My full current kit

[Frater de Beaumanoir]

Well done. Surely and image to strike fear in Saracen and Pagans alike. 

[Sir Ulrich]

Thanks guys, anyway I thought they were supposed to be mega baggy, I actually sorta like the baggyness they're more comfortable than skinny jeans I normally wear. I just get tired of the diaper jokes my folks say constantly it irritates me. Currently I am working on a surcoat, gonna resize my knights templar one to add to the kit, still want a new helm though the current one I got I think is too big for me.

[Sir Matthew]

I think the kit is looking great. I agree that the helm does need blackened, though. Still, the progress is amazing!

[Thorsteinn]

Dumb Question: What time & place is the kit for?

[Sir Ulrich]

Late 1200s early 1300s. That explains why I went for mainly maille. Still not getting plate till I fill out though or find a nice place that sells it custom fitted in the design I'm looking for. And yes I do gotta blacken my helm I just haven't gotten around to it still think I should use a blacken solution rather than a paint because I still want a metallic look to it.

[Sir William]

Don't worry about the braies commentary...chalk it up to their ignorance.  In that era, everyone wore them like that...skinny jeans would've been cause for humor and japery.  Your kit looks good, the mail especially...I like it.

[Sir James A]

I just get tired of the diaper jokes my folks say constantly it irritates me.

This is part of the reason men at arms carried weapons.

[SirNathanQ]

Sir James has got the right idea. None will say a thing, even with 15th century hosen, simply with the addition of a mere polearm of ones choice   

[Sir Edward]

Yes, I've found it useful to say something like "Be careful what you say to the one holding the weapon."

[Sir William]

Or just tell them you needed the extra space and give them the time to figure it out.  lol

[Sir Ulrich]

Yeah, thankfully you cant really see them in my full kit you just see the legs of the chausses. Just need a new gambeson though and to tailor this maille. It's VERY uncomfortable when it flops around and whatnot which is why I deliberately purchased the smallest size I could get to get rid of too much weight, turns out this smallest size was just not small enough.. Don't want to ruin the maille though in a failed attempt to tailor it plus finding riveted blackened rings to match the rest of it's gonna be a pain.

[Sir James A]

Yeah, thankfully you cant really see them in my full kit you just see the legs of the chausses. Just need a new gambeson though and to tailor this maille. It's VERY uncomfortable when it flops around and whatnot which is why I deliberately purchased the smallest size I could get to get rid of too much weight, turns out this smallest size was just not small enough.. Don't want to ruin the maille though in a failed attempt to tailor it plus finding riveted blackened rings to match the rest of it's gonna be a pain.

Don't stress about the mail too much. It takes extensive, extensive mistakes to ruin it - it's just rings linked together. If you tailor it and it's still too loose, remove some more rings. If it's too tight, cut it and add some rings back in. Unless you're trying to convert the elbows to 45* joins or make some "structural" alteration, chances of ruining it are extremely slim. If it's GDFB riveted mail, their loose rings should match - I have the IceFalcon loose rings and they match the other IceFalcon assembled mail I've purchased.

[Sir Ulrich]

Guess that means I should go buy some icefalcon riveted rings and a riveting tool. Dunno how to get the riveting tool but I know where to find the rings. Dunno if it's a better buy to get the GDFB ones or the icefalcon ones, I'd assume icefalcon because I'd be getting more bang for my buck.

[Sir Edward]

My #1 piece of advice when altering mail is that it's better to remove too little than too much. You can always take out a little more if you need to, but it's hard to add it back in when you're dealing with rivets. I'd take out a little, and lace it together and see how it fits before re-linking anything.

[Sir James A]

Guess that means I should go buy some icefalcon riveted rings and a riveting tool. Dunno how to get the riveting tool but I know where to find the rings. Dunno if it's a better buy to get the GDFB ones or the icefalcon ones, I'd assume icefalcon because I'd be getting more bang for my buck.

IceFalcon has the riveting tool with the rings too. If you call him to order, just tell him what you want and he'll invoice you for it. In my experience, the pliers should match the maker of the rings - my Historic Enterprises pliers don't work with the IceFalcon rings, and the IF pliers don't work well with the HE rings.

Sir Edward's advice is spot on - remove a little, check, retry. It's like the old carpenter saying "measure twice, cut once".