Apparently I have taken it upon myself to knit another set of chainmail. This evening, I absolutely could not resist dropping this chunk (which at the moment is just about six inches across; this is just a subset of it) into my photo box. I find the proportion of rings at this wire gauge and diameter particularly pleasing for whatever reason.

  • Stache_@lemmy.ml
    3·
    18 hours ago

    This looks so cool! Reminds me of an art class project I had in high school where we used different metal and rubber loops to make bracelets. Just sat there with two needle nose pliers and alternated rows, it was pretty cathartic! Almost like knitting in a way

    • dual_sport_dork 🐧🗡️@lemmy.worldOPM
      2·
      11 hours ago

      4 into 1, yes. The bits in between are the layer behind it, and the aspect ratio is actually such that they two layers can interlock into each other like Velcro, which is certainly interesting. I haven’t quite decided yet if it will actually graduate into being annoying. These are 12 gauge aluminum at a 3/8" inner diameter.

      This is my third suit, or it will be after I’m sure several more weeks of careful jeweler’s sawing and ring bending. I have a full set of steel chain with 12 gauge 1/2" links as I have sporadically vouchsafed before. And when I say “full” I mean full, because I also took it upon myself to make a coif as well as a deeply anachronistic pair of chain pantaloons with even less historically accurate Nylon suspenders for them. That’s taking up an entire milk crate in the basement at the moment and desperately needs a polish before I show it off to anyone.

      I also make a set of the same consisting of just a hauberk and a coif for my uncle, who is a retired history professor. He’s super into medieval stuff, but somehow never got around to accumulating the collection of swords, armor, bows, etc. that I did. I’ll never fathom how.

      The current project was brought about by the desire to have something lighter, I suppose for lack of a better description, for exhibition purposes.

      Edit: I tell a lie. It will be my forth set. That’s because I completely blocked out the memory of my hexagonal pattern “Japanese” style mail vest I made years ago as well, possibly down to its wire cutter made links being specifically oriented to be extremely annoying catching on everything every time you put it on or take it off.

      This is of course completely aside from the various bits of chain jewelry, cuffs, bracers, and gloves I’ve made over the years. Eventually I’ll shine some of those up and I’ll have to post pictures of them, I suppose.

  • JohnnyEnzyme@piefed.socialEnglish
    3·
    21 hours ago

    Looks like the rings are designed specifically for this kind of work?

    Once each one’s ends are joined together, do they need to be glued or welded or something?

    • dual_sport_dork 🐧🗡️@lemmy.worldOPM
      2·
      11 hours ago

      “Designed” is a strong word. I crank these out, literally, on a wire winding jig that I made out of scrap wood and bits of steel rod a couple of decades ago. Since these are aluminum and I wouldn’t drive myself bats doing so, I cut the rings off of the coils using a jeweler’s saw. (You can do this with steel wire if you really want to, but it takes forever and you’ll burn through a lot of saw blades. Most people just use wire cutters to make steel rings, which are uglier but the process consumes significantly less of your life.)

    • just2look@piefed.socialEnglish
      91·
      20 hours ago

      If you were actually going for historic accuracy, or planned to use it for armor then you would weld the rings. Generally people don’t weld them since it takes a lot of time and effort. They are just bent closed.

        • dual_sport_dork 🐧🗡️@lemmy.worldOPM
          3·
          11 hours ago

          Correct. Occasionally in my darker moments I’ve actually considered making a set with riveted rings. Every time I’ve ultimately come to my senses and concluded that I can’t be bothered.

          You’ll notice that authentic mail usually uses rings that are flat in cross section, too, what with medieval Celts or whoever not having access to unlimited amounts of our modern machine made wire.

    • Davel23@fedia.io
      6·
      20 hours ago

      I used to have a friend who would make chainmail. He had long coils of steel which looked like springs but I don’t think they were actually springy. He’d nip off individual rings from them, weave them into whatever he was currently making, then bend them closed.

      • JohnnyEnzyme@piefed.socialEnglish
        61·
        15 hours ago

        When I was a kid, soda pop cans had tearaway tops that would separate from the cans when opened. There was sort of a ring-shape on one end of that piece. SCA people would collect those by the hundreds or thousands and use them to make mail armor suits and stuff. It looked surprisingly good, and since it was just thin aluminum, was very light. Very good for running around on a hot summer day recreating the Battle of Hastings or whatnot.

  • Fallibilist@feddit.uk
    24·
    16 hours ago

    Technically it’s just called mail or mail-armor. Mail comes from Old French maille (“mesh, net”) therefore “mail” already denotes the interlinked-ring construction so adding “chain” is redundant.

    • AnyOldName3@lemmy.world
      2·
      11 hours ago

      The post title is on English, not French, so the French etymology isn’t particularly relevant.

      Also, part of why it’s chain mail in English is to specify that the individual links are made of something rigid. If the definition of maille mattered, it would still fit for something entirely different like a string vest.

      • dual_sport_dork 🐧🗡️@lemmy.worldOPM
        2·
        11 hours ago

        It’s also made of aluminum, so the protective aspect is even more diminished. I can tell you from experience that even butted steel links can protect you from a surprising amount of stuff, though, unless people are swinging morning stars at you or something.

        When I made my first set of steel mail, even with its butted links, obviously the first thing my friends and I did was drape it over a watermelon and later each other and have at it with knives, swords, axes, bats, etc. It was able to stop everything we had to hand. Fortunately we weren’t dumb enough to try firing any arrows at it…

    • dual_sport_dork 🐧🗡️@lemmy.worldOPM
      1·
      11 hours ago

      That may be so, but in these modern times I often find it helpful to specify so people don’t get it mixed up with e.g. the envelopes you stick in the post. That’s English for you and all of its damned silly homonym-o-nym-o-nymns.