer's catalogue of armor) as being a substituted color for something else (even on this channel at one point I think, if im remembering correctly). So yeah, i just wanted to show it some love because its really pretty (especially, in my opinion, when in combination with some tastefully understated detail gilding or silvering) and once it became feasible to reliably achieve it, it was actually a reasonably commonly requested finish, at least among those who could afford such things at the time.

That polish is making me want to get the car wax out and really buff it up

I think about everyone thought of the light reflection haha

You are correct that polishing makes it harder for a blade to make good contact. Machine parts are frequently polished to reduce friction when moving.

Back in high school we did an experiment with steel cans. We placed them the same distance from a light bulb (incandescent) as a heat source. There was a thermometer in each can. The dark colored can had its inside temperature raise quicker than the lighter colored can. After the light bulb was turned off the darker can lost heat faster. Both were still slightly above room temperature when we had to end the experiment for the next class.

Another reason you have overlooked... And this comes back to status and wealth. A person wearing this armour is obviously wealthy. So knowing that, one would wear it knowing that he would be highly visible on the field and would be a highly sought after captive. Knowing that the wearer would be worth his weight in gold as ransom. Minimizing his chance of being killed. If you capture him you get the ransom and the armour, if you kill him you get nothing but damaged armour.

I'd be curious to see a test on the "camouflaging" qualities of different armour finishes. I've noticed on a handful of occasions that shiny mirror polished objects that call attention to themselves in direct sunlight, will sometimes fade away in the shade of trees or bushes. It was my assumption that the object was reflecting it's immediate surroundings (leaves, twigs, rocks...) sort of like sci-fi active camo. It'd be cool to see different armour finishes tested in different environments.

In fact, this fifth reason - reflecting the sun into the opponents' eyes - is the first and main reason that came to my mind - because I heard that this trick was used already in ancient Greece (shields polished like a mirror). But if it was really that effective at blinding an enemy, why wasn't it widely used?

I polished my trigger components in my race pistol because metal on metal is much smoother with a high shine.

I would think mirrored armor is cooler than black armor on a hot and sunny day.

Its not just reflecting the sun it will also help you blend in to your surroundings by reflecting the other soldiers, grass, trees... making you harder to identify or target.

Can't wait for the thermal camera footage!

5 reasons why shiny armor was sought after: #1 Lindybeige is in the thumbnail

I would have thought that a highly reflective mirror like armour would be distracting to the opponent, especially as mirror like surfaces were rare.

So the color in the visible spectrum will matter less than how absorptive the surface finish is in the infrared spectrum, since the latter is where the vast majority of the heat comes in. Some things you might use to darken the surface in the visible spectrum will actually reflect quite a lot in the infrared and might end up cooler than lighter colors. The surface polish of things though does make a pretty big difference. I haven't tested with armor specifically, but back to those scratches and troughs you were talking about in the satin polish, when a photon goes into one of those it can bounce back and forth a few times before it exits, which gives it that many more chances to be absorbed and heat the metal. Kind of like how smooth aluminum foil can be used safely in a microwave to do things like make different parts of your TV dinner all get hot at the same time, despite having different levels of absorption. (The dark patch in the bottom of a bag of microwave popcorn is a piece of aluminum foil to concentrate the heat on the unpopped kernels for another example.) But a crinkled piece of aluminum foil will arc, spark, and maybe burst into flames.

Your comments about high polish and resistance to rust is exactly what I was always taught about firearm metal finishes. The traditional blueing process only provided moderate rust resistance, and it was highly dependent on the polish level. High quality guns were glossy. Unfortunately (to my mind, at least) almost all gun makers now have moved away from that costly polishing, to more advanced chemical finishes that are very tough and allow them to leave the surface rough. They're functional, cost-effective, but to me they're rather ugly.

The temperature question is tricky, because reflective surfaces will absorb less heat, but also radiate less heat. Black things absorb more but radiate more as well. On a sunny day I would expect the black armour to get hotter inside. But on a cloudy day I would expect the opposite. I would be interested in seeing your test results.

Thank you Matt! I was just getting ready to ask your opinion about it when you gave the last point answering my question. I greatly appreciate you sharing your knowledge with us Sir. Your content is amazing. Fun, entertaining, informative, helpful, and I’m sure plenty more than I can quickly list. Thanks again Matt. Best wishes to you and your family. ✌️

The ad is still playing so I'm going to venture a guess: Is it because a shiny armour symbolises status, as in "Ha ha! I'm so filthy rich I can afford to have a gang of retainers always buffing and polishing my armour, getting dented pieces replaced, etc!"

glad you mention in the end my first thought about reflecting light . good thing i watched the whole video .

Another glorious video by Matte Easton.

I know that visor!! Going by that the rest of the harness will be glorious, can’t wait to see it!

Reflecting the sun was actually the very first thing I thought of from the title alone.

I must admit near the beginning I thought of blinding thing as a joke and then you actually said it lol

Another great discussion. Thank you.

are these the same reasons why you shave your head?

Bro these topics. So specific. So interesting.

That it could reflect the sun into the enemy's eyes was literally the first thing that popped into my mind LOL

Your fifth suggestion was my first thought! Makes a lotta sense

this was awesome. Well spoken

Thanks for the video 👍🏻

Greatly appreciated your statement regarding that whether or not mirror polish armor actually deflects better, it was *perceived* to. That's in the same spirit of the comment by Barbara W. Tuchman in "A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century", page 42 second paragraph, "...what people believe about their own time becomes a factor in its history." As usual, context is key...even in (maybe especially in) armor preference!

One thing I don't think anyone's really talked about when it comes to how to mitigate the hot or cold when wearing plated armour is the Jupon, the outer garment worn over your breastplate that shows up in a lot of accounts and iconography but never really turns up in re-enactments. Tod touched on it when he was introducing the brigandine, he said that the fabric was stopping the arrow from shattering and maybe causing more harm and would keep you warm in the winter but he didn't go into it 🤔 I'd love to find out more if you're getting one with your latest suit Matt, when and why they were used and why they're apparently not so common anymore? 🙂

for just a tiny moment I thought you'd say that under a microscope with perfectly mirrored polish you'd see an eyeball.

I was thinking about an old movie where they polished shields to reflect the sunlight to their enemies and one minute later you talked about the advsntage of blinding your opponents. That was awesome ^^

These are all valid points Matt ! 👍👍👍

Neat, a reason I mentioned upon the blackened armour video :D

I’ve fought in armor throughout the night, and it gets hot due to your body heat. So keep that in mind when doing testing in the sunlight. Thank you for a great video sir.

The reflectiveness of the armor shining in opponents' eyes was the first thing I thought of as a reason to make it shiny.

wow that is VERY shiny indeed 1:03

woooow that's a fancy Sir Easton in shiny armor right there! daaaaam!

I guessed the 5th reason from beginning cause I literally own a piece of mirror armour😊 It is a self-made Chinese 护心镜 which means heart-protecting mirror. They usually are in bowl/boss shape, but I could only find a flat bronze disk, So I just mirror polished it then wrapped it's edge with leather. Oh man it was so interesting when I'm standing in a line and can see which foe's face is receiving the sun light I am reflecting onto😂 Irritating everyone on the other side makes the lining up and waiting session not boring any more😊

Blinding reflections was actually the first thing I thought about.

My experience is that bare metal left out in bright sunlight during the summer will scorch you when you grab it but painted metal is safe to touch

In famous Zwinger collection in Dresden, there is an armour for foot tournament, made of silver.

When your armour is done can we please get a video about it like the one you made about your old armour

Regarding rust prevention, a smoother surface will resist corrosion more(aside from the lower surface area) because there is less electrical differential across the surface. Ions of metal are less likely to move and react with oxygen if they are firmly in the crystal lattice. Peaks and valleys have an electrical differential between them that causes ions to move from one to the other in the presence of a conductive medium, like water, while also increasing the chance of it oxidizing

My first thought was reflecting light, but I thought that seemed too out there. Haha

Testing the heat reflection seems like an interesting video! It would be important to make a clear distinction between heat and temperature. Just measuring the temperature of the metal under direct (sun)light does not say anything - it is the heat flux that passes through that we are after. So I imagine a setup where you position a known amount of water behind the armor and measure the time it takes for the water to heat up by a number of degrees. That way you can precisely determine the amount of heat energy deposited in the water over time.

he kinda looks like the gnome from bg3 that you have to rescue constantly

Shiny armors = modern day shiny cars

Barely feels like a double entendre to hear Matt talking about shiny helmets on the channel these days... :D

Reflecting the sun was the only one I guessed.

That's like...Excalibur levels of shine.. BLING your blind, now you're dead.... properly! Good video, could you possibly make a video of painted and lacquered armors or have you already made one?

Fighting under the sun against mirror armour must have been very difficult, too.

I saw Lindeybeige in the thumbnail and I had to click

Could you do a video showing a side by side comparison of all the main finish types? I always thought the satin finish was what mirrored was referring to so seeing them all shown and compared to one another with a general explanation would be really good.

Only weird part: My plate keeps me boiling hot in summer and in the winter. There’s nothing that cools.

For the last point, couldn't mirror-polished armor just as well reflect the sun towards your allies behind you if the sun was at your back?

Hilariously shining in the eyes of enemies was my first thought

I know about the sun thing because I've watched the OG Lone Wolf and Cub movies, and read the manga for that matter.

I'd imagine on a sunny day, it would be a lot harder for an archer to aim at a shiny knight than a black armored knight.

Is that a Flemish style armor you are producing? I remember you and Toby Capwell discussing Flemish armor in a Richard III video, and you seemed quite intrigued by it.

This is an off question, but could chain mail be particularly shiny, almost mirror finished? Or blackened? Or would the gradual rubbing of the links against each other degreade away either of those? Thank you

Reflecting the sun into the opponents eyes was the only advantage I could think of off the top of my head. Don't know how practical it would have been as a tactic, but with so much metal flailing around, they must have figured it'd probably happen naturally at least a few times.

It is not just the surface being smoother on polished armor that helps it resist rusting. Traditionally, the metal would have been burnished before polishing it with fine stones or charcoal. Burnishing helps to close off the micro pours in the metal, preventing anything from getting into them and starting the rusting process.

Adding to the last point: In the heat of battle, reflective armor also blurs out your contours. Thus your shape is harder to focus on, and movement (strikes) on your part is harder to keep track of. While in a 1:1 battle, this effect might be rather minute, but as soon as there are more moving objects on the field, this could turn out to be really confusing. And #6, food for thought: "Stealth". Yes, I actually said it: Stealth. While in normal light, this might pose a disadvantage, but being in obscured environment, the 'I reflect everything around me' might come in handy. In shrubs you're more "shrubbish", while in the dark you are darker, basically matching your environment better than with a set/fixed color. One would have to try to actually find out which scenes - if any - turn out favourable.

Lol #5 was literally the first idea I had. Thought it was too silly to be true

" If I won the lottery I wouldn't tell anyone, there will be signs"

What stuff did they use to get a mirror polish. As you say there are drawings of watermill powered polishing wheels. But what was on the wheels?

nosforatu called, he wants his ears back.

Your last point was my first thought. A visor not only defends the eyes from assault but also from the sun. Helmets have visors for a reason. Second, though not necessarily HEMA, Japanese swords were mirror polished to increase cutting abilities. Smoother surface equals less resistance. So as Matt said mirror polished armour, greater deflection

How about high polish makes it easier for retainers to keep you in sight for support and tactics.

Think about how cops shine their lights into the eyes of suspects. Shiny armor would be a huge advantage.

I heard the reflection part about bronze armor/shields where it resembled the sun.

No 5 was my first thought lol I didn't even consider rust.

I've been driving down the road with the sun blinding tf outta me, from the deflation off the car in front of me. Can confirm, sunlight off of polished metal sucks lol

I always wondered...does continuous polishing weaken the protection of the armor overtime ?

Hi, I was wondering if you could discuss any theories as to why the British Red Coats wore the color red?

Is it harder to accurately perceive the placement of your opponents limbs and orientation of the torso if your opponent is wearing shiny armor?

The sun reflecting in the enemy's eyes Is actually the very First reason I thought

I thought they mirror polished in case some cheeky timetraveler shows up again with a laser pistol

In the movie "The Unidentified Fly Oddball1979 aka the Spaceman in King Arthur's court" they use mirror polished armor to reflect a laser beam. Silly i know.

Reflections. Years back, I was flying model rockets at a sanctioned event. One fellow covered his rocket in metallic tape; perfect mirror surface all over the rocket's body, nose-cone and fins. We spent hours looking for that thing in knee-high grass...the 'finder' had stepped on it by accident! The mirrored surface faithfully reflected the image of the grass surrounding it, making a sort of 'optical Ghillie suit'. Would mirror-bright armor do the same in dense foliage?

Working on a lvl 3 ballistic shield (under 7 lbs) and trying to figure out how to heat mold mirror-backed plexi glass onto the front and keep the mirror shine. That way, someone shines a weapon light on it they blind themselves; and a mirror finish messes up a sight picture. ;)

can you do a tutorial on polishing armour?

"Don't kill the shiny one, he looks rich enough to pay a ransome."

In SCA group combat people with highly polished helms are definitely hard to look at in under a bright sun

I didn't think of the Sun specifically, but I would add that even without reflecting the Sun, mirror-polished armour (just like any mirror-polished object) is confusing to look at. Just looking at the helmet you're showing at various points, it's much harder to get a grasp on its shape and exact position of various elements than with the satin-finished helmet. While it wouldn't prevent someone from figuring out where you are, it might delay them or put off their aim by just that bit extra needed for you to get in the first blow - or get out of there alive rather than dead.