Making chain-mail with your hands Bashny.Net

Will be 10 photos and text.

Mail - one of the oldest types of protective armor. It is considered to be the inventors of the Celts. Known chain mail dating back to IV century BC In some countries of the East Warriors wore them until the end of the XIX century.

However, this article will not go talking about history. Rather, it will be practical advice for those who are seriously or just out of curiosity decided to try their hand at such an exciting business as a historical reconstruction. Anyway, the inquisitive reader necessarily interested Underwritten information.

First of all, you need a regular wire thickness of about 2 mm (the best option). The easiest way to make chain mail made of aluminum or copper. But in the first case, it will serve only as an ornament (not recommend testing for strength), and the second - Mail get very expensive (non-ferrous metal, after all).

Steel wire come out strong chain mail, but will have to sweat over the work. Gold will be the middle of an ordinary steel wire, which is often used in his work communicators - it is easy to operate and it is quite inexpensive. In the manufacture of a coat of mail it needs about 10 kg of metal.

Also, make sure the tools. You will need: pliers, tongs or a cutter and a round metal rod with a diameter of 10 mm (wire thickness 2 mm, it will be optimal proportions). Also, in the process, to protect hands from injury, you will need more than one pair of gloves.

Thus, first to make some of the wire rings. Wind the wire on the rod, to get something like a spring, and cut out of it rings. Of course, it is possible to use and power, but because the ancient masters managed to somehow get by without them, no? )))

When you prepare a sufficient number of "semi-finished" - the fun begins.

The original is here

Keep part of the rings with a pair of pliers:





There are several ways to reduce the Rings: by welding, snare, soldering, riveting, and so on. D. I do not set a goal to achieve full of authenticity and, so as not to bother, have chosen the easiest way - connected ring butt. Then we take one unreconciled ring and threaded into it four mixed by:



The result is this here "Pyaterochka»:



Make some "fives" and combine them together:



And so on:



The presented version of chain mail weave called "4 in 1" and is considered a classic. Taking advantage of other options - "1 in 6", "8 in 1" or "2 to 8" - you get more dense, and thus more severe and almost stiff armor.

As a result, a few months later I got this coat of mail (weight 12 kg, by the way):



Unfortunately, the rings were of different shades, so the chain mail looks so colorful, but warms - grind it to a shine ordinary sand. This will help eliminate the disadvantage.

Since I left a little ring, I decided to still make Mail mittens. They weigh "only" a kilogram:



In my next article, I made a mistake - prepared with a ring of the same diameter, but thicker wire. Weave got too tight, because of what's Mail canvas almost lost elasticity.



But if the first save of the ceremony chainmail stab (tested), in this five-kilogram "cap" can not be afraid even bullets from a traumatic gun. But let it check for yourself someone else.

Finally, I made one more coat of mail, using the so-called "Sarmatian" or "Japanese" weaving - is when the rings are connected to cross each other and have different diameters. As it turned out, it does not protect against thrusting, but it is much easier (9 kg) and more flexible than the European equivalent. And very attractive in appearance:



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