Buying one

You have read about it, seen pictures, replicas, and possibly even genuine pieces of lorica segmentata. You have now decided that you have got to have your own cuirass, but how do you go about achieving it? There are two ways, and the first (and inevitably most expensive) way of doing this is to buy one ready-made.

There are a number of small armouries and craftsmen producing lorica segmentata (and there is even a minor industry devoted to it now), but do your research carefully before you decide to buy. Search the web for comments or reviews by re-enactors (a good place to look is romanarmy.com talk), look carefully at any pictures, talk to people who have bought one, and – if at all possible – inspect one yourself. Remember: caveat emptor.

However, there is another way to get one: make your own.