Aluminium Chainmail

I am about to go insane, and order some aluminium chainmail (I’m eyeing up this stuff; there are also cheap shirts on eBay. Stuff from actual larp stores is expensive). I’m after Aluminium because its light, doesn’t rust, and won’t need cleaning; given that larp costume is largely cosmetic, actual steel just seems like a heavy, time-consuming pain.

So, any advice? Is butted OK, or it worth springing for riveted to reduce maintenance? Will I need a full gambeson for aluminium? How much do I need to add to my chest measurement to get something in the right size?

You may not have to clean aluminium, but it is far from low maintenance. Any wire below about 2mm diameter you can pretty pull apart by hand and you’ll be forever picking up rings and repairing the shirt. I’d look for a shirt with a heavy gauge of wire.

Would the riveted version help with that, Derek? It doesn’t look as traditional, but I have to admit, I’d rather wear a 12lb shirt than a 30lb one for a whole weekend!

Not that I’m buying mail yet.

Heh.

Riveted mail is actually traditional, but the most common type you see (round wire that has been pinched and riveted) isn’t a very good faximile of the traditional riveting method.

I’m unaware of any extant mail that was only butted, normally they are solid punched rings, welded or riveted. There is at least one set where each ring is overlapped and riveted twice.

If your budget allows it, try to get the flat rings, not the round wire ones (there is usually a big price difference).

If it doesn’t, butted is okay if the wire is thick enough.

Heh.[/quote]

I like to keep the option there. :smiley:

The dollar being high is a good reason to think about it now.

Aluminium tends to come in 16 gauge, since its costume-only.

And to repeat theotherphoenix’s question, will the rivets help? I’d prefer not to have to sit down with a pair of pliers after every fight.

[quote=“IdiotSavant”]Aluminium tends to come in 16 gauge, since its costume-only.

And to repeat theotherphoenix’s question, will the rivets help? I’d prefer not to have to sit down with a pair of pliers after every fight.[/quote]

Yes, the rivets help massively. Several years ago I tested butted vs riveted mail and the strength difference is massive.

With butted mail, you only have to apply enough force to wire to bend it. With riveted mail, you have to apply enough force to tear out the rivet, break or cut through the wire.

Riveted is probably 20x stronger.

[quote=“Derek”]Yes, the rivets help massively. Several years ago I tested butted vs riveted mail and the strength difference is massive.

With butted mail, you only have to apply enough force to wire to bend it. With riveted mail, you have to apply enough force to tear out the rivet, break or cut through the wire.

Riveted is probably 20x stronger.[/quote]

Sounds like its worth the extra US$100 then.

(I love a high dollar; stuff I want gets cheaper!)

Funding has been secured. I’m looking at one of these. $US80 + $100 postage for riveted seems a lot cheaper than ThinkGeek.

But now the question is short sleeves or long? Am I going dark ages or norman? Oh, the angst!

I’d go with long sleeves, personally!

[quote=“IdiotSavant”]Funding has been secured. I’m looking at one of these. $US80 + $100 postage for riveted seems a lot cheaper than ThinkGeek.

But now the question is short sleeves or long? Am I going dark ages or norman? Oh, the angst![/quote]

Wow, that is cheap! Wonder if they’d do combined shipping :smiley:

Does anyone know of a good link that shows how to put together the simplest kind of chainmail? I’m not making actual chainmail, I want to make a top out of glowsticks for my daughter’s disco this evening. :smiley: I just need the general idea.

wikihow.com/Make-Chainmail

Looks… complicated :slight_smile: How many glowsticks do you have? :open_mouth:

Viperion

A hundred. :mrgreen: And I can get more, a pack of 50 is $6 at my local larp emporium… I mean $2 shop. Glowsticks are about 100x the size of chainmail rings,so I won’t need that many iterations to cover a 10 year old. I’ll see how it goes. Thanks for the link. If it doesn’t work she can just wear enormous stacks of glowing bangles and pretend it’s the 80’s.

We demand pics :slight_smile: (With or without model, but I just want to see what glowstick chainmail looks like :wink: )

Viperion

Cool. I suggest applying some clear cellotape over the join to stop them coming apart.

I was going to ask them, since it would allow me to get a coif at the same time. But US$36 for butted, $80 - 90 for riveted? Even with postage, we’re talking NZ$150 - 250. That’s only 6 - 10 games to pay off!

I was going to ask them, since it would allow me to get a coif at the same time. But US$36 for butted, $80 - 90 for riveted? Even with postage, we’re talking NZ$150 - 250. That’s only 6 - 10 games to pay off![/quote]

Just be aware that if the total cost of the package (including freight) comes to more than NZ$400 you will have to pay gst of 15% plus I believe they are adding a processing charge of around $25. The exchange rate that customs uses is the one at the date of import (not order or payment), so you may want to avoid cutting it too fine.

Note: The value of NZ$400 is assuming that there isn’t any duty to pay on chainmail. I don’t think there is as it would come under the heading of toys and models, but I’m not 100% certain.