0 Chain& plate armor reborn

Oh boy its been a while since I posted about this project.

Well then, with the weather warming up, its back on track.

Not too much to show yet since its not yet wearable. I finished the front and most of the back. The belly plate has been coated to avoid rust. Once I'm done with the back, I can try it on. A far more...streamlined build than the previous one. There is less plate and more chainmaille but its going to be easier to wear and put on . Last one involved way too many straps...

0 Battle of the Nations

Because you know, you need some place to bend all those tin cans, unless you plan on keeping them gathering dust and rust in some corner.

What IS the Battle of the Nations? Taking the name from that OTHER Battle of the Nations ,
its more or less an international medieval full contact combat tournament. Its not reenactment - more like LARP/SCA/WWF with swords and plate armor, but non the less - its pretty awesome in its own right. There are participating teams from half a dozen or more countries in several trials - 1 on 1, 5 on 5, full 21 on 21 etc.

There are teams from all over the world but the regulations and requirements are high.
 
For more info you can visit this Ukrainian site http://www.battleofthenations.com.ua/
It has english version as well.

You can also watch this short episode series on medievalists.net
http://www.medievalists.net/2011/11/11/battle-of-the-nations-tv-series/

0 Spring laziness

I just realised its high time to sit on me arse and start working seriously. I got so much stuff literally lying around in some half finished state. Pic very related - its my chainmail tie. I found it just lying around burred in the clutter, and its been like that since, I don't know...last summer?

My university studies are also lagging behind which is a more pressing concern. While the piles of stuff/trash/tools are a annoying only my mother, the latter can have more serious consequences.

0 4 in 1 japanese chainmail

Been a while since I made one of these clips :)

Right

4in1 japanese chainmail armour is quite simple, you can't really make a mistake in it. It lacks the density and strength of 4in1 european chain. On the other hand its lighter, and quite easy and fast to produce.
You can use one, or two types of links depending on preferances.

Here is several variants(one of them is from the video)

0 Lego armor version 3 WIP

Version 3 of my lego chainmail armor. Its made with custom homemade rings which i winded myself and cut with a nail clipper. Its still a work in progress. I finished about 2/3of it.



The home made custom links are much, much smaller. Now it looks like a proper chainmaille suit for the lego mini fig. However its much harder to weave it.The links are so tiny I can barely see what I'm doing there, and they are very easy to damage. Not saying its impossible ofc, but its quite hard.

 Here you can see it in comparison to the old lego chainmaille. The new links are small enough to fit inside the old ones.

0 Lego armor - the Warhorse

Its lego time again! And yeah, first it was the rider, now its the horse!
The armor is removable like all of my previous projects. I might modify it a bit but thats all. I'm also working on improved version of my lego minifig armor - the problem there is the size of the rings...so im making custom micro rings which are even smaller. 
First pic - the horse and the rider both in lego chainmail armor.

 Top view.

 Back view

 And two 3/4 shots.

It turned out better than the lego minifig armor mostly because of the above mentioned ring size problem. It IS being adressed though. Of course it will be a while until results come out of this. Stay tuned.

0 On micro maille - tools, tips, and basics.

Right. Now, after doing a good amount of projects involving it, its time to write in depth about micromaille.

Micro maille or nanomaille or however you decide to call it is chainmail made by rings ranging from quite small to microscopic. It is by all means NOT something a newbie should try to tackle. First things first - supplies.

Supplies for micromaille can be bought at a jeweller's supply store - a real one or online. Usually you will find copper with some plating - in my case gold-plated, rhodium plated, bronze plated copper rings, but if you have the money - you can even do real silver for example. I don't think anyone has the money to do real gold...
The links will be moderately expensive too - for the amount of money needed for a chainmail shirt, you will barely get enough to fill in your hand.

 If you need something specific, because the stores will only have preset sizes, you can buy wire and make your own links. The wire is sold per meter usually(at least where I buy) and could be well under 1mm thick.

As an example - here are microscopic links I made by myself - so tiny I could fit them under my fingernail.

2 TOOLS


First of all you will need the smallest pliers you can find and then some! Those are pretty small but they are still not very comfortable for the job - I'm thinking about customizing them a bit. The nail clipper? Well...Its what I used to cut the home made microlinks above.

A magnifying glass of some sorts, or a monocle is also a good idea - you will ruin your eyes in no time otherwise. You won't be able to even do anything if you have eyesight problems in the first place, without one of these.

TIPS

VERY IMPORTANT!
And related to the above mentioned thing about the magnifying glass. ONLY WORK AT GOOD DAYLIGHT! Don't try to work on a lamp light or if its dark! Just don't! You will be looking at an optometry cabinet in no time. Its just not worth putting on glasses for this, believe me.

Forget about speedweaving. The rings are so small the only way to actually work is 1 by 1. Its impossible to grasp them by hand properly and they tend to slip a lot, so just do it 1 by 1.

Get something with a lot of tiny boxes. Like a fisherman's case or a tool box or something. You will need somewhere to keep those links sorted out and safe from getting spilled all over the floor. Good luck gathering them if you do!

That's all I can think of for now but I will add more later probably. Might split this into several posts too.

0 The golden bikini of awesomeness(and win)

Been a while since I made a one these! Most fun you can have for a couple of hours indeed, especially the fitting&measuring part.

 

Needless to say there isn't nearly as much fun without making some slightly naughty photos. However I gotta keep this place following the rules so  PG13+ warning here.

http://i.imgur.com/JLUOk

 http://imgur.com/QTidH

http://imgur.com/mVnJr

Unfortunately, now I'm going to bore you with design notes. This is not my first piece of chainmail bikini, but definitely the best so far. Design wise - its simple. I attached the cups to an ordinary bra, which helped a lot with putting it on and off and keeping it comfortable. I used gold plated rings for jewellery which was also a good idea. I've made chainmail bikini from the same steel links I use for armor, and while the results are ok, its  a good several hundred grams, which is simply unsuitable. These copper links weight much less. Work time is just several hours with a price tag of supplies about 10$. If you feel like it, you can surprise your girlfriend too with one of these in just 1 afternoon.

0 Lego armor - new and improved

Happy new year everyone!

Here is the second version of the armored lego. Now the chainmail is a much better fit, and the coif looks much better.I will do version 3 though - will try for classic norman armor - coif integrated in the hauberk.

The front is slit(as it should be) so walking is OK.

 The back is now symmetric and completely covered.

 The coif has a proper bishop mantle from gold plated rings. Its easy to fall off though, nothing I can about about that. Maybe an elastic tied in the rings?

 And finally - full chainmaille gear.

 The sides can't be closed off - it blocks arms movement. Better results are possible with smaller rings, but I doubt I can get any smaller - besides I don't think i can find the tools for such tiny work.

0 The Ringlord

No, not Lord of the Rings, the Ringlord. And believe me, the name is no boast.

For the people who have the money but don't have the time to do home experiments, or those who want something exotic, there is the Ringlord.

http://theringlord.com/cart/default.asp

Its based in Canada and has...well everything. The Ringlord sells all you could possibly need for making chainmaille of all kinds and a few other things as well.One of my minor dreams involves driving up to the place with a big truck, several strong lads and grabbing everything thats not bolted down and we'd carry bolt cutters just in case.

Starting with the tools - it has all the kinds of pliers you'd need, the wire cutters and the saws for the coils, mandrels, more miscellaneous stuff like mini scales to calculate weight, welders, tumblers etc.

As far as products go it sells wire, coils and cut rings from trivial materials like copper, galvanized and stainless steel to exotic ones like brass, inconel, nickel silver, gold, niobium and titanium. The very prospect of making a titanium maille shirt is definitely tempting. The Ringlord is also responsible for the small leaf like scalemail that can be seen around the web - it makes them. Finally they also have finished maille shirts and sheets of chainmaille from most of the above mentioned materials. All in all the price range for most products is what i'd call acceptable. I've never personally purchased but I've heard a lot of positive reviews, and well let's be honest, there is no other like it. If you are on a tight budget, well you can daydream like me. But if you can afford it or its something special you want, look no further.
 
All in all - seriously just go have a look.
http://theringlord.com/cart/default.asp

0 The smallest(and most adorable) barbarian in the horde

Right, so on this Christmas my cousin Nevena - a charming lil' girl got the chance to try out wearing  real steel armor. Not exactly the proper gift for a little girl, but then again Nevena ain't into dolls anyway and did not complain about it being heavy at all. It was a bit of a challenge to gear her up- the helmet especially was way too big for her head so I had to pad it quite a lot. She found the whole ordeal really funny and she even wants to come to some of our trainings once the weather warms up. All well and good of course, as long as she is a spectator only. Oh well, at least I know what to give her for her next birthday - her own aluminium chainmail shirt. Let's hope she doesn't go all medieval on the boys that are teasing her in class(she is 9 and she started school 1 year earlier than the rest) or the teachers in her school. Its not that I am worried about the outcome, I just don't know how are we going to bury them all.

Now I know I may be in the process of creating the future warlord that will burn down your homes but we can't be sure can we? Right?!

 

 I also took the liberty of turning some of the photos into motivational posters. I just couldn't resist the temptation.

Ok that's all! Now move along citizen!

0 Lego man in full armor

You love lego. There are no exceptions, unless of course you are an alien trying to take over the world or a nazi or something. So yeah the idea was simple to implement once i got to making it.  The quality of the photos is quite poor this time. I'll do a new session tomorrow. The armor itself needs some fixing too its not symmetric or a good fit yet, but the lego man was more problematic to work than the bunny.
My eyes are very tired and I just can't go on for today so yeah - fixes and new photos tomorrow.

I used rhodium rings for this one - the smallest I could find, still not small enough to look great but its ok.

0 Future schedule

With Christmas, new year's eve and above all - my university exam session coming, I might not be able to post as often as I wish. For now here is what's in the works.

I've started two more chain&plate armors. Now that I have some experience with it, I just need to sit down and make em. They will be a bit different, I am recycling old parts again, but the general principle remains the same. Depending on how things develop, production in January will be sketchy. I still need to get someone with a car to help me resupply with metal and wire.

I've started another uuuuh, how should I call it... Battle ready armored plushie, like the Bunny knight, with a 3rd in the plans. These are quite fun to make to be honest and much easier on your hands, even it not on your eyes. With sufficient breaks and good light I need to fear putting on glasses of course.

0 Chain&plate Reasonable female armor volume 2

Ok the prototype turkish chain &plate mail is done, next ones are started already. All the basic ideas are set, I just need to get my lazy self to work.

Its not the best fit admittedly  its slightly too big for her. An arming doublet will fix that.

 OK, to sum it up. 

How to make one. First - the tools.

You need all the basic chainmaille tools  and material - pliers, cutter etc. to get the links.

You need a good drill - not the most expensive one but not the cheapest that will break in no time - you will be using it a lot. At least 2-3 spare drilling heads aint a bad idea. I broke one already.

You need either a throatless shear or a jigsaw to cut the plates. Another option which I've never explored is to get it cut by laser in some machineshop. Its available, and doable, but I've never tried it so I got no experience on the money involved and what you will get in the end. As far as I've heard the money depends on the number of cuts the laser does but I really can't say. If anyone tries this, tell me what you got.

Anyway, if its a one time gig, go for the jigsaw since its easier to get one and it will do, though you need to be careful with it - googles, gloves and basic safety folks! 

If its not a one time gig or you can get one easily - go for the throatless shear, yes I said it before, I will say it again. Those things are wonderful. The jigsaw is noisy(can't use in residential area) and you will need half a dozen discs or more since we are talking about a lot of cuts not to mention electricity  and safety gear. The shear involves more manual labour indeed - but seriously if you've picked this as a hobby you should not be afraid of manual labour. Its a bit slower too but apart from that its the obvious choice for anyone who wants to do more than 1-2 things because its a one time investment with almost 0 maintenance while jigsaw discs look cheap only until you've ran through 50 or more.

Finally you need sheet metal. There are many possible sources, for all its worth you can chop up a tin bucket. Just check that its around 1mm thick -too thin sheets won't do, too thick will be unnecessarily heavy and hard to punch holes into. I used left-overs & scraps from the workshop where they let us do our stuff, so its mixed gauges up there. Its not the best idea because of the previously mentioned piece of hardened steel that almost cost me my drill. Best option is to simply buy sheet metal from a warehouse. Thus you know what you are going to get. Of course that means a car to get it back home.