Jump to content
I Forge Iron

Chainmail


Recommended Posts

I recall reading about a ring of that size on a knife forge welded with a special pair of tongs. I'll look for the post.

Nakedanvil posted about halfway down
http://www.iforgeiron.com/forum/f14/karambit-14818/

Found this one in a street market in Seoul. I like some of the detail, a little chisel work, nice scroll end, look at the split handle. Probably agricultural. Yes, the ring is forge welded! Saw a guy welding small rings like that in Korea. He held it with one tong, got a welding heat and reached in with a special little tong and just squeezed it to make the weld.

These are hi-res, so you should be able to zoom in.


but the pic is broken right now.

Would this concept work on armor instead of hauling the work out of the fire and letting it get all cold as it is welded? I don't think there were pics of the tongs though.

Phil
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

Most everything has been said on chain mail, Kate makes Chain Mail jewelry for fun and has sold some too, she knows about 6 or 7 different ways to make the links, she's been at it about 3 years. I have been repairing a leather and chain mail jerkin this winter hope to have it done this summer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

Once upon a time I made a 35 Lb vest out of it and I can tell you it is tedious and your hands will cramp, but it looks cool once you are done.
Get a wooden dowel and wrap the wire on it. a Lathe is handy, but even a cordless drill can work if the wire is small enough gauge. use a cutoff wheel and zip down the top side of the coil once wrapped. Dont use wire snips because you will get a sharp edge. you need the ends of the wire to be flat so they butt against each other.
Of course some out there go to extremes, for reenactment this works, but I wouldn't go using it in an actual fight since the rings are not fused shut.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

http://cgmaille.com/tutorials.shtml
This is another great site for tutorials, it was created by a senior member of mailleartisans.

And I wouldn't recommend a wooden dowel because with extended use, it will get smaller, I have six steel dowels in varying sizes, and with those I have made more maille than my family could wear.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

O&R, I used a broken blade from an electric epee to hold the coil while cutting with a dremel. It fit my 1/4" coils well and had a trough where the wire went so the cutting disk didn't hit the epee. This setup allowed me to cut a number of links before pulling them off and re-seating the coil.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i started making chainmail about a month and a half ago and i have to say that youtube helped me alot. there are lots o people willing to post how to videos and tyntian goes into the finner points such as tapering in and out. adding and subtracting rings. creating 45 degree angles. and more than just standard 4 in 1 if your more adventurous like me. good luck and lots of patience.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

I made a chainmail shirt 1/2 wire rings 14gaudge smooth wire and 1/2 1/4" lockwashers when twisted closed they work as flattened mail the thinner wire rings used enery other space allow them enough room to be fastened together, very very little gaps very strong, too heavy but it looks cool, and is faster to make

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...