Making Chainmail Armor

Technical Writing Class, RWU 1995

CHAINMAIL

Introduction: British Celts were among the first to use chainmail armor for battle. It was widely used by Romans leading into the Dark Age and Middle Age, because chainmail was lighter than platemail, easier to repair, and flexible. Chainmail, as its name implies, is made entirely of small, inter-locking metal rings. I will instruct you on how to make your chainmail using modern tools. I learned from mentors in the SCA.

Required Steps:

A. Get Materials and Tools (figure 1-3)

• 16 or 14 gauge metal wire in coils

• 7/16″ rod with a hole drilled through at one end

• aviation snips

B. Make Rings

1. Insert wire into hole at end of rod.
2. wrap wire tightly around rod.
3. cut coiled wire where it connects to the rod using aviation snips.
4. slide the coiled wire off the rod.
5. begin cutting through coil with aviation snips to create each ring.

C. Make Chainmail Strands and Sheets

1. hold pliers in each hand.
2. firmly close four rings (figure 4).
3. open fifth ring.
4. loop four rings on the open ring.
5. close ring (figure 5).
6. repeat steps 1-6 at least once more.
7. take two rings from each cluster and link them together using separate ring (figure 6).
8. create long strands of chainmail by repeating steps 1-8.
9. combine strands as in figure 7.
10. continue to combine strand patterns to make sheets.

Conclusion:

Making chainmail is a tedious but very forgiving process. If you make a mistake in the pattern, you can always go back and fix it later. Use a lighter gauge metal and thinner rod for more decorative costumes (such as bikinis). Keep at it, play your favorite long videos and albums while working, and eventually you will have enough sheets to make shirts. The curves in connections between shirts and sleeves are advanced, and deserve another essay later. Good luck!

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