Chainmail

[j.dirona]

So I figured this is where I should post this but I have recently really wanted to make my own chainmail (Similar to that which was used during the Crusades)

I was wondering if anybody knows what the best way to do this is/ is it worth it to make your own rings or is it more effective to just buy them (if so where is cheapest)?

 

Thanks

[Enderman]

Do you know how many thousands of pieces those hunks of metal are made out of?

[Yummychickenblue]

Ask Ron Swanson I bet he can tell you. 

 

[MuffinTopMike]

I always wanted to do this, but I never had the patience, it takes so long. I used a method were you bend steel wire into rings and then arrange them in a certain pattern. It took me maybe 1 hour to make a small square. I didn't know you could buy rings, I would do that, it would save you a lot of time.

[j.dirona]

Do you know how many thousands of pieces those hunks of metal are made out of?

 

haha yeah I'm looking at around 20,000 rings for me since I plan on using 5/16 ID rings whether I make them or not

 

I always wanted to do this, but I never had the patience, it takes so long. I used a method were you bend steel wire into rings and then arrange them in a certain pattern. It took me maybe 1 hour to make a small square. I didn't know you could buy rings, I would do that, it would save you a lot of time.

 

and yeah thats what I figured since you can (from what I can tell) buy around 1000 mild steel rings for around 10 bucks (inc shipping)

[MuffinTopMike]

and yeah thats what I figured since you can (from what I can tell) buy around 1000 mild steel rings for around 10 bucks (inc shipping)

I wish I knew that when I was making my chainmail. That is pretty cheap and you should be able to make a decent sheet of mail with that many rings. Also you might want two good pairs of pliers for opening and closing the rings. 

[Rising]

If you are going to be wearing this it would be a decent idea to purchase and use riveted maille rings, more expensive but durable. the ones most people buy/make themselves that simply are a circle with a notch bend very easily especially if you use materials such as aluminum.

 

if you want colored rings OR plan to do somthing with scales you can find some decent ones here. Scale maille FTW.

[Syntaxvgm]

Actually, yea look it up. I've done a bit before, and I think my ex made some for some kind of art project. Basically involed winding wire, and chopping it into rings, then making a mesh with them. There are plenty of videos on youtube about it, a lot of people are into reenactments or cosplay or whatever. I think you can also buy metal rings made for cheap jewelry maybe. 

[j.dirona]

If you are going to be wearing this it would be a decent idea to purchase and use riveted maille rings, more expensive but durable. the ones most people buy/make themselves that simply are a circle with a notch bend very easily especially if you use materials such as aluminum.

So the riveted maille? do you know if that is something you would have found during the crusades I'm rather insistent in this case on it being as authentic as I can make it (without being rediculously arduous to make) so it'll definitely be made out of mild steel.

[ObeseWalrus]

 

I know a ccouple of LARPers that has made their own, It's pretty cool.

[Calavera]

I recently saw a video somewhere of a chap wearing full knight armour... makes me want to dress up like that and just go shopping

Those kits are like 2K ea so... guess I'll have to save up some more, perhaps pay less for food and stuff.

[Foxxer]

Really strange that they never degrade over time, like rust. 

[j.dirona]

Really strange that they never degrade over time, like rust. 

Actually unfortunately they do unless you get something like stainless steel, just historically since a set of chainmail was about as much as a house the people wearing them made sure to keep them is really really good condition

[techswede]

If you manage to pull that off without going mad i'd love to see a thread about it with pictures^^

 

My limit is at hammering out a set of plate armor. I've tried making a set of mail armor (Starting with steel wire.) But i never finished it.

[Trik'Stari]

Lol I about went mad making a sling for my rifle out of woven parachute cord, this would just take forever. I'd rather just make some plate armor.

[b45op]

Yup I know a fair bit about it, I've made a coif and about half a halberk before I decided the wire I was using was not strong enough and remaking it with rivets would have required more time and noise than I could do at the time. I still want to go out and buy a couple thousand rings and start something again.

 

Historically it was all riveted (the rings were flattened overlapped and a small rivet drive through then they were heat treated and hardened) This is hard to do, requires a blow torch or furnace, hammers, punches, jigs and all sort of other stuff so what comes next is all butted mail still used historically but normally for field repairs and not whole items.

 

I started it by making my own rings a simple fencing wire, the same used in chainlink fencing (I used an old fence, go figure) wrap this around a dowel wiht the correct diameter for the inside of your rings until you get a dense coil, then start cutting it with a good pair of cutters or if you have it and are comfortable a dremel.

then google chain mail or go to the link below and learn a few of the simple weaves, European 4-1 is by far the easiest and what would have been used during the crusades 6-1 is a bit harder to make uses more rings and looks a lot denser but you need the right size rings and it wasn't

 

Get two pairs of pliers that are very comfortable in your hands if you ahve small hands get small pliers trust me. I found one stubby pair and one bent longnose pair worked best for me but a normal long nose pair is handy for tight spaces.
 

http://www.mailleartisans.org/ has a lot of good info, yes a lot of it is bracelets and so on but don't let that daunt you, they have a lot of armour type weaves as well and to be honest any armour patterns are more or less trial and error.

 

pm me if you want a bit more info or if I garbled any of it.

[Keudn]

Prepare for a LOT of work if you are going to make anything big. Even a coif takes a while. Go to theringlord.com if you don't want to spend additional time making your own rings.

[b45op]

Prepare for a LOT of work if you are going to make anything big. Even a coif takes a while. Go to theringlord.com if you don't want to spend additional time making your own rings.

 

That was the other link I couldn't remember! also yes it takes many many many hours. I was living in Zimbabwe at the time and had not electricity most evenings so this was a good way to keep busy doing something instead of watching tv... again many hours.

 

You will also get some strange looks from family members and friends.

 

 

 

Lol I about went mad making a sling for my rifle out of woven parachute cord, this would just take forever. I'd rather just make some plate armor.

 

Plate might look simple but go look at a few videos on exactly how its made, it takes a lot of skill, tools and material. chainmail is a good gateway drug into that

[Aristocrates]

Saw this thread and thought it would be about those things you receive and have to forward to a bunch of other people else something bad will happen - thumbs up for being something much better

[Rising]

So the riveted maille? do you know if that is something you would have found during the crusades I'm rather insistent in this case on it being as authentic as I can make it (without being rediculously arduous to make) so it'll definitely be made out of mild steel.

Yeah, even the Romans used riveted maille in their Lorica Hamata's. I use aluminum for the fact it doesn't rust, is lighter, and more malleable. sadly this means if i wear anything for a day i have to carefully inspect it afterwords to make sure nothing was damaged as it isn't riveted and it's not iron/steel.

[Charger]

When I was making stuff (mostly smaller things) I would make my own rings out of steel, stainless and copper wire. It isnt that hard to do but depending on how you cut them you can end up with sharp edges on the rings that can cut you.

[j.dirona]

Historically it was all riveted (the rings were flattened overlapped and a small rivet drive through then they were heat treated and hardened) This is hard to do, requires a blow torch or furnace, hammers, punches, jigs and all sort of other stuff so what comes next is all butted mail still used historically but normally for field repairs and not whole items.

 

Okay cool so as far as I can tell both dome rivets and wedge rivets were used do you know much about which is better though? is one more durable than another?

[AlwaysFSX]

I got a roll of wire, snipped a piece and started rolling. PITA and never finished because I ran out of wire but it was cool. Took forever to use it all.

[Blade of Grass]

I came into this thread expecting it to be about chainmail from the early 2000s, and that someone wanted to start their own email chain, but happily it is of the medieval time.

[b45op]

Okay cool so as far as I can tell both dome rivets and wedge rivets were used do you know much about which is better though? is one more durable than another?

 

If I remember correctly they were just used during different periods and for different uses and styles as well as different cultures.

 

I mostly played with wedged rivets as I didn't really want to start modding a pair of pliers. but as far as I can remember (this was all a few years ago) it should all be about the same durability riveted is riveted. where the difference comes in is in looks and in wearability with a flat wedge rivet you may have a sharp point sticking out but then again with a dome rivet you do have the bit of a bump that if its not formed properly can also snag on things especially if you have a gambeson under it that is prone to snagging.

 

An alternative but only for serious strength rings is to weld them closed, this is mostly used in say butchers gloves or freaking shark suits! I have had a bit of success in just soldering butted rings closed but its only good for small projects that don't need too much strength.