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Brian's Kit - 99% Complete!

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Sir Brian:
Well I started work on the final piece to my kit...mail gloves.
The ones I purchased off ebay were not what I had hoped for.
They didn't fit that well and it had maille over the entire thing,
including the palms! - Certainly not acceptable.  >:(

So I ordered some maille fabric from the ring lord.
http://www.theringlord.com/
I know it isn't authentic but the rings are small enough to work with
though they certainly are tough! Used some wire cutters at first but took
forever so I switched to some sheetmetal cutters which worked out much
better. Real pain doing all that stiching through leather but worth it
in the end. I screwed up the first few cuts so bad though I ran out of
maille and had to order another piece. I asked a friend to help cut the
maille I did have left while I was wearing the glove..If you ask someone to
help you cut the maille make sure THEY UNDERSTAND where to cut! The
guy almost ruined my last workable piece, I made do with what I had but
the thumb is a little awkward looking.  :-\

So what do you all think?
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd251/Tah908/WIP/BeforeAfter.jpg
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd251/Tah908/WIP/Palm.jpg
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd251/Tah908/WIP/SizeComparison.jpg

EDIT {3/27/08}

--- Quote from: Sir Edward on 2008-03-20, 15:18:42 ---
--- Quote from: Sir Brian on 2008-03-20, 10:55:17 ---Oh did I mention it is hot? – I believe you told me Sir Edward that when the gambeson becomes
saturated with sweat, it actually helps keep you cool. I wonder if I pre-soaked my under shirt if
I’d get the same benefit?

--- End quote ---

Yeah, the period linen garments would do that. I don't know if it works with other materials! :)  I still have to wonder though-- it might be reasonably cool, but squishing around in soaked linen doesn't sound completely comfortable either.

I bought a linen shirt that I'm going to start using with my kit instead of t-shirts and other cotton shirts. I'm curious to see what difference it'll make. Of course, that's one advantage of using aluminum mail too; it dissipates heat better than steel. That's why it's used in a lot of heat sinks.

--- End quote ---
I actually had an opportunity to try this yesterday and a t-shirt soaked in cold water and wrung
out works surprisingly well! I was actually cold. I was only wearing my gambeson and surcoat
but it was definately a difference! I plan on wearing a wet t-shirt under my gambeson for sure
during the warmer days! ;)

Sir Edward:

Hah, now I have an image of knightly wet t-shirt contests stuck in my head. :)  Almost as bad as my "Crusaders on Ice" idea for ice skating.

Good work on the gloves, btw. Those rings are pretty small so my usual tool for clipping them probably would be overkill. I use 8" bolt cutters, which works well with even 14g steel (probably would tire you out quickly with anything thicker). With 14g aluminum I clip two at a time when clipping the rings from the coils.

Man, buying sheets of mail is certainly a huge time saver over making it from scratch!

I'm curious about these:

http://casiberia.com/product_details.asp?id=AB2702

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