I was planning on starting a chainmail hauberk for a larp that I am attending next year and I goofed when I bought my wire. Most tutorials assume 14 gauge wire with 3/8" rings in a 4-in-1 weave pattern. I forgot that gauge sizing works in reverse when I bought my wire because I was blinded by the fact that it was $30 (on sale) for a roll compared to $130 for in-store prices in my area. I have a 1/2 mile of 17 gauge wire coming in today. Should I switch to a smaller ring size and/or bump it up to a 6-in-1... or should I just return it and buy 14 gauge?

I am concerned with how it will look and hold up to getting hit with foam weapons, more so with how it looks.

EDIT: The 4-in-1 looks good enough imo. On the slightly larger side but easy to work with. Thanks everyone for your input.

I’m interested in learning how to craft mail and, eventually, scale mail. And I’ve seen sheet aluminum in all kinds of colors. I’m looking to make scales of black and red swirl, but haven’t found anything like this for sale. Any advice?

Help!! I’ve been searching high and low for a good, affordable supplier for stainless rings. Weave Got Maille has given me the best product, but they’re so pricey when I can order (almost lol) the exact same product from ebay for a fraction of the price. I’ve ordered from a couple other sellers, but the gauge sizing has just been off! Photos for example of “16 gauge” from ebay (left) vs 16g from WGM (right) ugh so frustrating. Do I just suck it up and give all my money away to WGM??? They’re awesome, but there’s gotta be something else out there

I'd like to make/buy a few items out of stainless wedge rivetted mail because wedge is more accurate for a 1350 burgundy kit but also because I live in Ireland and fight in the rain quite often, and frankly I don't want to spent my time clearing rust or oiling everything all the time. The only problem is, I can't find any mentions of wedge rivetted stainless rings anywhere, be it as loose rings or finished products. Anyone know where I can find some? Europe preferably, for taxes and shipping purposes.

Hey Guys and Girls,

anyone got experience or Ideas wearing a Hauberk for Hours?

I'm wanting to wear my Hauberk in a few weeks, but since it ways over 10Kg, I wonder how it will be.

Or if there is anything that could help me. I have a Belt allready.

I am testing it at home right now, but I'm not going to stand around at home for Hours :D

Hello there!

About to start my first chainmail project for an upcoming costume. Not a huge piece (feels like a good place to start) but large enough for me to take it seriously.

I have a problem with pain in my joints, especially within my hands, wrists and underarms. I realize making chainmail will likely be very taxing on my hands so I want to make sure I take every precaution possible and learn every trick in the book to ease the pain.

What are your tips and tricks for the least amount of pain/discomfort when making chainmail? Are there any recommendations in tools that make the process easier? I haven’t purchased my pliers yet so I’m still up for any recommendations on which are the easiest to work with😊

I've purchased some 16g SWG stainless steel wire which is a lot harder to cut through with my wiss mini bolt cutters than the previous wire I was using & my hand & wrist is starting to hurt.

Does anyone have recommendations on better ways to cut rings? I've seen knipex thrown around a lot but I'm not sure which ones. I'm in the USA.

Picture of my latest choker for tax.

I’ve only made jewelry from aluminum rings, but I’m interested in using stainless instead. As much as I’d like to DIY, the thought of making my own stainless jump rings feels like too much of a commitment at this point.

Any suggestions for where to source high quality stainless jump rings? Also looking for stainless o rings (in various sizes) as well as other hardware. What are your go-to shops?

Just started making chainmail and I've fallen in love.

Besides a good pair of pairs of pliers, what other tools might I want to consider getting that might be useful, specifically for assembling.

I know there a handful of tools useful for creating my own rings. I've picked up a handful for now so I think I'm good on that front (though I'll probably mostly stick with buying rings).

I'm interested in any useful, but maybe less obvious or common, tools that help with actually assembling the rings and assembling sheets together.

Looking at the analog of sewing/weaving, there are truckloads of tools for weaving (making sheets) and even more for assembling those sheets into things.

I've wanted to make maille for quite a while (ever since a Director I had at camp told me about how he went to a knitting circle with a bunch of ladies and he'd sit there and "knit" chainmail while they knitted), but never quite got around to it.

I was playing FFXVI the other day and they had some great pieces which finally gave me the nudge I needed.

Ordered a kit and just started, but already love it.

One thing I noticed was they had several pieces that were chainmail backed by cloth or leather. It wasn't just worn over top, but clearly integrated into the piece.

Is this something that is regularly done, or something they just came up with? I've seen plenty of examples wearing it over, or maybe with a cuff or collar of cloth/leather, but haven't seen any real examples like this.

Any thoughts or tips for doing something like this? Thanks.

I've just started making maille and I've already fallen in love.

I bought a kit off of Amazon that came with some functional, though cheap, pliers.

After making my first bracelet, I can already feel some pain creeping into my hands. I hate wearing gloves, so I'd prefer to avoid that, so I thought getting a nice set of pliers would be a good first step.

Anyone have any recommendations? Thanks.

Hello everyone!
I finally started making some chain mail, but since i'm a bit allergic to nickel, would love to protect my skin
Any recomendations of something that will last and is not too thick?

I’ve been making maille out of black annealed wire, Is there any way to remove that oily coating and make it shiny? I was thinking using acetic acid (vinegar) to remove any oxide but idk what would dissolve the coating.

Would they be too soft to hold Euro 4-in-1? They seem almost too cheap on TRL.

I have recently purchased The Ringinator and have it assembled. Before I start cutting however, I want to be certain I have the right lubricant. It says a water soluble cutting oil, but no petroleum products.

Is there anyone that has this machine, and what kinds of lubricants do you use? I will be cutting everything from stainless steel, aluminum, titanium, and niobium.

I got an 'old' hauberk that had quite some rust on it. Found a trick on the internet that said "soak in some vinegar for about 1 hour, then scrub the rust off with a dry towel." I did that, but now the entire thing has rusted. Does anyone have a trick to de-rust an entire hauberk?

I'm looking to get some glow in the dark rubber rings for an upcoming project, and I'd like to get as bright of a glow as possible.

Does anyone have any suggestions on where to order from, that has decent shipping prices for Canada? I'm aware of TRL, but I don't know how bright their rings are, or if there are glowier alternatives.

My ideal is 16g 1/4" with a blue glow, but I'm amenable to green if that's all that's available.

Hi,

I’m a hobbyist working with stainless steel 316 wire who makes my own jump rings for cost efficiency. I’ve worked with pre-made machine cut my rings and I do like them, but I’m trying to save on costs as I recently invested in some better tools, and I need some advice on how to go about cutting that material…

I‘ve used a bolt cutter, which can handle the wire way better than any pliers I have, but the uneven edges are frustrating and just don’t look that good.

I’ve also purchased a jeweller’s saw with an array of blades, and the results are beautiful, however it takes me minimum 20 minutes of work to cut a single ring with a well lubricated #2 blade on 19g wire.

(I‘ve since gathered from the odd forum threads and youtube comments I could find that it might be pointless to try to saw through stainless steel, but I wonder if anyone can confirm or deny that…)

I was wondering if anyone has experienced this issue and how did you address it? I’m willing to spend some money on it, I’m just not sure where to begin.

Right now, I have a drill, a jeweller‘s saw, and a jigsaw, so any solution that requires any of these would be ideal, but I’m just looking for any answer, honestly. (Or to be told definitively that buying premade rings is the best way to go unless I switch materials or get ringinator money.)

Thanks in advance! This is my first post here, but I’ve found answers to many of my questions in the past. I apologize if this issue has already been discussed before, if it has I really didn’t see it.

(I’ve attached a few of the pieces I’ve made)

Hi, I’m new to all of this so please forgive me. I’m very fascinated by Chainmaille jewelry and want to pick it up as a hobby. I’ve posted some photos of styles I’m into. I just don’t know where to start.

Anyone have any resources that could help? What tools do I need to get started? Supplier? I’m located in the US.

inspo

Hello,

I was wanting to learn how to make maille and was wondering what would be a good first project that I could use as a gift for a friend since she loves medieval fantasy like lotr.