Justin Stockbridge displays a medieval bassinet helmet lined with a suspension harness.
By Chrys Ayley
Making armour is like baking a cake or making pastry ? gather the ingredients, smack the pastry out and bang it in a pie dish - just substitute a hammer for the hands. Justin Stockbridge, 23, hated college so he left Newlands College as soon as he could and took up baking as a career. Fast forward eight years and the young entrepreneur is in high demand, within New Zealand and overseas, as an armourer and he recently opened a medieval supplies store in Jackson Street. Give Justin a picture and he?ll make steel swords, pole axes, weaponry, costume armour, fantasy suits and period pieces. Right now he is making a Xena suit in his Newlands based workshop but shortly will be moving to larger premises and will be making some armour at the Petone store. When Justin first became interested in historic re-enactment seven years ago there were no armourers and he had a choice of ordering products from India or Pakistan or making it himself, even though he had no experience. So, he bought a cheap hammer and angle grinder and learned how to make armour the hard way. He has been an armourer, or whitesmith, for five years now because demand for his services increased once people heard he had the skill to faithfully replicate medieval pieces for use in re-enactment events. Initially there was ?heaps and heaps of trial and error,? he says. Justin is booked until early June and has one part-time helper, a store manager plus his partner Sophie helping out with leather work. ?I love it. It?s my passion. It?s what I?m called to do.? Now he owns 98 different hammers, all for different jobs but he?s stopped counting the cost of his tools. During re-enactment events Justin makes armour and is a combat fighter, swords are his thing. His period is the 14th century - just before the second plague hits England in 1432. ?For me it?s about learning a western martial art.? He wanted to learn more about his British family roots and randomly picked the 14th century. ?The re-enactment bit is purely fun.? Justin?s whole life revolves around armour and gets ?angsty? when he is away from his work. Partner Sophie ?puts up with him? but she is obviously a keen supporter and helps out with sewing and they even met at a re-enactment event. Armour is more than the steel, he says, there is padding and undergarments to be made and that?s what Sophie does. Half of his work is researching patterns for the armour using a variety of sources including paintings and books. If his clients are too far away to be measured personally he gets them to send a cast and he?ll make the piece, for example a 15th century gothic harness, to fit. Today there are modern versions of armour based on medieval designs like the kevlar plates in police jackets and motor bike helmets. The only thing that has changed is the materials used, he says. His goal this year is to get ahead of all his orders and make Sophie another suit. The next re-enactment event they will be attending is the Taupo Medieval Tournament at the end of January and Justin will take along a little workshop. There?s nothing he likes better than teaching others how to make armour and his advice to people wanting to get started ? ?just do it?.
