Thread: Chainmail

Chainmail is actually hard to make.
Im posting this because i read another thread that showed Normans attacking Saxons on the English coast.
Real rivited chainmail takes effort.

This is what it looks like...





Making rivited chainmail is no easy task.
The Vikings wore it.
The Saxons wore it.
The Normans wore it.
The Angles wore it.
The Romans wore it.(a little different)
What could possibally go wrong.
I wear it so I dont get stabbed when I go to Walmart.
I made it myself.

Looks more time consuming than hard? :-}

Yep. It does take alot of time.

I helped make riveted 4-in-1 mail during my Society for Creative Anachronism days. We did it in assembly line fashion, breaking the process down into its individual steps. That was surprisingly efficient, but it was still extremely time consuming. Here's how the end product appeared:

Be sure to stay away from deep water.

The majority of old armor I ever studied were made of flattend links similar to Hai's This provided a much greater surface area. Good against slashing attacks, even the evil red imp of the local castle would not be of much use. However a good Spear would still punch through, as would a double arrow (now if I only had photos to add to make this post funny)

Originally Posted by Magpie

The majority of old armor I ever studied were made of flattend links similar to Hai's This provided a much greater surface area. Good against slashing attacks, even the evil red imp of the local castle would not be of much use. However a good Spear would still punch through, as would a double arrow (now if I only had photos to add to make this post funny)

IIRC the warriors wore 2 or 3 inches of felt under the chain mail. This supposedly protected them from the points that got through the mail.

Is this correct?

DAve

Originally Posted by rolodave

IIRC the warriors wore 2 or 3 inches of felt under the chain mail. This supposedly protected them from the points that got through the mail.

Is this correct?

DAve

I'd guess it would protect against blunt force trauma. The mail would stop any cutting or piercing, but being flexible, you would still be subject to a crushing blow in some cases.

Originally Posted by rolodave

IIRC the warriors wore 2 or 3 inches of felt under the chain mail. This supposedly protected them from the points that got through the mail.

Is this correct?

DAve

I don't know about 2 or 3 inches (that's a lot of bulk and insulation), but quilted "doublets" or "arming coats" worn under mail offered some protection against blunt force injuries.

I believe any dense, quilted fabric or leather worn under the mail disperses the force of the impact. My son and I tested it on me lol. He said it felt like hitting a matress. I can tell you, some padding is a must. And this stuff will pull your hair out. Probabably why the Norman knights shaved their heads lol. And it is heavy. I coiled and cut each link. I made and used wedge rivits and peened each link. I used a 2 lb pound hammer to flatten each link after anealing the iron with a blowtorch. I had a little system going for sure. A 3 inch square segment takes 49 rings. A completed 3 square inch segment takes 2 hours. I've timed it. Several different ways. Some very interesting armor was made by the Japanese if anyone cares to read about it. They made solid, flexible steel plates overlapped and laced together. I highly recommend looking that up.