Main > The Armoury
new armour
Sir Brian:
^ Riveted Aluminum Maille shirt from June 2008. ^
^ Riveted Steel Maille shirt from April 2010. ^
I thought I’d put up a comparison photo layout. Overall the shirt is comfortable. ;D
The aluminum shirt is approximately 12 pounds while the steel is approximately 20. Surprisingly the eight pound difference is noticeable but not excessively so. It certainly isn’t as big of a difference I went through two years ago going from my first butted steel shirt to the riveted aluminum; i.e. 33 pounds down to 12!
So weight-wise this riveted steel shirt is in the middle but notice that I am back to wearing a waist belt to not only help distribute the weight between my shoulders and waist but also to keep sufficient slack in the shirt so I can maintain maximum mobility without the shirt binding me up from wearing just my outer sword belt. ;)
I like the fact that the steel shirt isn’t as ridiculously big in the sleeves compared to my aluminum, although the sleeves seemed to be a wee bit longer than I would have liked initially, but after cinching up the spaulders harness to ensure I again had enough slack for a full range of motion the sleeve length turned out to be just about right.
The shirt did come with a liberal coating of oil on it so there is that mess and SMELL to deal with. Gun oil isn’t the worst smelling stuff but it can get a wee bit rank as it gets old. Also as I was donning it for the first time a ring did get snagged on the gambeson and ended up parting and hooking itself into another section of the shirt which was a bother and a bit foreboding concerning the lauded durability of riveted steel. Ominous enough for me to consider purchasing the riveting tool and spare rings. :-\
http://casiberia.com/product_details.asp?id=OB2360
http://casiberia.com/product_details.asp?id=OB2339
Sir Wolf:
wow that looks great man! good choice
Sir Matthew:
I'm glad to see you wearing a belt with the Maille. When I talked to Tim from Red Falcon about my idea for my Tuetonic kit, he was pretty emphatic that the only way to wear Maille was with a belt for the very reasons you are doing it: help distribute the weight of the shirt so the shoulders and back are not bearing all of it and to keep the shirt from bunching and binding when you move. I had never thought of this before, but seeing the pic with the belt on and the shoulder harness, I can definitely see that binding and pinching would happen.
Sir Edward:
Back when I used to wear my HEAVY butted set (14g butted galvanized rings. hauberk alone weighed 40 lbs), I found that a belt was absolutely necessary, otherwise all 40+ lbs (more with the coif's mantle) would be hanging from the shoulders. Granted, it was nowhere near being properly tailored.
I think if we had the opportunity to get truly period riveted mail, custom fitted and tailored and so on, most of the weight wouldn't be that noticeable, as it would distribute itself very well.
Sir Wolf:
being in shape and having the right shape has all to do with it. i to must wear a belt with mine now. but a few years ago it wasn't needed. if you look at the Bayeux tapestry you don't see any weight belts either.
see here:
why the harness for the spaulders? I would either point then to your aketon/arming garment or to the hauberk itself
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