Finally received my riveting tool

[Sir James A]

When I had the canopy bed, I put my quarter staff through the arms of the hauberk / haubergeon and let it hang from the top of the canopy to work from; as you do, so I can sit and watch TV at the same time. If it works, it works!

[Sir Brian]

I hang mine from a pole like that when I want to apply a liberal coat of gun oil on it which is what I'll do after I'm finished and ready to put it back in the sack. 

[Sir Edward]

Yeah, I just spread mine out on a folding table in front of the TV. I used a 4-foot table from Office Depot.

I find that after hunching over it for any length of time, I tend to walk away with back-pain in the lower back. I hate that. I think it's worse than any beating my hands take from the pliers. Oh how we suffer for our art, no?

So you're working on sleeves right now?

[Sir Brian]

I finished one and I have all but 4" of the other one left to do. Working with riveted maille is a bit more tedious but still not that bad. 

[Sir Edward]

Excellent. Yeah, it's only slightly worse. Mostly it's just a lot more time consuming.

[Sir William]

I can't wait to see the finished product.  If it looks as good as I think it will, that might be the impetus I need to get going on mine.

[Sir Brian]

I can't wait to see the finished product.  If it looks as good as I think it will, that might be the impetus I need to get going on mine.

Well it really isn't going to appear all that much different from when I had the sleeves tailored with the butted rings. 
In reality, the riveted rings just make the alterations more permanent and the seams pretty much undetectable.

SO, no more excuses you and get busy on yours! 

[Sir James A]

I can't wait to see the finished product.  If it looks as good as I think it will, that might be the impetus I need to get going on mine.

SO, no more excuses you and get busy on yours! 

Hear hear!

[Sir William]

LOL

Need the hauberk first.  I decided my 'brightmail' needs to be retired, which is a shame since I only just recently found the matching coif for it.  Ah well.

[Sir Ulrich]

I'd suggest the GDFB wedge riveted maille with solid rings if you wanna replace it. Only get dome riveted maille if you plan on either replacing your gambeson or are making it out of canvas or hemp canvas. Wedge riveted is closer in profile to historical dome riveted, plus with the rivet bump on the outside it will still look rather accurate. Unless you wanna get stainless then I would suggest the darkened stuff by icefalcon, I actually prefer regular steel maille simply because it tarnishes and looks closer to wrought iron than stainless or galvanized.

[Sir William]

Thank you, Ulrich, I'll definitely take all of that into consideration.  I have looked at Icefalcon's maille at length...let me ask you because I cannot recall- how much tailoring did your hauberk require?  I'm really wanting a good hauberk, I'm not going for anymore of that ebaY stuff- good, sturdy stuff but altogether built way too much for size ranges.

I'm considering this one: 


You can see that it'll need to be tailored, but I'm hoping not as much as my current one, the Bingo Wing extraordinaire as Sir Nathan coined it.  lol

Also, it is somewhat lighter than the norm, weighing in at ~16lbs; my hauberk was 26lbs before I started removing maille from it; now it weighs in around 21lbs.  I thought I might go for their haubergeon but they only do those with the dome/pin rivets, not wedged.  Incidentally, the domed riveted shirts weigh more than the wedge riveted ones.

[Sir James A]

Sir William, if you want to check out the IceFalcon maille, you can see it next time you're over. I've got the IceFalcon : fauld, voiders, haubergeon, hauberk and "stocking" closed chausses. I've also got a GDFB haubergeon that you could compare it with side by side if you want. All are pin riveted / 9mm.

[Sir William]

Sir James, I'll settle for your thoughts on each- what're your observations?  How about the pricing between the two?

I also happen to like the C-a-P stuff because even with shipping it'll be less than $750 ($680 for the hauberk by itself) all told.  Hmm...just found a similar one from Icefalcon for $595, your thoughts?

http://store.fastcommerce.com/icefalcon/medium-chainmail-hauberk-ff8081811ba39277011cf67673e52581-p.html

That might not be what I'm looking for now that I look further...this appears to be of their pin-riveted lineup; if I'm going to spend that kind of money, I want a more historical presentation.

[Sir Ulrich]

The GDFB maille on KOA is actually even cheaper, at about 416 for a full hauberk. The sleeves do need tailoring though they taper ever so slightly, the bottom is also tailored to fan outward.

Heres a pic of my hauberk

They also sell the haubergeons for a similar low price, i'd suggest the wedge riveted as it flows easier and is soft on the undergarments, unlike the dome riveted which can tear gambesons to shreds unless you use a heavy canvas one.

[Sir William]

Ulrich, is that the one you're currently tailoring?