ModernChivalry.org
Main => The Armoury => Topic started by: Aiden of Oreland on 2013-11-07, 01:35:51
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So, I am seeking to buy(in the future) great chainmail. I want long sleeve, at least to my knees, mailli. I researched and believe that flat head rivited mailli is the best. What would you recomend? What have you got? I want mailli that can take "steel to steel" weapon contact. I don't care the price as long as it is less than $2,000.
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I'd check out Icefalcon, as well as the GDFB options on KoA (the mouse-over glossary should be working for those abbreviations).
What you're looking for is a long-sleeve hauberk. The term "haubergeon" means a shorter, half-sleeved mail shirt, whereas "hauberk" is the longer, full-sleeve version.
To know what size you need, you need to start with whatever under-garments you'll use (such as a gambeson or aketon), and get a chest measurement over that. Then add at least 4 inches, preferably 6.
Keep in mind it's easier to resize mail downward than upward. It's also easier to grow into mail that's too big, than to lose a bunch of weight and keep it off as you get older. :)
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I know places where to get some for less than your budget actually. I would suggest wedge riveted flat ring maille with alternating solid rings due to the flat inside of the wedge riveted being softer on the gambesons.
They sell it here at Kult of Athena for good prices http://www.kultofathena.com/armor-mail.asp (http://www.kultofathena.com/armor-mail.asp)
They also sell dome riveted here http://allbeststuff.com/c-medieval-chainmail-armor (http://allbeststuff.com/c-medieval-chainmail-armor)
I'd suggest getting the one with alternating flat punched rings however as it would be more period for the "age of maille" plus less likely to lock up. I had a fully riveted dome riveted hauberk and it locked up in the middle of combat. Both of those options will hold up to fighting though.
If you REALLY wanna get super accurate maille you could wait and contact Erik D Schmid and he would have his made and would be in the thousands, but it would be better than any other maille around only issue is it would be in the thousands and would have quite a waiting time on it.
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Ok cool. But while we are on the subject. How do i clean maille? Mine is a bit rusty.
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I would suggest renting a cement mixer or tumbler and tumble it with some sand and that would polish it up. A dryer could work but I would only suggest that for smaller things like coifs or chausses. I did that with mine and it polished it up nicely and left a cool patina on it. I would avoid chemical solutions but I dont know much of that, I tend to avoid those myself.
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Where could i get a tumbler?
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Be prepared to replace rings if you're doing steel to steel contact. They will bend and break. It's not hard, but it will require a bit of maintenance.
Cement mixer and sand wasn't very satisfactory results for me. Might have been the sand? I let it run for hours. Minimal difference, though that was stainless mail I wanted to polish. If you have mild steel mail, keep it oiled and it will minimize the rusting.
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Be prepared to replace rings if you're doing steel to steel contact. They will bend and break. It's not hard, but it will require a bit of maintenance.
Cement mixer and sand wasn't very satisfactory results for me. Might have been the sand? I let it run for hours. Minimal difference, though that was stainless mail I wanted to polish. If you have mild steel mail, keep it oiled and it will minimize the rusting.
How would you recomend I clean it? Well I guess it depends on the steel and finish. But im looking for a natural finish maille.
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I usually just take the maille, I find a minor patch of rust and I scrap the rings together for about 20 minutes straight and then the rust is gone mostly after that. I suggest wearing thick leather gloves while doing it it works for removing small patches of rust for me. Thats the way the romans used to clean their maille and it works and sure there may be a little rust left but it wont be what it was and it will give it a nice period look.
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One of the rust cleaning methods I saw mentioned (Jeff Hedgcock I think), was to use the wood chips they sell for keeping pet rodents, and throw that in a sack with the mail and roll it around. I think Bill had tried that, wasn't satisfied with it at first, but then noticed that it had loosened up all the rust and it just needed to be shaken or wiped off. I haven't tried it, but then I opted for stainless. :)
For oiling to prevent rust, there are spray-on gun oils that could be used. But of course, any oil will rub off into your aketon/gambeson.
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Don't forget Historic Enterprises for Maille.
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I want to put these guys out there too, I've never handled their maille, but it looks pretty damn good, and I think Sir Gerard knows the proprietor.
http://www.capapie.co.uk (http://www.capapie.co.uk)
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I own a variety of maille from Icefalcon, I have a stainless flat ring pin riveted haubergeon, and a stainless flat ring wedge riveted aventail on my helmet. I LOVE the wedge riveted stuff. It's so much smoother on clothing and skin and doesn't snag on everything.
I chose stainless because I agonize over the idea of cleaning maille, and it's blackened stainless so it still looks the part. If I were doing it all again, I would have purchased my haubergeon in stainless flat-ring wedge riveted (but alas it didn't exist when I bought mine).
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Say I do get stainless, i will probably wear armor over it. Particularly the armor on by-the-sword.com. The full arm armor along with the matching greaves and the gothic gorget. All under arms and armor. And I'd get custom probably 16 for each of them. So how is the maintenance like on stainless maille? To be honest I never have the time to clean my gear.
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Say I do get stainless, i will probably wear armor over it. Particularly the armor on by-the-sword.com. The full arm armor along with the matching greaves and the gothic gorget. All under arms and armor. And I'd get custom probably 16 for each of them. So how is the maintenance like on stainless maille? To be honest I never have the time to clean my gear.
There is no maintenance on stainless. You will want to tailor your maille if you plan to wear armor over it, and even if you didn't it would make it more comfortable. We have people that can help you with that.
Any plate armor requires maintenance however, so don't think you're going to get away with a maintenance free kit.
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Maintenance on mail, stainless or not, will be at least replacing bent/missing rings. Or living with gaps in the mail as the rings come apart.
Stainless, even as plate, still requires maintenance. Leather straps, for instance.
Stainless is certainly less maintenance than mild, but unless you want to go with plastic armor and nylon webbing, there's not really any "maintenance free" armor. Take care of your armor. :)
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Ha you said Chainmail brother.
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Maintenance on mail, stainless or not, will be at least replacing bent/missing rings. Or living with gaps in the mail as the rings come apart.
Stainless, even as plate, still requires maintenance. Leather straps, for instance.
Stainless is certainly less maintenance than mild, but unless you want to go with plastic armor and nylon webbing, there's not really any "maintenance free" armor. Take care of your armor. :)
Hmm... Your right, i need plastic maille 😜
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Ha you said Chainmail brother.
That's one we're stuck with, I'm afraid. When talking to people outside of our own circles, sometimes we still have to say "chainmail" for clarity, and so the habits sometimes stick.
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Ha you said Chainmail brother.
That's one we're stuck with, I'm afraid. When talking to people outside of our own circles, sometimes we still have to say "chainmail" for clarity, and so the habits sometimes stick.
Thanks world of warcraft lol
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I'd say thanks to D&D - which not only created a still-growing interest in medievalesque arms and armor, but for all of the ubiquitous colloquialisms we love to throw around these days; maille must be of chain, all Paladins have a particular glow to their weapons, +5 to whatever attribute as appropriate, etc. lol
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Scale maille anyone?
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I'd say thanks to D&D - which not only created a still-growing interest in medievalesque arms and armor, but for all of the ubiquitous colloquialisms we love to throw around these days; maille must be of chain[...]
Unless it's scale-mail. Or even *shudder* plate-mail. ;)
EDIT: Ninja'd by Nate. lol :o
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Buddy of mine is working on an 8-in-1 flat ring riveted mail shirt. so far it is epic, but since he only has a 12inch X 12 inch piece or so, so far and has been working on it for a while, I'm not sure if it is worth it or not. we haven't tested it extensively, but man is it nice.
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I'm considering getting the large long sleeved maille shirt on kilt of Athena for 150. And some leggings
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150? Is it butted mail? The one I was looking at was like 420 bucks :/
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150 is definitely butted
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Buddy of mine is working on an 8-in-1 flat ring riveted mail shirt. so far it is epic, but since he only has a 12inch X 12 inch piece or so, so far and has been working on it for a while, I'm not sure if it is worth it or not. we haven't tested it extensively, but man is it nice.
That would be interesting to see; I've seen one representation of "king's maille" that looked to be a double weave (like 8-in-2 or some such) but 8-in-1 I should like to see. 8 rings to 1...what sort of ring sizes is he working with? Is he using a combo of washers and riveted or butted?
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Sir William, I've seen the 8 in 2 "king's maille" style. It's essentially 4 in 1 style, but using two rings in every spot instead of one. It seems horribly unfit to me, as a hauberk that is 25 pounds normally would be 50 pounds (since you're doubling rings). Better protection at the cost of weight; and quite the cost of weight, I'd say.
I've seen 6 in 1 styles on samurai mail.
However, 8 in 1 is a new one to me. I'm guessing central ring with + and X from it, but I'm thinking it won't lay right... quite curious now.
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they are all riveted rings, rings are made from 14g mild-steel wire, not sure on the dynamiter as he has a different coiling device than me. I'll send him a message on Facebook and he will get back to me in a few days when he gets back from his hunting trip.
I actually really wanted to shoot the piece he had this weekend with a war bow to see what would happen. the weave is so tight I think it might stop it.
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8-in-1 makes for a horribly tight pattern, much like the 8-in-2 "double" mail. It sacrifices flexibility while weighing a lot more. 6-in-1 is more practical, but I think any of these tighter patterns are only practical with relatively thin wire.
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150? Is it butted mail? The one I was looking at was like 420 bucks :/
150 is definitely butted
It is butted.
its 160 flat butted.
Ill wait to spend the money for something better. like riveted.