Comments on: Make a suit of chain-mail armor

By: Mythical Films

Mythical Films — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 18:57:57 +0000

Great, now I can make mail armor for my Zelda movie!

By: lololollololololoo

lololollololololoo — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:31:55 +0000

nice

By: fishingxprt

fishingxprt — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 03:05:45 +0000

about 5 days

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 19:33:53 +0000

aluminum is an element, not an alloy.

By: DarthJman

DarthJman — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 01:12:18 +0000

for my school’s rennaisance day i mad chain mail armor, but quite differently. for the year before I collected as many pop can tabs as i could, and then wove those together with copper wire. I only got the front and i still have a full shoebox of tabs!

By: coolman360

coolman360 — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 19:05:49 +0000

why not just use steel wire?

By: Delta

Delta — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 03:18:33 +0000

what else can we use to make the armor

By: Delta

Delta — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 03:14:21 +0000

how do u make a helmet with it?

By: Charliehorse

Charliehorse — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 23:33:32 +0000

Spiral binding wire is not of a sufficient gauge to work for a project like this. Due to the gauge:diameter ratio, any maille made from this would pull its-self apart from its own weight.

By: Charliehorse

Charliehorse — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 23:30:47 +0000

I have been making chainemaille for about 12 years now. The strength of it lies in the structure. If you just make the links smaller copper will resist strikes just as well as steel or iron of a larger diameter.

By: Charliehorse

Charliehorse — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 23:27:56 +0000

I make a “rope” of links, that alternates, 2-1-2-1-2-1 until I have the length I need. Then I start weaving my “cloth” from that.

By: Charliehorse

Charliehorse — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 23:23:48 +0000

The strength in maille comes from the shape of the link. While copper is softer than steel or iron, when shaped into a link, less than 1/2 inch in diameter, it is quite strong and will hold up to a blow just as well as steel or iron.

By: Charliehorse

Charliehorse — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 23:21:18 +0000

Maille is self polishing. If you paint it, it will wear the paint off in virtually minutes.

By: Charliehorse

Charliehorse — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 22:57:05 +0000

I have been making maille for years and have used different processes for making rings. I can tell you that leaving a power drill running for this is a bad idea. You have to guide the wire into position, so you need to be able to stop turning immediately, otherwise the wire will wind backwards over your coil.

By: ArmorMaster

ArmorMaster — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 04:47:14 +0000

i use steel wire cable (its about a quarter inch thick) its flexible and easy to use its cheaper than copper and i think its stronger

By: marine man

marine man — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 16:59:10 +0000

this is a good try but you can’t use 3/4″ dowel!What you need is pencil thick wood!The 3/4 chain mail looks like hot garbage.

By: lego8129034

lego8129034 — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 15:51:10 +0000

so
cool

By: Eman

Eman — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 00:53:21 +0000

Instead on using the contraption out of wood to make the coils, you can just drill a screw into the end of the wooden pole with an electric screwdriver and leave the screwdriver running to make the pole spin with the wire coiling around it.

By: Repulican

Repulican — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 01:31:01 +0000

Belive it or not the chinese bought a whole boatload of copper so much that copper prices have been skyrocketing a doller every year.

By: Haggis

Haggis — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 06:46:47 +0000

Using tin snips on your wire will yield many rings just fine without stretching the coil to produce uneven rings. If you have a few extra $$ laying around, pick up a pair of hand bolt cutters that work on up to 10ga just fine.

By: Haggis

Haggis — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 06:43:37 +0000

Aluminum is one of the most expensive alloys on the market today. While it is much lighter, you’ll pay more per oz for that luxury. It’s also much less giving to those who aren’t strong enough to work with the cheaper materials to begin with.

There are many ways to make armor so don’t knock one method just because you feel it is wrong. It’s like saying there is a right and wrong way to make a paper airplane.

By: Haggis

Haggis — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 06:39:54 +0000

By the time your done with the first one, you wont want to do it again because of the amount of time involved for each person. To teach your scout troop, I highly recommend something small like bracers (a common chainmalle item) that wont get real heavy and can be produced in a single afternoon.

By: Haggis

Haggis — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 06:33:18 +0000

My tunic took about 2 months of free time to produce from making rings to assembling them. The best armor would have each ring welded or riveted together making it take longer but butted rings (Just closing them) should be sufficient for your project.

By: Haggis

Haggis — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 06:31:19 +0000

Copper is fairly expensive as is raw iron that is historically correct. A fairly accurate and cheap version, if 14ga is indeed what you want, would be galvanized steel. It’s heavier but will give you a much better feel for how difficult it was to produce and how strong someone had to be to don this armor effectively. You can get galvanized steal wire at your local hardware store for around $14 a spool of 10-25ft or $32 for 100 Ft.

By: Haggis

Haggis — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 06:27:58 +0000

In the dark ages that you are referring to, a blacksmith himself wouldn’t actually touch chainmalle himself as he would have a dozen or so apprentices learning the craft under his watch. With that many hands, a “suit” of chainmalle would take approximately a day. Now a suit of chainmalle was very uncommon as most armor was either plate or leather and chainmalle was reserved as a coif, hauberk, or full tunic that ended around the knees. That said, you’d be looking at 2-3 pieces for a suit of chainmalle.

By: coolman555

coolman555 — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 22:46:06 +0000

I think it took an experienced armor maker about 1 month ,but if you try to build one nonstop that includes not sleeping ,eating or anything then you could build one in a day or 2.

By: me

me — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 10:04:48 +0000

how long did it take in the middle ages to make a suit out of chainmail?? please help me, its for school

By: jamesengle

jamesengle — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 19:31:29 +0000

actually Jewelers wire is fairly inexpensive in large coils and easy to come by

By: tenderfoot

tenderfoot — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 18:49:12 +0000

Isn’t copper expensive? But it does work very well, and besides, are you planning to make a sword and a helmet to go with it? I mean it’s not like you are planning to go use it in a real sword fight. but if you do actually use steel or something, us copper to make like a cross or something in the middle of the chest, it looks cool because the copper is a different color.

By: DuckTapeManiac

DuckTapeManiac — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 06:22:11 +0000

I am so making some armor.:)This is so cool.

By: wildfox99

wildfox99 — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 01:19:29 +0000

it good but i like to have a full set of armor not just chain mail

By: glue

glue — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 15:57:43 +0000

cool

By: jellymanb

jellymanb — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 01:42:47 +0000

how long does it take?

By: Eagle555

Eagle555 — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 16:40:07 +0000

Good idea, tony b. I want to try this. I am really into knights. I am even writing a book about knights.

By: duct tape master

duct tape master — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 03:22:22 +0000

hey coyote guy you can make battle gloves helmets n swords n stuff just not the way you think

By: The Real Potato!?

The Real Potato!? — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 03:23:13 +0000

As pickle said its meant to go cross ways but if you want to be practically invulnerable go length ways with 14ga fencing wire (please keep in mind this will greatly increase the weight of the suit but easily compensated with a belt to take some of the weight off of the shoulders. For best results using this method use an 8mm or 9mm rod to manufacture your links, using a rod this size means the space between links is relatively tight but still flexible. Hope this helps =)

By: Coyote Guy

Coyote Guy — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 17:57:21 +0000

Hope so!

By: Coyote Guy

Coyote Guy — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 17:54:38 +0000

Whoever came up with this is a genius!

By: Coyote Guy

Coyote Guy — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 17:53:59 +0000

I wonder if you can make battle gloves and helmets…

By: Coyote Guy

Coyote Guy — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 17:52:44 +0000

I really want to try this: but more than once with a different material each time. Then I’ll show my scout troop how!

By: ecodude74

ecodude74 — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 21:51:15 +0000

sweet i can use my paws scrap metal for something

By: tony b

tony b — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 18:02:45 +0000

And another thing I forgot to mention, aluminum is cheaper, lighter, and looks like steal. I think Ill do this with aluminum with a bit of coper for decoration. Hope this helps!

By: cal

cal — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 16:27:20 +0000

Cool! I might try making some.

By: the dude

the dude — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 17:16:34 +0000

this stuff is really cool it’l be awsome to sword with me brother but true it does take awile

By: jjjk

jjjk — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 23:35:48 +0000

If you get in a fight It sure would be useful

By: The Man with the Banjo

The Man with the Banjo — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 23:07:31 +0000

you could also make chains for other things.

By: pickle

pickle — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 05:10:35 +0000

armor is sup[posed 2 go crossways not lengthwise and if u reelly want to use it and hav it not weigh 20 pounds then make it out of 16 guage aluminum

By: Bullfrog

Bullfrog — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 07:29:25 +0000

I use 14ga. electric fence wire. I like it because it is a mild form of stainless steel light but strong does not rust and can be polished like silver jewlery if you don’t like dull gray.I also use a 3/8″ steel rod for the winder by puting 2 bends in it to make a crank handel. TIP:put the coil on a flat surface and roll a sharpie marker down the side of the coil and it will leave a small dash so you cut even rings.do this before you stretch the coil. Hope this helps some of you to do this project.

By: tony b

tony b — Mon, 31 May 2010 20:57:26 +0000

Looks cool, I might like to try it when I have time. Oh and for those who are reading this if you don’t think coper is strong then spray pant it silver so it looks like steel or just deal with it, its only for fun any way.

By: Renissance_Dude.

Renissance_Dude. — Thu, 20 May 2010 15:50:10 +0000

Hey there! Me and my 16 y/o sister LOVE renissance clothing and weapons. my sister has made a small amount of chain-mail. we both have swords and we both have bows and arows( mine is compound and hers is Recurve) she has made a hunting horn and an era dress. also she makes a ton of wire crowns ( not the more “heavy duty-ish” crowns but more of the “delicate and princess-ish” crowns. this contraption might help us with the chain-mail. also we have a silver (its tarnished badly) scimitar (she is making a new (hand sewn)sheath for it has a “sun” and ivy plants on it (kind of funny ‘cuz her name is Ivy).

By: Norrec

Norrec — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 00:58:45 +0000

I frogot also that it is easier to shape and actually, chianmail of any material can protect you limitedly –if it is riveted that is.

By: Norrec

Norrec — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 00:56:44 +0000

Copper is a cheap (ish) alternate to the tradional riveted steel used in the era.

By: CaptainEnigma

CaptainEnigma — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 21:57:13 +0000

copper? really? copper is weak. you need something of iron at least. steel would be better but never go with copper.

By: paki

paki — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 12:04:59 +0000

so good!

By: mason

mason — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 15:54:03 +0000

i have not tried it yet but I will

By: Alexker1

Alexker1 — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:17:06 +0000

Copper won’t protect you from anything at ALL!

By: me

me — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 20:53:30 +0000

good

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 04:05:30 +0000

Yo, macdaddy: I’ve made chainmail, and it takes a fair while to do, but once you’ve got the groove, it’s very addictive. You just want to keep on going.

By: mattchu

mattchu — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 00:39:28 +0000

cool thx!!!!!!

By: bobbyjoefrie

bobbyjoefrie — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 23:35:53 +0000

sweet when i save enough money ill try this…

By: macdaddy

macdaddy — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:35:53 +0000

i think i’m gonna do this with some thing stronger then copper like steel wire

By: macdaddy

macdaddy — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:20:58 +0000

i want to try that

By: bigfoot

bigfoot — Sun, 17 May 2009 18:50:25 +0000

it takes for ever!!!!!!!!!!

By: rock

rock — Sat, 16 May 2009 20:22:27 +0000

wonder how heavy its is

By: Scout for Life

Scout for Life — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 22:08:49 +0000

Okay people the worst a heavy attack from a sword against mail can do is a cracked bone. The mail distributes the force throughout the rings making it the best form of armor of the time. And noone said anything about wearing it into battle. It is a workshop project for fun not to wear in reinactments. (sorry if misspelled)

By: the man

the man — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 16:27:43 +0000

IM curintly making a 8 in 1 patern it is sorta hevy and it takes a long time to make 7 hours for a 1ft by 1ft square

By: spyscout123

spyscout123 — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 15:56:21 +0000

cool me and my brother will love doing it

By: Nate

Nate — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 00:38:51 +0000

Chain maille is only effective against slicing. If there is any real “oumph” behind a blow, it will either make a really nice bruise, or break a limb.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 19:18:01 +0000

you should show a picture of the finished ork so ppl can scroll down and see if it is realy worthwhile to make it or not

By: Hanze

Hanze — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 09:09:59 +0000

how long approx does it take to make?
Yes i am a girl but i like this kind of stuff
i really need to make some.

By: Silveroto

Silveroto — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 09:38:37 +0000

I’m going to use this for Halloween. It will make a good costume for next year.

By: knight1686

knight1686 — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 22:48:19 +0000

Me and my dad make it and we found different patterns.
We also found that you can use a dowel and drill to make the rings.

By: BLACK ARROW

BLACK ARROW — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 17:27:39 +0000

Hey forget all the nit picking and give some credit. I too use stainless steel and do go onto the battle field – re-enacting and fighting for Richard 111 as an archer. Even with blunts they pack a punch and under the armour we wear padded Jacks. This web site is great for anyone wanting to learn basics if you want to get authentic then join a club and follow the safety rules. What copper does is ‘look’ fabulous and with the addition of black and silver coloured rings your crest can also be woven into your maille shirt. Plastic is often used in films cheaper lighter LoR

By: seventom

seventom — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 18:48:23 +0000

im am going to try it for holllowen.

By: Legend black smith

Legend black smith — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 07:18:31 +0000

This is a good way of starting to make armor it takes long but its a lot of fun. Its basicly all the high tec things all in a short few sentences. IT ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!

By: the man

the man — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 23:22:36 +0000

hey, nice website, but instead of copper, i use galvanized steel wire. and instead of making “fivers” i link them together one by one. even still, its good to see people reintroduceing an art long ingnored.

By: major chaos

major chaos — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 01:27:03 +0000

i think the rings in the picture are to big and a knife blade can probaly fit into it, so that kid in the picture might be a goner if he has a sword fight.

By: A Real Mailler

A Real Mailler — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:00:35 +0000

I am not trying to cause offense, but you absolutely, positively, can not use plastic. It will not hold and will be worse than gold even. You would not even be able to put one “fiver” together. I also warn you that copper and rings that big will NOT protect you from bodily harm. Thank you.

By: maille artist dude

maille artist dude — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 15:24:53 +0000

ok…… good design, needs to be made out of steel. that is a european 4 in 1 weave. just for your reference. Do a little at a time to avoid getting bored

By: Jehova

Jehova — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 06:07:01 +0000

Weak article. This method will produce something that looks like armour but I pity whoever decides to try and use a real weapon against this. Copper in any gauge wouldn’t stand up to a sword blow even if it were riveted. I respect that we’re trying to teach these scouts a fun hobby but the author could have at least included a disclaimer to inform anyone that attempts this as per the directions posted that it WILL NOT actually protect against bodily harm.

By: an actual mailler...

an actual mailler... — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 01:51:16 +0000

yeah, you guys should just get a drill and throw the dowel rod in that, get some vice grips, attach the wire to the dowel with them, then get a glove and guide the wire onto the dowel. faster and easier. also, i can not believe the article says to use your fingers to weave the mail! use pliers!!! otherwise your fingers WILL be hurting.

By: skedros

skedros — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 17:16:05 +0000

I make shirts, 20 so far, and you need to use pliers when weaving the rings together. If you can weave the rings together with just your fingers, then the metal will not withstand any kind of physical abuse. I.E. It’s not combat ready, it’ll just be costume grade. If you want to make a combat-ready shirt, it must be made from steel, not copper.

By: shannon

shannon — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 01:51:54 +0000

lol, uh, i was hoping youd show how to attach sleeves. oh well ^.^ oh, by the way, its a heck of a lot smarter to use galvanized steel, 16 gauge, since thats normal for sca and stuff, and its MUCH cheaper than copper…. lol, anywho, im sure someone else should have pointed that out but if not, that info is out there now for all ya’ll

By: blackskull

blackskull — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 19:06:14 +0000

really good design. i’m going to try it, though i am going to use a lathe to coil my wire. = )>

By: blast from the past

blast from the past — Fri, 23 May 2008 20:49:47 +0000

I’m definatly making some! It’s gunna look awesome.

By: Opitmus Prime

Opitmus Prime — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 20:38:34 +0000

defenatly going to try it, i have a real sword!

By: zap man

zap man — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 00:58:29 +0000

I am going to try it

By: arthurnor

arthurnor — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 21:17:36 +0000

I have currently finished a coif or hood of mail for western art history in junior college.

A definite challenge.

By: bob bo bill

bob bo bill — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 20:38:38 +0000

k my friend made a chain mail like that but out of iron and took him 3 yrs. it has 6 in one ring and is thick but can be ilusive in it. it is 10 pounds thow!

By: jerry

jerry — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 18:54:15 +0000

use a longer dowel to make more rings. get a frend cut the rings and another to combind the rings.

By: sword master

sword master — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 07:19:02 +0000

I think the smaller the rings and a tighter fit will proove thee in good stead.

By: random guy

random guy — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 18:04:17 +0000

how much does copper wire cost???

By: yuru

yuru — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 14:37:24 +0000

You can use a drill instead of the box, it saves a lot of time!

By: Lady Allison

Lady Allison — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 20:21:08 +0000

If u make it out of copper you could use limon juice to keep it shiny or put clear paint over it once a month. clear paint would work cuz it keeps the weather off of it. I shall make a pretty chain mail skirt first then a matching vest! I shall look like quite the fighter. =}

By: CanadianScouter

CanadianScouter — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 17:41:44 +0000

A less expensive and time-saving way to do this is to use spiral-binding (the sort used to bind paper into books) which you can buy at any place which does binding (Staples, etc.). It is plastic, and so cheaper, and pre-wound, which saves time. You can even get it in different colours (or stick to silver-grey) The joining of the rings still takes a long time, though!

By: dkmagician

dkmagician — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 02:41:06 +0000

i think tis a great idea but you shuld use steal or aluminom not copper. copper dosn’t look very good

By: malekithe

malekithe — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 20:55:23 +0000

sir reid, look on the internet for copperwire and a helm is a helmet (something to protect your head)

By: malekithe

malekithe — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 20:54:09 +0000

i’m gonna straighten and ring paperclips, its a school holday now so why not!

By: Sir Reid

Sir Reid — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 19:54:07 +0000

were do i get copper wire???whats a helm???

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 03:15:21 +0000

try making the pattern go crassways and not up and down.if it is going up and down,the rings spread out,if it goes crossways then the rings will overlap eachother.