Armor: How effective was Chainmail

[Dan Howard]

Please don't be tired of answering Dan. For us veterans it's uch easier to find/know where the information is. Of course it's recommended to do some research yourself before asking, but that is part of the raison d'etre of this forum, isn't it? To show thenewbes where the info is? mile:

Like my first post in this thread?
Sorry.guys. I've got my friendly festive hat on now

[Lyceum]

Please don't be tired of answering Dan. For us veterans it's uch easier to find/know where the information is. Of course it's recommended to do some research yourself before asking, but that is part of the raison d'etre of this forum, isn't it? To show thenewbes where the info is? mile:

Like my first post in this thread?
Sorry.guys. I've got my friendly festive hat on now

How effective is against swords and spears though?

[Dan Howard]

Sorry.guys. I've got my friendly festive hat on now

How effective is against swords and spears though?

It is made of solid steel. You should see the neighbourhood I live in

[M. Demetrius]

[sarc]Actually linked ring armor was utterly ineffective. They only used it for 1900 years because of good marketing and great advertising by its manufacturers. It was of no use against any kind of stabbing or slashing, or projectile weapon known to the ancients. Naturally, the myth persists to this day, since the descendants of the marketers were diligent to continue publishing it.[/sarc]

Come on, friends, they would have discarded it before Julius Caesar was a pup (and the "maille" had been used for at least a thousand years already) if it wasn't effective. Plate steel worked better in its way, but the Romans hadn't developed the ability to make plate steel. That came later with improved forging techniques.

[Dan Howard]

Has anyone actually read my article? It is fully cited and easy to follow up if you don't believe any part of it. Mail was preferred by some people even when plate was readily available. There is one example from Hungary where a mail shirt cost six times more than a steel breastplate and the buyer was prepared to wait two months for it to be made when he could have had the breastplate in two days. Think about why someone would want to do that. I think the problem is the inability of people to believe the real protective capacity of a properly riveted mail shirt.

[Flavivs Aetivs]

I read it. Just saying.

[john m roberts]

Dan,
Erik Schmidt seems to have vanished. Is anyone making mail remotely comparable to the original stuff?

[Flavivs Aetivs]

I have no idea.

My dad knows a guy who made chainmail for movie sets, I wonder if he knows that there's a demand for accurate mail in the Re-enactment community...

[Dan Howard]

Dan,
Erik Schmidt seems to have vanished. Is anyone making mail remotely comparable to the original stuff?

I can't think of any who are making it commercially. It isn't worth it. If a reasonable hourly rate was charged then the end product would be unaffordable for most people.

[ValentinianVictrix]

I know that mail is still being produced in the northern areas of both Afganistan and India. I have a mail hauberk from India that is made from butted rings rather than rivited ones. The rings are only about 10mm or so across and are made from steel, so it does not rust. I've been reliably informed that some of the tribesmen in those regions still wear their mail armours, as swords are still used but uncommonly so now.

[Flavivs Aetivs]

Well... 10mm mail is still not Roman mail. 6mm interior diameter mail that Al-Hamdd has is 10mm accross.

[Marc]

I heared that the mailshirt from armea.com is pretty good, or is this also Indian junk? And if there are no good replica's where to find one then :???:

http://www.armae.com/antiquite/11antiquitecadre.htm

top one

[Flavivs Aetivs]

It's a good suit, better than most, but its not 6mm exterior diameter. It may come closer to around 8mm exterior.

[Marc]

Are those available anywhere? Or does no one make them?

[Dan Howard]

I know that mail is still being produced in the northern areas of both Afganistan and India. I have a mail hauberk from India that is made from butted rings rather than rivited ones. The rings are only about 10mm or so across and are made from steel, so it does not rust. I've been reliably informed that some of the tribesmen in those regions still wear their mail armours, as swords are still used but uncommonly so now.

Sword cuts are irrelevant. A few layers of cloth or leather will stop a sword cut. Winter clothing will stop a sword cut. Proper armour was meant to stop arrows and spear thrusts. Indian mail cannot do this.