Armor recommendations??

[LionPride32]

"Long Live King Richard!!!

Morning Crusaders

I've been looking at what Kult ofAthena has for armor that I may add to my kit. First of all, MAIL. I don't know which kind to get, some are notably more expensive than others...Id also like vambraces, maybe shoulder guards, and a nice solid pair of gloves. Helmet I will get into last. Any recommendations? What kind (guage) mail does anyone else have? Price ranges???   I just don't wanna break the bank for my kit...hehehe

[Don Jorge]

From my research it seems you are going to want Wedge Riveted Solid Rings that are flattened...It is the most comfortable and durable type of mail

http://www.kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=AB2484&name=Chain+Mail+Hauberk+-+Wedge+Riveted-Solid+Ring+-+Flattened+ring+-+Mild+Steel+48%27%27+Chest

[Ian]

From my research it seems you are going to want Wedge Riveted Solid Rings that are flattened...It is the most comfortable and durable type of mail

http://www.kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=AB2484&name=Chain+Mail+Hauberk+-+Wedge+Riveted-Solid+Ring+-+Flattened+ring+-+Mild+Steel+48%27%27+Chest

Wedge rivets are not appropriate for the crusader era.  Which begs the question, are you interested in a historical kit or a fantasy kit?  By fantasy I don't necessarily mean elves, dwarves, and orcs, but also mixing time periods, like plate shoulders on an otherwise maille kit which would have never been appropriate for any historical time period.

Give us some guidelines and we can help you much better.  Many of us are very experienced with specific time periods and how to go about getting armor done right.

The other vital part is what do you plan to use the armor for?  If you're interested in the SCA, their armor requirements are very different from what you would wear if you were going for a historical kit.

TL:DR - Historical or fantasy?  What's the purpose of the armor going to be?  Give us as specific a time period as possible (to the decade or quarter century) if you're interested in historical.

[Sir James A]

Sir Ian covered it well, including wedge rivet appropriateness; we can give better answers when we know the purpose(s) of the armor.

If there's a specific question for the different types, let me know. I've had butted mail before, and also have GDFB and IceFalcon, in both pin rivet and wedge rivet, in both mild and stainless. (Yes, I'm registered and participating in AAA - Armor Addicts Anonymous)

[Sir Nate]

If for historical I think Crusaders had domed riveted?

[Sir Ulrich]

Crusaders had dome riveted round ring maille with alternating flat punched rings. That can be gotten rather cheaply here http://allbeststuff.com/ Also they do tailoring as well which I would of gotten this maille had I known about it before I purchased my hauberk.

[LionPride32]

Well, right down to the last atomic detail, I'm such a Lionheart wanna-be, I basically want, as close as I can possibly get, to the whole setup that he would have worn either on the Third Crusade, or after that, during his constant wars with Phillipe of France. What I have now is this : Red Tunic (Plantagent Coat of Arms) and 2 swords LOL A William Marshall sword (Deepeeka, but very solid. And very blunt...Trust me, I'm just gettin started Other sword is King Richard sword from Robin Hood movie - very eye catching, really nice! THAT'S IT. I'm kinda on a budget, so I want a decent hauberek and hood (coif?) For...mehhh 150 bucks. Plus gloves and a helm. So....what doth these warriors assume for the future Thomas III?

[Sir Wolf]

long sleeved hauberk and coif.
no plate armour.
helmet pre 1200

[LionPride32]

I think I pretty much have it down exactly what I'm gonna get for my kit. I just don't , well, CAN'T spend a ton on mail. There's so many options on KOA, cheaper on Amazon.com. I just don't know which is best quality for my money. Then there's the gloves...metal gauntlets or just plain leather? I saw some that fit like reg. Leather, but have mail on the front part. Then the headpiece...where to look for that? Oh yeah, another belt too lol

[Sir Wolf]

well, POST LINKS lol or pictures of what you are thinking and we will yeah or ban, err i mean nay for you lol ahhahaha

prob by late 1100s mittens attached to the hauberk. would have leather palms with a split. the coif may have been attached then as well... but for that i just put my coif on first then the hauberk and you really can't see the seams

now remember most period belts weren't that wide. check out raymonds quiet press etc https://www.quietpress.com/ for ideas. look at the belt width requirements

[Sir James A]

Butted mail is by far the cheapest, but the biggest headache, in my opinion. Some of the stuff on eBay comes from India, where some regular stores get it, but the shipping can be excessive since it isn't already imported in bulk. As Sir Wolf said, links are great for us to help give feedback. You won't find a hauberk and coif for $150, except *maybe* butted mail. But be prepared for weight, and replacing rings more often than with riveted.

[Thorsteinn]

My 2 cents:

Master Knuut's welded aventail I bought 2 years ago is holding up well and I'm rather glad I spent the $250 for it. It was $25 cheaper than the wedge rivited stuff.

[Ian]

My 2 cents:

Master Knuut's welded aventail I bought 2 years ago is holding up well and I'm rather glad I spent the $250 for it. It was $25 cheaper than the wedge rivited stuff.

People swear by Master Knuut's stuff up and down.  It's welded, so not historic for crusader era, but if you don't mind that, it will hold up probably better than any other form of maille.   If you want riveted to be historic, the GDFB stuff at Kult of Athena is great as is the stuff that Duke Icefalcon sells.

I would avoid butted maille and I would also avoid the zinc coated galvanized maille.  Mild steel is the best if you don't mind keeping it oiled.  Stainless looks the part but is expensive. 

[Thorsteinn]

Also there is Duke Andreas Icefalke of Icefalcon Armories who sells maille. I was going to buy his $275 wedge-riveted maille aventail but I looked at my wallet and decided not having to maintain it as much was going to really matter if the economy didn't pick up (and it didn't out here).

However when I have the cash for a byrnie it'll be period stuff all the way.

[Sir James A]

I bought a pin riveted stainless 9mm pin riveted aventail for around $125. I think KOA? Maybe $15 for shipping.

I've found IceFalcon and GDFB/KOA to be similar in quality and customer service too.

I've seen historical mail that looks almost so flush and smooth you have to look close to see that it isn't welded. Super smooth. I've debated on welded mail for voiders and a fauld; it's hard to tailor unless you use butted or riveted rings (or can weld), but for loosely shaped items like voiders and fauld, seems like a valid option.