How To Make Your Own Chainmail

Chainmail was used in ancient Roman times and throughout the Middle Ages as primary armor. Plate armor wasn't used as the primary form of armor until a little later in the Middle Ages. Chainmail prevented cuts and stab wounds very well, but could not protect against broken bones and bruises. If you are wearing chainmail and someone tries to stab you or slash you with a sword, the chainmail would prevent the blade from cutting you. However, the kinetic energy from the attack would still be passed on to you, resulting in a bad bruise or possibly a broken bone. This ended up working out fine in medieval times because broken bones were able to be set, while doctors didn't really have a grasp on cuts and infections. If you broke your arm, they could set it and cast it. But, if you got even the smallest cut and it got infected...you were pretty much a goner. The only infection prevention they had was fire and spirits (alcohol). That combination sounds mighty painful to me. That drawback however, can be a very dangerous one. For example, if a medieval knight was wearing a chainmail coif, his neck would be protected against cuts. However, if someone swung a sword at his neck, the knight's neck would surely break. That is where plate armor comes in handy. If a knight was wearing a plate medieval armor, he would probably get a really nasty bruise but no broken bones.

Ok, you say...what are the modern uses? Well, chainmail was used during WWI to prevent injuries and casualties from small grade shrapnel. It was made into a kind of veil for the lower half of the soldier's face and neck. Small pieces of shrapnel from bombs, mines, and grenades could not make it through the strong mesh of the maille. It is no longer used in the military, because tougher fabrics such as Teflon have been invented that work way better and weigh a whole lot less.

Chainmail is also used my a few totally crazy people who dive with sharks. Don't get me wrong, if you have the guts to get into the ocean during a feeding frenzy just to test out the strength and effectiveness of a chainmail dive suit...more power to you. (I still think they are crazy!). But, pioneer Valerie Taylor first tested a chainmail diving suit in the late 1970's. It was successful! Subsequent tests and studies show that for small to medium size sharks, the chainmail is incredibly effective against bites. However, as with in the Middle Ages, the chainmail only prevents cuts and stabs. During one test dive, a diver was surrounded (literally) by blue sharks in a feeding frenzy. The sharks kept biting the diver's arms and legs and luckily for the diver, there were no cuts or abrasions. However, when the test was over and the suit was removed, there were big nasty bruises all over the diver's arms and legs. So, all of the bite pressure of the sharks was still transferred to the diver, just not in the traditional biting form. That was also just with blue shark bites. I cannot even imagine what the bite pressure from a larger shark, such as a hammerhead or a bull shark would do to a diver in a chainmail suit. That would probably cause some broken bones. The pressure issue is one that has not been solved through thousands of years of testing and development in the use of chainmail. I guess there is no way around it, really.

Some other modern uses for chainmail include protection against dog bites for animal trainers and as protective gear for industry butchers. Those big slaughter machines are extremely dangerous and until workers were allowed to wear up to 8 pounds of chainmail armor, there were many accidental amputations and nasty wounds from the blades of those machines. In some countries, police use chainmail armor to protect themselves against knife wielding criminals.

One of the most popular uses for chainmail in the modern world is simply for medieval reenactments. There are huge organizations throughout the country, such as the SCA, that hold historically accurate reenactments of battles. Every reenactor makes sure that everything they wear, do and speak are historically accurately represented. So, where do these hardcore medieval fans get their replica armor and weapons? Some make their armor themselves and some purchase it from medieval armories and craftsmen.

But, you want to know how to make your own, right? Well, let's get started. First, you will have to decide what style of chainmail you want to create. There are many link designs that serve different purposes. For example, the most common style of chainmail is the 4 in 1 link design. All that means is that four chainmail links connect to one link throughout the pattern. This is the easiest and lightest chainmail design. There is also something called King's Mail, which is an 8 in 2 link design. The mesh is much denser, therefore giving better protection. Obviously, since there are twice the number of links per link, King's mail is much heavier. I mean, chainmail is heavy to begin with, but the 8 in 2 design is ridiculously heavy.

There are also different ways to connect the links to form the mesh. The simplest is butted chainmail. When a link is closed, it is simply pushed closed. There is no fixation of the links. Riveted chainmail is either soldered together or actual rivets are put through each and every link. Obviously, that is more time consuming but it ends up being a stronger garment.

So, you've decided on a style? Good. Now, let us move on to the actual construction. You will need a quantity of metal wire, either aluminum or steel. Unless you are made of money, I would stick with the aluminum. If you will be using your chainmail for an SCA competition or staged fight, you must check with the SCA member that will be running the event. They have very strict guidlines for the gauge of steel used in replica armor. Gauge is the thickness of the metal. Most SCA events require 14 gauge or smaller.

To make the links, simply wind the wire around a former. The former is basically a metal stick or thin pole. You can rig up a power drill to the former to make the winding go more quickly and keep it more even. Once it is wound, remove the wire from the former. It will look like a spring. Take some small wire cutters (or whatever works for the gauge of wire you use) and simply cut them into individual rings. Tada! You now have a whole bunch of metal links. Now the fun part...putting it all together.

There are literally thousands of chainmail shirt patterns out there. I find that diagrams usually help quite a bit, especially if you are new to this whole thing. For detailed instructions and diagrams for making a 4 in 1 link pattern chainmail shirt, please visit A Mailmaker's Guide. This guy knows what he is doing.

If this all sounds fascinating, but you don't have the time or patience to devote to making your own chainmail, check out these affordable and gorgeous chainmail shirts. Hopefully, this lens opened your eyes about the incredible complexity and versatility of this ancient armor - chainmail.