Chainmail - A Great Beginners Armor

A great type of armor to start out with is chainmail, especially if your budget is limited.  Chainmail, or sometimes just called mail, consists of metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a protective cloth-like material.  Some credit the Celts in inventing chainmail in the 3rd century B.C.  The Romans adopted the Celts chainmail armor and used it for their infantrymen until the first century A.D.  It has also been found in India and Japan.

My first Chainmail Shirt

 

4 in 1 Chainmail Pattern

Pros:

• Requires very few tools
• Material is inexpensive
• Skills are very easy to develop
• Can be made in any space (living room, apartment, etc.)
• Can be done while watching TV
• Making chainmail doesn't make a lot of noise (like other armors)

Cons:

• Very time consuming

ArmorMadeEasy - An Introduction

I’ve always been fascinated with medieval and other period armor and I’ve always wanted to learn how to make it.  I’m not sure how many hours I’ve spend searching the Internet, watching YouTube videos, trying to learn how to make armor.  While it is fun watching professionals hammer out metal on beautiful anvils and other specialized equipment, they never explain in detail what they are doing, where they bought their equipment (how they made it if they didn’t buy them), what material or techniques they are using, etc.  When you’re trying to do it yourself it becomes very frustrating.  Making armor is a lost art and there are not that many people who actually practice it anymore (who really needs it anyway nowadays). 

While I have no delusions of quitting my day job and becoming a professional armorer (okay, maybe there is a small part of me that thinks that would be cool) I would still like to learn how to make it.  Besides the lack of knowledge of how to make armor, I don’t have loads of cash to spend on anvils and other expensive equipment.  I’ve started this blog to document the things I have learned, focusing mostly on making armor on a budget.  I will try to make it as comprehensive as possible and from a beginner’s perspective (since that’s where I’m starting out).  I’ll give tips on what to look for in equipment (where to buy it or how to make it), provide patterns that I’ve used, tell you how much it cost me to make (money and time) and anything else you want to know. 

If this sound like you, you're not alone.  I hope I can help and would appreciate to know any tips you've learned as well.  Now, let's make some armor!