Custom Chainmail

[Ian]

A couple months ago I placed an order with Jeff (Jestyr on the AA) at Custom Chainmail.  Anyone who has had to endure tailoring their own maille knows that it's tedious at best, and a nightmare at worst.  If someone out there is willing to do it for me, he deserves my business!  I needed a maille shirt that would be suitable for wear under a late 14th / early 15th century plate harness.  I needed long sleeves, and a mid-thigh length skirt and no split on the hem (which is not a combination usually sold off-the-rack).  Instead of having to by a long sleeved hauberk, trim the skirt, sew up the split in the hem, then taper the sleeves, tailor the body tube etc... I just put off the purchase out of fear of losing my sanity.  Then I saw that Custom Chainmail is offering all of those services straight out the door!

On the standard scale, 5's across the board... 6's if they were allowed!  Price was quoted up front along with a reasonable timeline for production.  The final product was done within the quoted time.  Communication was virtually instantaneous.  If I had a question about measurements or anything for that matter Jeff usually responded within hours if not 20 or 30 minutes of sending him an email.  The product itself is great!  It fit straight out of the box and alleviated my fears of having to cut it apart and sew it back up to fit.   Not a single ring or rivet fell off after unboxing, cleaning it, applying my favorite rust preventative, and wearing it.  The sleeve taper is excellent based on just my measurements and still allows full elbow flexion with no binding.  The taper also doesn't display that awkward stair-step look that some taper jobs end up looking like.

Buy with confidence!

Here you can see the fit, finish and sleeve taper.  No bingo wings here!

[Thorsteinn]

Nice!

[Lord Dane]

Looks good Ian. Tapered is the way to go.

[Sir Patrick]

So jealous!

[Sir Douglas]

Very nice indeed!

[Don Jorge]

Why the longer sleeves? Is that normal for late 14th century? Also would your vambrace/arm harness go under the chain or above?

[Ian]

Why the longer sleeves? Is that normal for late 14th century? Also would your vambrace/arm harness go under the chain or above?

The longer sleeves are a necessity because all English effigies that give you a peak at the elbow gap show the maille completely filling in the interior elbow and extending in to the lower vambrace.  There's no section of arm that's not either covered by maille or both plate and maille.  I hadn't the heart to extend the sleeves on my other shirt that far   I will probably trim the ones I just got to be a little bit higher on the wrist so they don't extend beyond the vambraces.

It will be worn just like this effigy.  English style is fully articulated arm harness worn over the maille.  This is why a relatively close fitted tapered arm is key.  Counter to this would be the Italian style where it's common to have a baggier maille sleeve that is draped over the upper cannon of the rerebrace, which is way easier to pull off with an off-the-rack bingo-wing style maille shirt.

But this purchase wasn't just about the sleeves.  The body is fitted to your measurements as well, and he offers different finishes and rivet styles etc.

[Thorsteinn]

Now you can pull the Wat's Rebellion move of blocking sword blows with your arm and slaying the miscreant right after.

[Lord Dane]

Does any else have the feeling that Sir Ian has a pictoral depiction of a historical effigy on-hand for all occasions & projects. I am thinking so. 

[Sir Patrick]

Put some pants on!

[Sir Edward]

Fantastic!

It's definitely worth saving your sanity on this, for sure. I've been doing the work myself on my mail stuff. If it weren't for the fact that I've already made a hauberk, and thus have spent enough time with it that I don't have to think too hard on it, I probably wouldn't continue with it.

I have a love-hate thing going on with mail. I love that it's something I can do. I hate doing it, because of how mindlessly repetitive it is.

The tailoring on yours looks really good. I'm assuming they tapered the body tube inward around the waist, and left expansion in the skirt and shoulders? Ideally the back should be wider than the front too (sleeves angled forward slightly). It will move a lot more nicely with these features. From the picture, I think they did all of these things and really got it right.

On the sleeve length, I don't think you need to trim it, from the picture. I've found sleeves to "pull back" a bit once plate components are strapped on. Of course, if you've tried it already, I could be completely wrong. I'm looking at your right arm, angled up. The mail needs to be able to accommodate that, and not be pulled forward too far.

[Ian]

Put some pants on!

That Nike logo sticking out from the hem of the skirt is not a tattoo!  I do have shorts on

[Sir Edward]

If "A Knight's Tale" has taught us anything, it's that Nike logos are completely period.

[Sir James A]

Excellent! Does the plate arms fit over it properly and still articulate? 9mm rings? Wedge or pin? Does the watch keep the mail from slipping out of the vambrace?

[Ian]

Excellent! Does the plate arms fit over it properly and still articulate? 9mm rings? Wedge or pin? Does the watch keep the mail from slipping out of the vambrace?

The watch is key to the whole thing.  These sleeves fit closer than the taper job I did myself on my last maille shirt, so I have no reason to believe my arms would function any worse over top this shirt.

Does any else have the feeling that Sir Ian has a pictoral depiction of a historical effigy on-hand for all occasions & projects. I am thinking so. 

Well yes I do... in fact, it's required for most of the things I intend to put on my kit for the organization I do LH with   Everything's got to be documented if it can be.