Historically, chainmail was invented as a flexible armor, protecting against cuts, but it was ineffective against thrusts (and arrows) and blunt trauma which led to its supplementation and eventual replacement by plate armor. As weapons shifted towards firearms, metal armor in general became less useful.
This site will contain chainmail jewelry and some decorative things, but very little armor.
Can I make armor? Yes.
Will I make armor? Not unless I have good reason to.
Chainmail is created from rings interlocking in specific patterns called weaves. Due to its complexity, chainmail is almost exclusively made by hand.
Material |
Description |
Aluminum |
Lightweight, good weight-strength ratio. Can be anodized to bright colors. |
Brass |
Golden hue, heavy, soft. |
Bronze |
Darker brown-gold. Heavy. Harder than brass. |
Copper |
Copper(!) colored. Somewhat soft. |
Gold fill |
14k gold composing 20% of the wire. (Much better than "gold-plated") |
Neoprene |
Not a metal. Stretchy rubber-stuff. Colorful. |
Silver |
Sterling and argentium sterling (argentium is incredibly tarnish-resistant.) Half-hard. |
Steel |
Mild, stainles, galvanized, blackened, etc. Heavy, strong. |
Titanium |
Lightweight, very strong, can be anodized for colors. |
