I've made a full hauberk of 14 ga galvanized steel wire, butted of course. Took a long time, probably 200 hours total (coiling, cutting, weaving). And for some unknown reason, I really want to make a riveted mail hauberk. This is probably the best, most clear, and precise video I have seen thus far, and not a single word was spoken. Incredible sir, incredibly incredible. Thank you.
@@conorhudson1486 learn the weave with butted links until you are practiced. Mail links are unstable and flop over wrong a lot until your patch of mail grows big enough to be stable, about as big as your hand. A good way to start is to think of mail in 5-link units, with a single link in the center joining four links at the corners of a square surrounding it. The links in the corners will all lean the same way, opposite from the corresponding lean of the link in the center. Make sure they're like that. There are ways to make this happen automatically, with little thought. What I like to do is start by making a chain of alternating double and single links,2 links 1 link 2 links etc. Always start with two links. All the doubled links may be closed up ahead of time; use an open link to hook two pairs of links together all the way down the chain. Now here's the trick: lay the chain flat on your worktable and smooth it so the doubled links all lean one direction and the single links all lean the other way. THIS IS A LONG CHAIN OF FIVE-LINK MAIL UNITS, all strung together. Now you have to put links down one side of that chain, weaving a single open link into pairs of closed links bordering the long chain. These links you add WIIL HAVE THE SAME LEAN AS THE SINGLE LINKS THAT JOIN THE DOUBLED ONES. Now your entire chain is 2 links 2 links 2 links all the way down. Go back and add links onto this edge but this time always being sure these links lean like the doubled links do. They will also be in the same linkrow. Now you have a ribbon of mail that runs 3 links 2 links 3 links etc. Whatever you do, don't pick your mail up off your table to add links -- just slide links up to the edge of the mail ribbon and close them when they're hooked in. By now your mailpatch has grown big enough to get stable. Just keep smoothing it out with your hands as you go, watching for links at the edges to flop over on you. Put 'em back.
Well the riveted version requires about twice as work compared to the butted version. So a riveted chainmail probably was very expensive on its time. But also the riveted version would withstand cuts and penetrations from most weapons while the butted only partially protects against it because it busts right open.
It is very relaxing craft indeed and quite easy to learn. I have made different kind of chainmail patterns and even made a chainmail coif. I highly recommend trying out, it's not expensive either
You can buy premade rings online if you don't want to make them yourself. For starters butted mail would be a good choice- it's easier, cheaper (all though it's not expensive to begin with) and takes a lot less time (you don't have to rivet every single bloody ring in the pattern) but it's a lot less durable. Riveted mail will withstand pretty much every cutting test imaginable and will hold up pretty ok to thrusts whereas butte mail can fail you even at cutting tests and it just won't survive any significant thrusting test. It does take a long time to make even a small piece but it's well worth it and if you are into HEMA it could save you hundreds of dollars or even turn into a small source of income. Well made riveted chainmail can sale for quite the handsome premium.
@@edim108 even if its less durable you dont need it to save your life , hell even if you want it to save your life a kingsmaile butted mail shkrt will do just fine against any would be attacker
@@howmuchbeforechamp Butted mail can rip even if you pull it too hard. It's really not very good, but it's much less time consuming to make- that's why it's also cheaper to buy fully made butted mail than riveted mail.
@@edim108 well i agree in can be pulled apart easily , but not if you use a thick wire , i have a vest i run with made from 2mm wire , its not something i can easily pull apart woth my bare hands And i am in the process of making a 6in1 vest with 2.2mm wire and i can garuntee you would need two big guys pulling on it to bend open the rings But yes its uncomparable how much less effort butted mail is , also i geusse you could weld butted mail should you be so inclined Also its not meant to stop a sword or arrow so its really not neccesary to get rivetted mail
Idk why I'm watching this right now. I also don't know why I now have the urge to make this. I have no prior experience, no materials, no tools or any time to do this, but the idea has been planted in my head, and I thank you for it, sir.
Although rivetted mail is more time consuming and labour intensive, it's worth it as the outcome is you have a very reliable and sturdy product that would survive brutal condition and most of all not tear open easily like a butted chainmail would......My passion n desire to make a chainmail had been revived!!😎😎😎
Even though this is 6 months late...my 1/4 inch inside diameter 14 gauge steel butted maille wont tear. Had several people try...rings are too small and too many in a small area. I trust my maille
@@dylannecros3636 original poster I assume means by literally 2 handed tearing it apart which I had 3 different "well" built guys try from work. I dont think a crowbar is gonna do much in the way of tearing my maille. I do know however that a rapier will only penetrate an inch and a quarter. The rings are small enough to basically stop a rapier from spreading the one ring the rapier centered on. But like I said I'll trust my work you dont have to take my word for it. As for the crowbill articles I've just read up on they state that crowbills were designed to pierce maille. Before hand I've never heard of a crowbill only of military picks and hammers. Friends sword (probably a cheap thing I dont know) chipped all along the contacted spots when he made a slashing move of some sort.
LilRed Wagon yes, it must have been a cheap sword. Most battle ready swords, unless if made with an extremely fine edge, which most aren’t, won’t chip so easily just by being swung into chainmail. I also meant actual stabbing with a sword, not swinging away. Some swords were better able to penetrate chainmail because the tips were broader and sturdier, allowing them to force open rings. I suppose it also depends on what target did you have the chainmail hanging from? Was it on a training dummy or a bale of hay, or just hanging loosely like a sheet on a cloths line when your friends were doing their thing? It’s not going to have authentic resistance pushing back on the weapon like if it were being worn by a man that’s at least 100 pounds, which would contribute to determining if it would stand up against attacks.
@@dylannecros3636 I dont think a sword of any caliber is gonna slice through 14 gauge galvanized steel wire if that's what you're implying? And no a broadsword wasnt used to stab or poke but as I stated a rapier was used. The maille was draped over a manakin from an old clothing store. Just bought it from a pawn shop for cheap to use haha! The slashes did gouge a few links but that's all. Oh a cheap Chinese made "katana" was used for the slashes by the way.
You forget, everything back in that time was done by hand with just as much painstaking effort. You can't judge the past through the eyes of the present and use modern methods as the touchstone.
I can spend all day, cutting, grinding, welding, turning and filing steel. I come home, and relax watching someone making chainmail with the birds singing in the background. First thing I thought? I wonder if I could make a version with loads of circlips, and small mild steel pins?
@@custodianvrael6471 Man, that sounds awesome. I'd love to try a project like that. Sadly, I live in an apartment building, and would have to find a way to make it without any eternally repeating hammer strikes
@@surrealdynamics4077 your town, or one near by, might have an artist or artisan space. Might have to pay rent, but you can ask around if anyone does smithing, and buy or trade for time, space, and supplies.
Yes you can make riveted mail of circlips and pin rivets. I've handled the stuff. It's a rather heavy mail; I think 18ga, 1.2mm, wire links run a bit lighter weight and don't look kind of funny. But if the price of circlips in bulk is no object, you will get strong mail out of it. Expect to grow muscles working these links -- circlips are stout.
@@surrealdynamics4077 one word -- okay, two. COMPOUND LEVERAGE, using big bolt cutters with modified tong like jaws fitted. Why whack when you can squeeze?
At 0:52 you are cuting the rings diagonally instead of straight, this got me curious, is there a purpose behind it? By the way amazing video and incredible craft!!!
I am not informed in any of this so take my insight with a grain of salt, but to me the most logical reasons would be that trying to do it straight would be incredibly hard to balance and the tool would slide off to the side when struck, I can see that issue ruining many links if it where to slide off after the cut and pry them wide open
For punching, I use a little hardened steel rod that I shaped into this form. I put the rings on a piece of hard firewood to punch them. The wood helps to preserve my punching tool. It happens that the rings get pushed into the wood and deform. Most time it is when they are not annealed properly or the overlap is too narrow. I wrote a guide to catch all these questions. Maybe that's something for you. www.ironskin.com/product/ironskins-guide-to-making-riveted-chainmail/
I found it time consuming enough to add a brass trim to my rivetted mail, I ordered the brass rings pre manufactured and only had to add the trim a few rows deep 1 ring at a time of course. Much respect to those who make full pieces your patients is far beyond my own.
I have just started learning chainmail to make jewelry and never have I dipped my toes into a craft that had such a disparity between origins and modern usage. Honestly, I also crochet and it’s easier to grow the cotton, spin it, dye it, make it into thread, then yarn, and then crochet something with it than it is to make authentic European chainmail. In other words, my immediately visceral reaction to this video was: ABSOLUTELY NOT. Very interesting and well made though.
For all those who want to get into making your own maille, but are scared away by the sheer amount of work that goes into the historically correct way: You don't need to make the rings and rivets yourself like he does. Yes, your rings bought online wont look as good as his, but it's close enough. The work needed to do all the rings yourself is, as you can see, absolutely ridiculous and probably only for people who have made some maille armor allready. Second, if you start out and are not sure if it's something for you, pls for the love of god do a mixed ring construction (if the tailoring allows it). It is somewhat stronger, still historically accurate and half the work. I started out with fully riveted construction and especially in the beginning, where you still have to figure out your own best workflow, you will struggle and probably get frustrated by your slow progress, if you don't push yourself. Making riveted maille won't ever be a fast process, but you can get rather quick if you get used to it. Especially with a mixed ring construction. Third, pls don't make a whole hauberk/haubergeon (shirt of maille) as your first project. It is the most time consuming and expensive project in the world of maille armor you could choose and the tailoring you need to do is hard. So again, if you aren't fully commited yet, it is just too big of a project. Do a maille standard or if you want something more challenging, a coif. You will see more progress and in a few weeks time you will have a finished piece of maille armor and know if you want to continue with the hobby. Hope this helps someone who wants to get into it. For those still considering, try it out. It really is a relaxing hobby and there is very high satisfaction in having made your own armor. Echt krasses Video Ironskin. Der Aufwand ist ja wirklich astronomisch... Machst du für all deine Projekte die Ringe selber oder ist das eher ein living history Ding, wo du eher den Prozess nachvollziehen möchtest?
True words! I have to add that a horse armor (or elephant armor) would be the most time consuming project in the world of mail. :D In fact even the last scenes in the video show commercial rings, because I had to get it done in one day. I do make rings to experiment with them, but most of the time I use premade rings for tailoring projects.
@@MedievalGenie you can call it technology since tekne and logos are greek words. Tekne is knowlegde and logos is study of. So basically knowledge of knowledge. So not all technology is modern
That is insanely labor intensive. Only the richest knights can afford riveted mail. The rivers really require really renowned riveting repertoires of skills.
yes, i bought a loose 5mm (along juglars) and 8mm elsewhere) washers and pre cut flat rivets made my own double layered aventail one over cuirass and underneath bevor. and one underneath my forged gothic cuirass with simple linen backing to prevent chaffing on my gambeson, leather liner around my neck rim, took 2? months doing maybe 2 hours a day if i had to spool, anneal, smash, drift, itd take longer
Actually it was commonly riveted. www.google.com/search?q=was+medieval+chainmail+riveted%3F&client=ms-android-samsung-rev2&source=android-home&sxsrf=AB5stBhSd6JRi3Rnl2WNlVpODAEN4P_meA%3A1688194452982&source=hp&ei=lM2fZMrMOcyG9u8PrKOm6AI&oq=was+medieval+chainmail+riveted%3F&gs_lp=EhFtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1ocCIfd2FzIG1lZGlldmFsIGNoYWlubWFpbCByaXZldGVkPzIFECEYoAEyBRAhGKABMgUQIRigAUih8AFQmBNYx-QBcAx4AJABAZgB4wKgAZhBqgEIMC4zNi44LjS4AQPIAQD4AQGoAg_CAgcQIxjqAhgnwgIHEC4Y6gIYJ8ICDRAuGMcBGK8BGOoCGCfCAgQQIxgnwgIHECMYigUYJ8ICCBAuGIoFGJECwgIIEAAYigUYkQLCAgsQLhiABBjHARjRA8ICBRAAGIAEwgIHEC4YigUYJ8ICBRAuGIAEwgIIEC4YgAQY1ALCAgcQABiABBgKwgINEC4YgAQYxwEY0QMYCsICChAAGIAEGMkDGArCAggQABiKBRiSA8ICBxAuGIAEGArCAggQABiABBjLAcICCBAuGIAEGMsBwgIOEC4YgAQYxwEYrwEYyQPCAgcQABgNGIAEwgIMECMYigUYExiABBgnwgIKEC4YxwEYrwEYJ8ICCBAAGIAEGMkDwgIGEAAYFhgewgIIEAAYFhgeGA_CAgcQIRigARgKwgIIEAAYigUYhgPCAggQIRgWGB4YHcICChAhGBYYHhgPGB3CAgUQABiiBMICCBAAGIkFGKIE&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-hp
❤AND PEOPLE WONDER WHY GOOD QUALITY CHAINMAIL IS SO EXPENSIVE ITS BECAUSE OF ALL THE INTENSIVE WORK THAT IT REQUIRES MAD RESPECT FOR YOUR SKILLS AND TALENT ❤
Wunderschöne Handarbeit! Ich hab's Anfang dieser Woche kognitiv nicht auf die Reihe gebracht, zwei Reihen miteinander zu verbinden. Dein Video macht mir neuen Mut es nochmal zu probieren. :)
@@Ironskin I see. I visited your amazing website and read it there too. I would love to see a video on drifting or punching solid rings. When punching the hole for a rivet, which size pin punch would you use for ring which uses 1.2mm wire?
Just a quick question, how did medieval smiths forge metal into wires in the first place? Love the work, keep it up. Edit: also I can see these rings got flattened at some point after 3:33, did you just whack them flat with a hammer or press them? Would love to know.
I know that one method of making wire is to draw metal stock through gauged holes, smaller and smaller, until it's the gauge desired. That works with copper and gold. I don't know if that's how steel is done.
What Charles Coslor described also works for iron-wire and has been used in history. It is forged into a rod and then pulled through ever-smaller holes in a plate. Yes, I hit the rings directly with a hammer to flatten them. Alternatively, you can whack a rod resting on the ring. In the video I show both ways.
@@Ironskin The big modern difference is that the ancient way ran the drawn wire back and forth between two stout reels, passing through a hardened steel draw plate between them. The modern method runs the wire unidirectionally through a lengthy series of die stations along the wire path. The process is pretty much round rod stock into one end and finished wire out the other; coil and ship out... to Boston...
Question for the creator, when you completed the process of creating the chain mail, were you finished? or did you have to temper or heat treat the armor afterwards? Just curious.
A thought. Rather than try to hold a handful of rings as you are trying to add ‘the next row’ for instance, how about taking a wood board and put a small tack through one ring, in the upper left corner (for right handed people). Then as you add the frost row of, say, 10, and put another tack in that one. Then each row hangs right in front of you as you add more rows or column’s, and when you have a certain size, set that aside and start over for the next square or sheet, etc., then later you can hang each block and knit the next block to it while always being able to see where you are. Just a thought.
Stitching blocks together as shown here is the hard way. It's much easier to work an edge, like knitting. That way you only need to thread through 2 rings, and riveting is far more accessible. I've only made chain mail from split ring washers, no ring production or riveting, but by working an edge it's much easier to get the needle nose pliers where you need them.
@@dougaltolan3017 Thanks for your comment! (And knitting is exactly what I was thinking of! I’ve done some off and on, but this, making chain mail, seems to lend itself closely to that. I know some folks like to reproduce things the same way it was originally made, and not just chain mail, woodworking, string instrument making, violin making comes to mind, using only the tools available at that time, no electricity, etc., but I would like to finish a project in my lifetime! Question… is putting the chain in a fire for the purpose of case hardening?)
@@backpages1 in this video the fire treatment is to reverse work hardening. If you've ever worked silver, it's a similar thing. The metal is worked cold, but becomes brittle with working. The heat treatment makes it maleable (a bit) again. Other people have asked if there is a post assembly heat treatment like case hardening. That, I don't know. But the heat treatment here, and the subsequent working cannot be for hot working, so it must be anealing.
Is there a tool like what you have in 1:30 in the states? I ordered some iron wire but I really don’t want to wait a month to get that tool as well. Or do I just have to file bolt cutters? Can I file bolt cutters? What type of file would I need? I’ve been trying to find some on the internet for 45 minutes
Unfassbar! Großen Respekt. Auch dass du die Ringe selber machst. Die Technik des Vernietens ist natürlich nochmal um einiges aufwändiger als die Ringe mit einer Zange auf und zu zu machen. Bravo!
@ironskin Can I ask why you used a chisel to punch the rings out when they're still on the mandrel? They look uncut later when you use the wire cutters, and it doesn't look like they're being cut with enough overlap with the chisel. So where did those rings go? 1:01
The cutting with a chisel is just an alternative way to do it. These rings did not make it into the video. The main method here is the cutting with a tong.
Я: Чтобы посмотреть в 11 часу ночи на сон грядущий? Ютуб: Посмотри как делают кольчуги. Я: Обалдеть, это же сколько труда и какая кропотливая работа... Мое искренее восхищение!
For everyone talking about how expensive maille used to be, it is an expensive process now but was pretty standard in the later medieval era. It took a while to make, but labor wasn’t super expensive. Most people back then worked their asses off in every field of work, but you don’t see outrageous prices on meat, clothes, et cetera.
He's making it old school. I haven't done it in a while but when I did I used a long bolt of the diameter I wanted the links to be. Cut off the head and cut a short slot in the other end. Chuck the steel bolt into a drill then feed the wire through two pieces of wood held together in a vice (for tension). Once you have a bunch of these wire springs made use some good cutters to cut them into rings. Braid the links into chainmail. I never bothered to weld the chainmail links and would occasionally have to replace missing links, but it was never a big deal. If you wanted to weld them I'd use a small welder to tack the links closed...easy peasy.
Question : is is stronger to do it like that or a more simple way? By other way I mean just cutting the ring and do the chainmail like that also if yu have the time to explain me why each one is stronger than the other that would be awesome I'm very curious
The other way that you mention is called butted rings. They are weaker, because when you pull they open. To make up for this disadvatange you can use harder steel, but in the end riveted rings are still stronger.
where did you buy your pin punch ? and how large is the point in mm ? I' ìm trying to make make but i have faild to make the hole various time, i have a similar punch but after 4 ring it was broken and if I do the proces on wood the ring just bends, i have to use a steel bar with a small hole ( I heated the rings until they became medium red)
Sorry for the late reply Simone 9999. I make the pin punches myself from pointy steel rods. The diameter of the cylinder tip is about 1.2mm. It is the same diameter I use for riveting. If your punch doesn't deform it is alright. It's rather the rings. Make sure the rings cool very slowly after medium red heat. Make the overlap a bit wider. Use very hard wood. Meanwhile I wrote an instruction manual with a step by step guide which can be purchased on my website www.ironskin.com
No wonder good chainmail costs what it does. Good skill and craftsmanship is never cheap, nor do you want something cheap when your life depends on it.
I can't even imagine the amount of people they needed to mass produce this in the medieval era for the armys given I'm sure not everyone had mail but still the process not only just to weave it all together but to size and shape it all properly jeez.
It is believed that they made up regular mail patches until they had an inventory. These would then be zipped together to make up shirts of any size, collars, voiders, and other mail articles. Even pot scrubbers maybe., Once the slow business of weaving the mail patches was done, final assembly was quick. "You need it Thursday? Done."
@@w.reidripley1968This is about how I did my shirts after my first one. I could make a front, back, collar, and sleeve. The collar would have expansions built in and I'd add ones to the sides to fit to as needed. Made production so much easier.
@@scarling9367 Yeah. I think I call that fashion of shoulder and neck hole a 'mantle top,' after the round kind of bishops-mantle. It's all going round and round in circles, putting in expansions as you go. Unusual in historical shirts, but not unheard-of; I suspect the Boris Godunov shirt in the Hermitage is one such. Something I eventually learned was that giving a shirt a bit of a waist helps it not slide down through your cinch belt, no matter how vigorously you move. I tend to build the body of the shirt pretty much as a single bloc, with places/suits included to insert expansion arrays for tailoring and for free arm mobility. This keeps me out of trouble with link rows mismatching -- or worse, gone spiral.
@@w.reidripley1968 I think I've read about the Bishop design. The shirts I made were block design with expansions in the back for arm mobility. And yes, I also noticed that contractions and expansions around the belt line let it sit on the waist better.
I made a mail 30 years ago, with 12 mm keyrings. Can make one in a week. I have an original persian mail from around 1860, made out of 8 mm keyrings. They used modern technique for their time.
Just came from the LOTR behind the scene, there were a handful of people that made all the chain mail. They did it for like 12 hrs a day for months straight. Hard to imagine
There are three ways: 1.fire welding, 2. punching from a metal sheet and 3. Drifting from a metal sheet (Same as punching, but the material gets reshaped instead rather than beeing cut.)
so, either I fill my summer with blood sweat and tears only to be rewarded with something I'll use once or twice with my bros OR I just buy it... but it's not about the money, it's about sending a message.
I suspect that, where it was an option like for the Romans, maille was made in a quasi-industrial process: I can imagine a couple of was an armourer with journeymen and apprentices etc, could set up a sort of assembly line to produce sheets of maille - some sort of rig could be set up to set rivets for instance...
At 4:07 you seem to link solid rings with the flat overlapped rings. How did you make the solid rings? Because it seems so much easier as it would mean you would only have to rivet half of the rings, haha.
Good remark! At this point I swapped to rings from a merchant because I was lazy. You can make the solid rings by cutting them out of a sheet of metal by a punch. A similar way is drifting which relys more on reshaping than removing material.
Thanks for the video, I've just started blacksmithing and would love to try this at one point, can I ask what kind of wire and size (thickness ) ect do you use for this?
@@user-hh6eo8fj2q It's an essential question. You got this. I like to use two rods, one rather thicker than the other for initial and finalized overlapped diameter, ready to flatten with a hammer stroke. A hammer of four pounds' weight is about optimal for the job -- fewer hits per link.
I'm imagining someone spending hundreds of hours making chainmail armor, only to die within 15 seconds of their first fight by someone caving their head in with a hammer.
I suppose you dont need any really stiff metal to make it since the rivets hold it together, cus I made a butted coif for a school project and I want to turn it into and a full face aventail for a gjermundbu style helmet I have.
How and why did the rings become suddenly flat? I very rarely see flat ringlets on mail. Tbh it looks like a totally different material, like you swapped to washers. In fact, they make a washer in exactly that dimension.
You observed it well! Indeed I swaped to using different rings for the demonstration how to assemble the rings. These are rings that I bought. It's a mixture of riveted and solid rings.
Are there any tools to help organize the weave? I have a problem of having very large fingers: it is difficult to weave loops in while holding another part. With pliers, I don't seem to have enough hands.
I lay my maille down and use long sturdy tweezers to scoop the open ring through the ones I want to connect. (Though I've only made butted maille from aluminium wire and a tiny patch from steelrings).
That's how they get shark mail/butchers' mail. Though the stainless steel resultant product is so fine it looks more like heavy silvery gray cloth rather than a war-knitting.
So, question. How do you make those full rings with no rivet? I might be wrong, but I was under the impression that EVERY ring was going to be riveted and weaved into each other.
There are weaves with riveted rings only. But most of the times you find solid rings as well. These solid rings can be punched, drifted or welded. Manufacturing techniques varied by region and century. Hence one type of ring or the other was preferred. However you always need riveted rings to close the other rings.
@@Ironskin Thanks for the response! Do you have any suggestion of a video or site where I can learn on how to make these solid rings? I have had experience with butted mail, but Im looking into stepping up my craft so any help is appreciated. Regards from Mexico.
@@OLLG89 In the fifteenth century there was a strong trend to all-riveted mail. May have had to do with wire getting very cheap or something. But this trend never entirely replaced 'half nailed.' No worries.
Im wondering if welded chain mail would be easier to make or if it would be stronger. The other thing i wonder about is why i never see anyone hardening it.
@@Ironskin What he said. Hold up a proper sleeve of mail and it looks a lot like a sock with a heel to it. NOT just a tube. Taper down from elbow to wrist, which will be rather irregular and fiddly. Sleeves of mail are in open hang so the mail flows with the action of your shoulder and especially your elbow, which totally needs that extra slack. The hang of the sleeves is in contrast with the mail on the body, which rides in closed hang. Fits itself to you.
How many hours of work was that sheet of (was it?) 8 × 4? And how much efficiency could be gained if increasing production for scale (e.g. if a smith got an order from a knight to make a suit of riveted chain mail)?
Sir, please make a video of riveted six-in-one weave, if you're so inclined; one day I would like to craft it myself. I'm not sure how expansions and contractions would be done with the 6-1 pattern.
I'm considering getting into maille making, but I have a question. Is there a specific tool that is needed to put the rivet in place? All the examples of them I've seen are effectively pliers or clamps with dome shaped indents on either side. I know that is to give the rivets a domed shape, but is there a reason for them being like this? If not, could I use a normal pair of pliers for the rivets and be fine? I'd imagine that the rivet would be flat on both sides, but if that is a flaw, I'm certain you would know.
The resuling rivets will have a less optically pleasing shape. And as a result, the rivets tend to break the rings. That sometimes happens during crushing the rings - especially when the rivet hole is near the edge. Then the rivet has no place to go and pushes the overlap apart. You can easily use regular pliers for a couple hundred rings. Yet chainmail typically means rings by the thousands. For that I wouldn't want to miss the benefits of a proper tool. You find an introduction to the hobby here: www.ironskin.com/how-to-make-riveted-chainmail/
I was considering making chainmail. Then I watched this video and came to my senses
Start with butted to learn the weaves.
Gambeson only kits
You can use modern tools to save a LOT of time.
So you made the chain mail
I made a sleeve, took almost a month
I've made a full hauberk of 14 ga galvanized steel wire, butted of course. Took a long time, probably 200 hours total (coiling, cutting, weaving). And for some unknown reason, I really want to make a riveted mail hauberk. This is probably the best, most clear, and precise video I have seen thus far, and not a single word was spoken. Incredible sir, incredibly incredible. Thank you.
What was the inside diameter of your rings..?
I find making the riveted ring the easy part, linking the rings seems like an impossible task to me, I always get them wrong
@@conorhudson1486 learn the weave with butted links until you are practiced.
Mail links are unstable and flop over wrong a lot until your patch of mail grows big enough to be stable, about as big as your hand.
A good way to start is to think of mail in 5-link units, with a single link in the center joining four links at the corners of a square surrounding it. The links in the corners will all lean the same way, opposite from the corresponding lean of the link in the center. Make sure they're like that.
There are ways to make this happen automatically, with little thought.
What I like to do is start by making a chain of alternating double and single links,2 links 1 link 2 links etc. Always start with two links. All the doubled links may be closed up ahead of time; use an open link to hook two pairs of links together all the way down the chain.
Now here's the trick: lay the chain flat on your worktable and smooth it so the doubled links all lean one direction and the single links all lean the other way.
THIS IS A LONG CHAIN OF FIVE-LINK MAIL UNITS, all strung together.
Now you have to put links down one side of that chain, weaving a single open link into pairs of closed links bordering the long chain. These links you add WIIL HAVE THE SAME LEAN AS THE SINGLE LINKS THAT JOIN THE DOUBLED ONES. Now your entire chain is 2 links 2 links 2 links all the way down.
Go back and add links onto this edge but this time always being sure these links lean like the doubled links do. They will also be in the same linkrow. Now you have a ribbon of mail that runs 3 links 2 links 3 links etc.
Whatever you do, don't pick your mail up off your table to add links -- just slide links up to the edge of the mail ribbon and close them when they're hooked in.
By now your mailpatch has grown big enough to get stable. Just keep smoothing it out with your hands as you go, watching for links at the edges to flop over on you. Put 'em back.
And this doesn't even get to the final heat treating/tempering!
@@MonkeyJedi99 can you heat treat galvanised steel? Thought it gave off some nasty fumes
“Why is chain mail so expensive?!?”
“Here, watch this video.”
@BlackSword Honestly. You’re usually getting a good deal.
Well the riveted version requires about twice as work compared to the butted version. So a riveted chainmail probably was very expensive on its time.
But also the riveted version would withstand cuts and penetrations from most weapons while the butted only partially protects against it because it busts right open.
Or at least riveted 4x1 chainmail ain't gonna speak for bent-wheel chainmail or double riveted chainmail and 6x1 8x2 weaves.
I bought a welded stainless steel shirt- for $320. I honestly feel like it should have been $400.
@@triforcehero6264 if you got it from ringmesh its made by a machine. great stuff though i got a anodized hauberk and its great
It seems therapeutic and incredibly mindnumbing at once.
I wanna try to make some at some point
It is very relaxing craft indeed and quite easy to learn. I have made different kind of chainmail patterns and even made a chainmail coif. I highly recommend trying out, it's not expensive either
You can buy premade rings online if you don't want to make them yourself.
For starters butted mail would be a good choice- it's easier, cheaper (all though it's not expensive to begin with) and takes a lot less time (you don't have to rivet every single bloody ring in the pattern) but it's a lot less durable.
Riveted mail will withstand pretty much every cutting test imaginable and will hold up pretty ok to thrusts whereas butte mail can fail you even at cutting tests and it just won't survive any significant thrusting test.
It does take a long time to make even a small piece but it's well worth it and if you are into HEMA it could save you hundreds of dollars or even turn into a small source of income.
Well made riveted chainmail can sale for quite the handsome premium.
@@edim108 even if its less durable you dont need it to save your life , hell even if you want it to save your life a kingsmaile butted mail shkrt will do just fine against any would be attacker
@@howmuchbeforechamp Butted mail can rip even if you pull it too hard. It's really not very good, but it's much less time consuming to make- that's why it's also cheaper to buy fully made butted mail than riveted mail.
@@edim108 well i agree in can be pulled apart easily , but not if you use a thick wire , i have a vest i run with made from 2mm wire , its not something i can easily pull apart woth my bare hands
And i am in the process of making a 6in1 vest with 2.2mm wire and i can garuntee you would need two big guys pulling on it to bend open the rings
But yes its uncomparable how much less effort butted mail is , also i geusse you could weld butted mail should you be so inclined
Also its not meant to stop a sword or arrow so its really not neccesary to get rivetted mail
Idk why I'm watching this right now.
I also don't know why I now have the urge to make this.
I have no prior experience, no materials, no tools or any time to do this, but the idea has been planted in my head, and I thank you for it, sir.
You dont have pliers?
Me at 4am on Sunday
it's basically knitting. keeping the hands busy is a very common passtime
Its good to see people who respect the craft
I was so excited to see you punch (rather than drill) the rivet hole.
Very nice work. Bravo.
Although rivetted mail is more time consuming and labour intensive, it's worth it as the outcome is you have a very reliable and sturdy product that would survive brutal condition and most of all not tear open easily like a butted chainmail would......My passion n desire to make a chainmail had been revived!!😎😎😎
Even though this is 6 months late...my 1/4 inch inside diameter 14 gauge steel butted maille wont tear. Had several people try...rings are too small and too many in a small area. I trust my maille
LilRed Wagon how did they try? Were they using their hands, stabbing with a sword, or using something like a crowbill (not a crowbar, a crowbill)?
@@dylannecros3636 original poster I assume means by literally 2 handed tearing it apart which I had 3 different "well" built guys try from work. I dont think a crowbar is gonna do much in the way of tearing my maille. I do know however that a rapier will only penetrate an inch and a quarter. The rings are small enough to basically stop a rapier from spreading the one ring the rapier centered on. But like I said I'll trust my work you dont have to take my word for it. As for the crowbill articles I've just read up on they state that crowbills were designed to pierce maille. Before hand I've never heard of a crowbill only of military picks and hammers. Friends sword (probably a cheap thing I dont know) chipped all along the contacted spots when he made a slashing move of some sort.
LilRed Wagon yes, it must have been a cheap sword. Most battle ready swords, unless if made with an extremely fine edge, which most aren’t, won’t chip so easily just by being swung into chainmail. I also meant actual stabbing with a sword, not swinging away. Some swords were better able to penetrate chainmail because the tips were broader and sturdier, allowing them to force open rings. I suppose it also depends on what target did you have the chainmail hanging from? Was it on a training dummy or a bale of hay, or just hanging loosely like a sheet on a cloths line when your friends were doing their thing? It’s not going to have authentic resistance pushing back on the weapon like if it were being worn by a man that’s at least 100 pounds, which would contribute to determining if it would stand up against attacks.
@@dylannecros3636 I dont think a sword of any caliber is gonna slice through 14 gauge galvanized steel wire if that's what you're implying? And no a broadsword wasnt used to stab or poke but as I stated a rapier was used. The maille was draped over a manakin from an old clothing store. Just bought it from a pawn shop for cheap to use haha! The slashes did gouge a few links but that's all. Oh a cheap Chinese made "katana" was used for the slashes by the way.
For anyone wondering why a medieval suit of mail did cost as much as a house: ^
much as a ship***
back then or now?
@@Queue3612 back then
You forget, everything back in that time was done by hand with just as much painstaking effort. You can't judge the past through the eyes of the present and use modern methods as the touchstone.
It didn't though?
I can spend all day, cutting, grinding, welding, turning and filing steel.
I come home, and relax watching someone making chainmail with the birds singing in the background.
First thing I thought?
I wonder if I could make a version with loads of circlips, and small mild steel pins?
I know a guy who made a Hauberk out of soda can tabs
@@custodianvrael6471 Man, that sounds awesome. I'd love to try a project like that. Sadly, I live in an apartment building, and would have to find a way to make it without any eternally repeating hammer strikes
@@surrealdynamics4077 your town, or one near by, might have an artist or artisan space. Might have to pay rent, but you can ask around if anyone does smithing, and buy or trade for time, space, and supplies.
Yes you can make riveted mail of circlips and pin rivets. I've handled the stuff. It's a rather heavy mail; I think 18ga, 1.2mm, wire links run a bit lighter weight and don't look kind of funny. But if the price of circlips in bulk is no object, you will get strong mail out of it. Expect to grow muscles working these links -- circlips are stout.
@@surrealdynamics4077 one word -- okay, two. COMPOUND LEVERAGE, using big bolt cutters with modified tong like jaws fitted. Why whack when you can squeeze?
At 0:52 you are cuting the rings diagonally instead of straight, this got me curious, is there a purpose behind it? By the way amazing video and incredible craft!!!
I am not informed in any of this so take my insight with a grain of salt, but to me the most logical reasons would be that trying to do it straight would be incredibly hard to balance and the tool would slide off to the side when struck, I can see that issue ruining many links if it where to slide off after the cut and pry them wide open
What did you punch the rings on at 3:10? Whenever I try to punch my rings, I always end up destroying them.
For punching, I use a little hardened steel rod that I shaped into this form. I put the rings on a piece of hard firewood to punch them. The wood helps to preserve my punching tool. It happens that the rings get pushed into the wood and deform. Most time it is when they are not annealed properly or the overlap is too narrow. I wrote a guide to catch all these questions. Maybe that's something for you. www.ironskin.com/product/ironskins-guide-to-making-riveted-chainmail/
I found it time consuming enough to add a brass trim to my rivetted mail, I ordered the brass rings pre manufactured and only had to add the trim a few rows deep 1 ring at a time of course. Much respect to those who make full pieces your patients is far beyond my own.
I have just started learning chainmail to make jewelry and never have I dipped my toes into a craft that had such a disparity between origins and modern usage. Honestly, I also crochet and it’s easier to grow the cotton, spin it, dye it, make it into thread, then yarn, and then crochet something with it than it is to make authentic European chainmail. In other words, my immediately visceral reaction to this video was: ABSOLUTELY NOT. Very interesting and well made though.
For all those who want to get into making your own maille, but are scared away by the sheer amount of work that goes into the historically correct way:
You don't need to make the rings and rivets yourself like he does. Yes, your rings bought online wont look as good as his, but it's close enough. The work needed to do all the rings yourself is, as you can see, absolutely ridiculous and probably only for people who have made some maille armor allready.
Second, if you start out and are not sure if it's something for you, pls for the love of god do a mixed ring construction (if the tailoring allows it). It is somewhat stronger, still historically accurate and half the work. I started out with fully riveted construction and especially in the beginning, where you still have to figure out your own best workflow, you will struggle and probably get frustrated by your slow progress, if you don't push yourself. Making riveted maille won't ever be a fast process, but you can get rather quick if you get used to it. Especially with a mixed ring construction.
Third, pls don't make a whole hauberk/haubergeon (shirt of maille) as your first project. It is the most time consuming and expensive project in the world of maille armor you could choose and the tailoring you need to do is hard. So again, if you aren't fully commited yet, it is just too big of a project. Do a maille standard or if you want something more challenging, a coif. You will see more progress and in a few weeks time you will have a finished piece of maille armor and know if you want to continue with the hobby.
Hope this helps someone who wants to get into it. For those still considering, try it out. It really is a relaxing hobby and there is very high satisfaction in having made your own armor.
Echt krasses Video Ironskin. Der Aufwand ist ja wirklich astronomisch... Machst du für all deine Projekte die Ringe selber oder ist das eher ein living history Ding, wo du eher den Prozess nachvollziehen möchtest?
True words! I have to add that a horse armor (or elephant armor) would be the most time consuming project in the world of mail. :D
In fact even the last scenes in the video show commercial rings, because I had to get it done in one day. I do make rings to experiment with them, but most of the time I use premade rings for tailoring projects.
Mixed construction is also known in the Arms & Armor world as 'half nailed,' or 'demi-clouée.'
Medieval version of primitive technology. Love it.
You could almost call it "Medieval technology".
true =D
It’s like the Medieval equivalent to the bulletproof vest... If you were trying to block arrows and sword strikes instead of bullets.
@@MedievalGenie you can call it technology since tekne and logos are greek words. Tekne is knowlegde and logos is study of. So basically knowledge of knowledge. So not all technology is modern
@@codyr.48 that would be a coat of plate they looks very Similar
Woah, that riveting pliers would be handy to have...
That is insanely labor intensive. Only the richest knights can afford riveted mail. The rivers really require really renowned riveting repertoires of skills.
yes, i bought a loose 5mm (along juglars) and 8mm elsewhere) washers and pre cut flat rivets made my own double layered aventail one over cuirass and underneath bevor. and one underneath my forged gothic cuirass with simple linen backing to prevent chaffing on my gambeson, leather liner around my neck rim, took 2? months doing maybe 2 hours a day if i had to spool, anneal, smash, drift, itd take longer
Actually it was commonly riveted.
www.google.com/search?q=was+medieval+chainmail+riveted%3F&client=ms-android-samsung-rev2&source=android-home&sxsrf=AB5stBhSd6JRi3Rnl2WNlVpODAEN4P_meA%3A1688194452982&source=hp&ei=lM2fZMrMOcyG9u8PrKOm6AI&oq=was+medieval+chainmail+riveted%3F&gs_lp=EhFtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1ocCIfd2FzIG1lZGlldmFsIGNoYWlubWFpbCByaXZldGVkPzIFECEYoAEyBRAhGKABMgUQIRigAUih8AFQmBNYx-QBcAx4AJABAZgB4wKgAZhBqgEIMC4zNi44LjS4AQPIAQD4AQGoAg_CAgcQIxjqAhgnwgIHEC4Y6gIYJ8ICDRAuGMcBGK8BGOoCGCfCAgQQIxgnwgIHECMYigUYJ8ICCBAuGIoFGJECwgIIEAAYigUYkQLCAgsQLhiABBjHARjRA8ICBRAAGIAEwgIHEC4YigUYJ8ICBRAuGIAEwgIIEC4YgAQY1ALCAgcQABiABBgKwgINEC4YgAQYxwEY0QMYCsICChAAGIAEGMkDGArCAggQABiKBRiSA8ICBxAuGIAEGArCAggQABiABBjLAcICCBAuGIAEGMsBwgIOEC4YgAQYxwEYrwEYyQPCAgcQABgNGIAEwgIMECMYigUYExiABBgnwgIKEC4YxwEYrwEYJ8ICCBAAGIAEGMkDwgIGEAAYFhgewgIIEAAYFhgeGA_CAgcQIRigARgKwgIIEAAYigUYhgPCAggQIRgWGB4YHcICChAhGBYYHhgPGB3CAgUQABiiBMICCBAAGIkFGKIE&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-hp
It really is riveting
Easy to repair tho but yes
In the early medieval yes, but by the high medievel every professional soldier would have been wearing a full mail hauberk at minimum
Absolutely amazing video! I think I will start saving for one of your kits, Ironskin!
Thank you for the praise! I'd be so thrilled to know TheREALSlimShady is using my tool kit. :D
As someone who makes jewelry I get lost in the process and I love it.
At last someone who actually knows what they are doing. Really excellent video.
❤AND PEOPLE WONDER WHY GOOD QUALITY CHAINMAIL IS SO EXPENSIVE ITS BECAUSE OF ALL THE INTENSIVE WORK THAT IT REQUIRES
MAD RESPECT FOR YOUR SKILLS AND TALENT ❤
Wunderschöne Handarbeit!
Ich hab's Anfang dieser Woche kognitiv nicht auf die Reihe gebracht, zwei Reihen miteinander zu verbinden. Dein Video macht mir neuen Mut es nochmal zu probieren. :)
at 4:07 , are the rings without rivets welded closed somehow? or are they just butted together and beaten flat?
These solid rings are punched from a metal sheet.
@@Ironskin I see. I visited your amazing website and read it there too. I would love to see a video on drifting or punching solid rings.
When punching the hole for a rivet, which size pin punch would you use for ring which uses 1.2mm wire?
Can you make a video showing how to make those tools? It would help a lot.
That's a good idea for a future video! I already share a view rough instructions on my blog: www.ironskin.com/category/making-tools-for-mail-armor/
How hot is red hot?
Just a quick question, how did medieval smiths forge metal into wires in the first place? Love the work, keep it up.
Edit: also I can see these rings got flattened at some point after 3:33, did you just whack them flat with a hammer or press them? Would love to know.
I know that one method of making wire is to draw metal stock through gauged holes, smaller and smaller, until it's the gauge desired. That works with copper and gold. I don't know if that's how steel is done.
What Charles Coslor described also works for iron-wire and has been used in history. It is forged into a rod and then pulled through ever-smaller holes in a plate.
Yes, I hit the rings directly with a hammer to flatten them. Alternatively, you can whack a rod resting on the ring. In the video I show both ways.
@@Ironskin The big modern difference is that the ancient way ran the drawn wire back and forth between two stout reels, passing through a hardened steel draw plate between them.
The modern method runs the wire unidirectionally through a lengthy series of die stations along the wire path. The process is pretty much round rod stock into one end and finished wire out the other; coil and ship out... to Boston...
Metal dies like they do now just on a much smaller scale
I love your dedication and pure craftsmanship. Superb. A pleasure to watch
Question for the creator, when you completed the process of creating the chain mail, were you finished? or did you have to temper or heat treat the armor afterwards? Just curious.
A thought. Rather than try to hold a handful of rings as you are trying to add ‘the next row’ for instance, how about taking a wood board and put a small tack through one ring, in the upper left corner (for right handed people). Then as you add the frost row of, say, 10, and put another tack in that one. Then each row hangs right in front of you as you add more rows or column’s, and when you have a certain size, set that aside and start over for the next square or sheet, etc., then later you can hang each block and knit the next block to it while always being able to see where you are. Just a thought.
Stitching blocks together as shown here is the hard way.
It's much easier to work an edge, like knitting. That way you only need to thread through 2 rings, and riveting is far more accessible.
I've only made chain mail from split ring washers, no ring production or riveting, but by working an edge it's much easier to get the needle nose pliers where you need them.
@@dougaltolan3017 Thanks for your comment! (And knitting is exactly what I was thinking of! I’ve done some off and on, but this, making chain mail, seems to lend itself closely to that. I know some folks like to reproduce things the same way it was originally made, and not just chain mail, woodworking, string instrument making, violin making comes to mind, using only the tools available at that time, no electricity, etc., but I would like to finish a project in my lifetime! Question… is putting the chain in a fire for the purpose of case hardening?)
@@backpages1 in this video the fire treatment is to reverse work hardening. If you've ever worked silver, it's a similar thing. The metal is worked cold, but becomes brittle with working. The heat treatment makes it maleable (a bit) again.
Other people have asked if there is a post assembly heat treatment like case hardening. That, I don't know.
But the heat treatment here, and the subsequent working cannot be for hot working, so it must be anealing.
@@dougaltolan3017 Cool! Thanks!
Really riveting stuff.
great video. seems like applying the rivets once you have the actual chain coming together is mind numbingly tedious. hope you post more videos!
Is there a tool like what you have in 1:30 in the states? I ordered some iron wire but I really don’t want to wait a month to get that tool as well. Or do I just have to file bolt cutters? Can I file bolt cutters? What type of file would I need? I’ve been trying to find some on the internet for 45 minutes
Unfassbar! Großen Respekt. Auch dass du die Ringe selber machst. Die Technik des Vernietens ist natürlich nochmal um einiges aufwändiger als die Ringe mit einer Zange auf und zu zu machen. Bravo!
@ironskin Can I ask why you used a chisel to punch the rings out when they're still on the mandrel? They look uncut later when you use the wire cutters, and it doesn't look like they're being cut with enough overlap with the chisel. So where did those rings go? 1:01
The cutting with a chisel is just an alternative way to do it. These rings did not make it into the video. The main method here is the cutting with a tong.
What's the purpose of putting them in the furnace at 3:03? I'm guessing heat treating of some sort, but to what end?
Fantastic video, you guys rock! This really isn't as easy as you make it look. I'm getting better, slowly, and your videos are very helpful! :)
Я: Чтобы посмотреть в 11 часу ночи на сон грядущий?
Ютуб: Посмотри как делают кольчуги.
Я: Обалдеть, это же сколько труда и какая кропотливая работа... Мое искренее восхищение!
My mom: What do you want for Christmas?
Me: Mother, I request of thee an anvil and the finest hammer in the land as a token of the birth of Christ
:D
Master of your craft! Love the rivets.
For everyone talking about how expensive maille used to be, it is an expensive process now but was pretty standard in the later medieval era. It took a while to make, but labor wasn’t super expensive. Most people back then worked their asses off in every field of work, but you don’t see outrageous prices on meat, clothes, et cetera.
He's making it old school. I haven't done it in a while but when I did I used a long bolt of the diameter I wanted the links to be. Cut off the head and cut a short slot in the other end. Chuck the steel bolt into a drill then feed the wire through two pieces of wood held together in a vice (for tension). Once you have a bunch of these wire springs made use some good cutters to cut them into rings. Braid the links into chainmail. I never bothered to weld the chainmail links and would occasionally have to replace missing links, but it was never a big deal. If you wanted to weld them I'd use a small welder to tack the links closed...easy peasy.
Question : is is stronger to do it like that or a more simple way?
By other way I mean just cutting the ring and do the chainmail like that also if yu have the time to explain me why each one is stronger than the other that would be awesome I'm very curious
The other way that you mention is called butted rings. They are weaker, because when you pull they open. To make up for this disadvatange you can use harder steel, but in the end riveted rings are still stronger.
@@Ironskin okay thx for the practice ^^
un trabajo magnifico me encanta que se mantenga el tradicionalismo de la herreria medieval
where did you buy your pin punch ? and how large is the point in mm ? I' ìm trying to make make but i have faild to make the hole various time, i have a similar punch but after 4 ring it was broken and if I do the proces on wood the ring just bends, i have to use a steel bar with a small hole ( I heated the rings until they became medium red)
The woods to soft but as far as the tool goes im not for certain good luck friend.
Sorry for the late reply Simone 9999. I make the pin punches myself from pointy steel rods. The diameter of the cylinder tip is about 1.2mm. It is the same diameter I use for riveting. If your punch doesn't deform it is alright. It's rather the rings. Make sure the rings cool very slowly after medium red heat. Make the overlap a bit wider. Use very hard wood. Meanwhile I wrote an instruction manual with a step by step guide which can be purchased on my website www.ironskin.com
Now THAT is old-school. I LOVE it
No wonder good chainmail costs what it does. Good skill and craftsmanship is never cheap, nor do you want something cheap when your life depends on it.
I use a thin bladed die grinder to spit my rings and I found it works very well and is a huge time saver 😁
And The Best Part is When You Get Done You Will Have Proof That You Have Accomplished Something Amazing!!!
I remember the first time making chainmail. The tips of my thumbs were hard as a rock.
I can't even imagine the amount of people they needed to mass produce this in the medieval era for the armys given I'm sure not everyone had mail but still the process not only just to weave it all together but to size and shape it all properly jeez.
It is believed that they made up regular mail patches until they had an inventory. These would then be zipped together to make up shirts of any size, collars, voiders, and other mail articles. Even pot scrubbers maybe.,
Once the slow business of weaving the mail patches was done, final assembly was quick. "You need it Thursday? Done."
@@w.reidripley1968This is about how I did my shirts after my first one. I could make a front, back, collar, and sleeve. The collar would have expansions built in and I'd add ones to the sides to fit to as needed. Made production so much easier.
@@scarling9367 Yeah. I think I call that fashion of shoulder and neck hole a 'mantle top,' after the round kind of bishops-mantle. It's all going round and round in circles, putting in expansions as you go. Unusual in historical shirts, but not unheard-of; I suspect the Boris Godunov shirt in the Hermitage is one such.
Something I eventually learned was that giving a shirt a bit of a waist helps it not slide down through your cinch belt, no matter how vigorously you move.
I tend to build the body of the shirt pretty much as a single bloc, with places/suits included to insert expansion arrays for tailoring and for free arm mobility. This keeps me out of trouble with link rows mismatching -- or worse, gone spiral.
@@w.reidripley1968 I think I've read about the Bishop design. The shirts I made were block design with expansions in the back for arm mobility.
And yes, I also noticed that contractions and expansions around the belt line let it sit on the waist better.
is there any place I can buy those tools?
www.ironskin.com/shop/
I made a mail 30 years ago, with 12 mm keyrings. Can make one in a week. I have an original persian mail from around 1860, made out of 8 mm keyrings. They used modern technique for their time.
Hi Ironskin, Can I use some of your shots for a short item about chain mail for a Dutch TV show? Thanks, Hein
Hi Hein. Sorry for the late reply. Please contact me by mail via basti[at]ironskin.com
I've always wondered and couldnt have found a better video to answer. Brilliant video👍
А проволоку как сделать средневековыми методами?
Can you do a short video of that little jig from the beginning
How it is constructed
is it held together through tension from the cords?
Just came from the LOTR behind the scene, there were a handful of people that made all the chain mail. They did it for like 12 hrs a day for months straight. Hard to imagine
Iron looks much better aesthetics-wise than using steel but the rust is an issue. What wire size did you use, 2mm? (12 gauge).
If you store it properly, the rust isn't much of a proplem. The wire here is 1.4mm. That is a bit thinner than 15 gauge.
How do you blacksmith rings with no rivets? I see a bunch of round rings with no breaks, how do u make those?
There are three ways: 1.fire welding, 2. punching from a metal sheet and 3. Drifting from a metal sheet (Same as punching, but the material gets reshaped instead rather than beeing cut.)
I made a butted chainmail coif. I cannot IMAGINE how long a full hauberk of riveted mail would take to make.
so, either I fill my summer with blood sweat and tears only to be rewarded with something I'll use once or twice with my bros OR I just buy it... but it's not about the money, it's about sending a message.
I suspect that, where it was an option like for the Romans, maille was made in a quasi-industrial process: I can imagine a couple of was an armourer with journeymen and apprentices etc, could set up a sort of assembly line to produce sheets of maille - some sort of rig could be set up to set rivets for instance...
Fantastic video! I wish I had it when I first started making chainmail!
That makes me appreciate those how make this kind of chain mail!
At 4:07 you seem to link solid rings with the flat overlapped rings. How did you make the solid rings? Because it seems so much easier as it would mean you would only have to rivet half of the rings, haha.
Good remark! At this point I swapped to rings from a merchant because I was lazy. You can make the solid rings by cutting them out of a sheet of metal by a punch. A similar way is drifting which relys more on reshaping than removing material.
@@Ironskin Thanks for the reply!
Would you consider making a video on how this might have been done in medieval times?
Thanks for the video, I've just started blacksmithing and would love to try this at one point, can I ask what kind of wire and size (thickness ) ect do you use for this?
Hi, this is 1.4mm wire worked into rings with 8mm inner diameter.
So the rod you used for this was 8mm round? Sorry if that's a silly question!
@@user-hh6eo8fj2q The rod that they used to shape the wire was 8mm in diameter, or 4mm in radius, yes.
@@user-hh6eo8fj2q It's an essential question. You got this. I like to use two rods, one rather thicker than the other for initial and finalized overlapped diameter, ready to flatten with a hammer stroke. A hammer of four pounds' weight is about optimal for the job -- fewer hits per link.
nice blacksmithing video. delicate skills displayed, very nice! May I ask, why did you heat the links twice?
I'm imagining someone spending hundreds of hours making chainmail armor, only to die within 15 seconds of their first fight by someone caving their head in with a hammer.
so do u wire brush it then wax tellow wipe it to stop rust?
Actually I just leav the rings as they are. The black surface is quite resistant to building rust.
I suppose you dont need any really stiff metal to make it since the rivets hold it together, cus I made a butted coif for a school project and I want to turn it into and a full face aventail for a gjermundbu style helmet I have.
In my head that's always seemed like it would be a lot more complicated process but it's beautifully simple
Imagine going through all this trouble and some bloke throws it into a bog to celebrate their victory
How and why did the rings become suddenly flat? I very rarely see flat ringlets on mail. Tbh it looks like a totally different material, like you swapped to washers. In fact, they make a washer in exactly that dimension.
You observed it well! Indeed I swaped to using different rings for the demonstration how to assemble the rings. These are rings that I bought. It's a mixture of riveted and solid rings.
Are there any tools to help organize the weave? I have a problem of having very large fingers: it is difficult to weave loops in while holding another part. With pliers, I don't seem to have enough hands.
I lay my maille down and use long sturdy tweezers to scoop the open ring through the ones I want to connect. (Though I've only made butted maille from aluminium wire and a tiny patch from steelrings).
Dude... Nicely done... That's a hell of a lot of work to make a full shirt. 👍
Where did they get the wire from in the first place. I think that would be hard to make in the old days
I'm glad industrial age came so we can easily automate this process
That's how they get shark mail/butchers' mail.
Though the stainless steel resultant product is so fine it looks more like heavy silvery gray cloth rather than a war-knitting.
this whole video was absolutely rivetting
how did they make so much thin metal wire back in the old days?
draw it through a metal drawplate with a tiny hole (the english heritage channel has a video about maillemaking and they explain how it works).
So, question. How do you make those full rings with no rivet? I might be wrong, but I was under the impression that EVERY ring was going to be riveted and weaved into each other.
There are weaves with riveted rings only. But most of the times you find solid rings as well. These solid rings can be punched, drifted or welded. Manufacturing techniques varied by region and century. Hence one type of ring or the other was preferred. However you always need riveted rings to close the other rings.
@@Ironskin Thanks for the response! Do you have any suggestion of a video or site where I can learn on how to make these solid rings? I have had experience with butted mail, but Im looking into stepping up my craft so any help is appreciated. Regards from Mexico.
@@OLLG89 In the fifteenth century there was a strong trend to all-riveted mail. May have had to do with wire getting very cheap or something. But this trend never entirely replaced 'half nailed.' No worries.
Where do you get the heavy steel wire to make the links from?
Just search online or at a hardware store for 16 gauge wire. It’s not that hard to come by and you don’t need anything special.
@@MythWorks Awesome, thanks!
what is the proper names for riveting tongs? this tool looks handy.
Were the rivets made from the same wire? You just squeeze them together with the pliers?
Always wondered how they made them rings, thanks
This may sound like a stupid question but to make 8mm interior diameter rings the mandrel needs to be 8mm diameter right?
Este es el mejor video qué he visto de cota de malla, me suscribo porque me haz ayudado mucho.
What punch are you using around 2:40?
Im wondering if welded chain mail would be easier to make or if it would be stronger.
The other thing i wonder about is why i never see anyone hardening it.
Seeing this process, definitely can be automated.
is this regular steel wire?
It is mild steel with the lowest carbon content I could find.
Hey. Sorry for the comment on the old video. But how are tye solid rings (the ones without rivets) made?
Hey mate your mail tongs look amazing! I'm trying to tailor my mail sleeves, any suggestions or advice?
Yes, do it with a build in bend. www.ironskin.com/making-sleeves-for-mail-armor/
@@Ironskin What he said. Hold up a proper sleeve of mail and it looks a lot like a sock with a heel to it.
NOT just a tube. Taper down from elbow to wrist, which will be rather irregular and fiddly. Sleeves of mail are in open hang so the mail flows with the action of your shoulder and especially your elbow, which totally needs that extra slack.
The hang of the sleeves is in contrast with the mail on the body, which rides in closed hang. Fits itself to you.
How many hours of work was that sheet of (was it?) 8 × 4? And how much efficiency could be gained if increasing production for scale (e.g. if a smith got an order from a knight to make a suit of riveted chain mail)?
Hi, wieso legt man die Ringe ins Feuer? Was bringt das? Spannungsarm glühen vielleicht?
Ja, genau. Das Glühen und langsame Abkühlen macht das verformte Material wieder weich.
Sir, please make a video of riveted six-in-one weave, if you're so inclined; one day I would like to craft it myself. I'm not sure how expansions and contractions would be done with the 6-1 pattern.
Made two unriveted chainmails and that was a long process. I can't imagine this especially without the tools...
I'm considering getting into maille making, but I have a question. Is there a specific tool that is needed to put the rivet in place? All the examples of them I've seen are effectively pliers or clamps with dome shaped indents on either side. I know that is to give the rivets a domed shape, but is there a reason for them being like this? If not, could I use a normal pair of pliers for the rivets and be fine? I'd imagine that the rivet would be flat on both sides, but if that is a flaw, I'm certain you would know.
The resuling rivets will have a less optically pleasing shape. And as a result, the rivets tend to break the rings. That sometimes happens during crushing the rings - especially when the rivet hole is near the edge. Then the rivet has no place to go and pushes the overlap apart. You can easily use regular pliers for a couple hundred rings. Yet chainmail typically means rings by the thousands. For that I wouldn't want to miss the benefits of a proper tool. You find an introduction to the hobby here: www.ironskin.com/how-to-make-riveted-chainmail/
do you heat and then quench when its finished to harden the steel?
You are the king man haha You make me so happy i won't to learn this thanks You so much brotha 💪
Wjat metal are you using for rivets?