The Armour Archive

Hello, Friends.
After searching the Internet left and right, what would be considered the right price for a riveted full sleeved Hauberk for a guy with a 40" chest?

Icefalcon is a favorite on here.

http://store.fastcommerce.com/icefalcon ... 581-p.html
A hauberk, 550.

http://store.fastcommerce.com/icefalcon ... d36-p.html
A haubergeon, 395.

Any others, friends?

Hello,
Here is where I purchased mine: http://www.finditarmory.com
I have had shirts by all the various manufacturers at some point. From my experience all the riveted stuff from India (it almost all comes from India) is the same quality. The Find-It-Armory mail is shaped some what oddly (better though than it appears in the pictures) and is zinc plated. Stripping the zinc is very easy, and you have to tailor it anyway. My advice is to save the money and go with Find-it. Use the money you saved to buy a large bag of rings and riveting tongs to tailor it.
Cheers,
Hadrian

p.s. the price varies a bit by model but stays around $300

Actually, just like here in the States, you will find you can buy better quality when you pay for it in India as well. There was a glut of cheap mail on the market a few years back. Folks found that they had to buy new gear after trying to save a few dollars buying the cheaper maille.

You will pay about 20% more with us over the cheap stuff out there but will get a much better product and have our name standing behind it.

Cheers!

Ice

Well that is good to know...though I don't know how well I feel about buying maille made by a bunch of indian children getting $0.08 an hour to pound rivets. So the non-Indian Maille is about 350-500 for a normal price?
What about butted maille? I tried to weave maille a couple times and...well...I gave up. Too hard.

Hadrian Coffin wrote:Hello,
Here is where I purchased mine: http://www.finditarmory.com
I have had shirts by all the various manufacturers at some point. From my experience all the riveted stuff from India (it almost all comes from India) is the same quality. The Find-It-Armory mail is shaped some what oddly (better though than it appears in the pictures) and is zinc plated. Stripping the zinc is very easy, and you have to tailor it anyway. My advice is to save the money and go with Find-it. Use the money you saved to buy a large bag of rings and riveting tongs to tailor it.
Cheers,
Hadrian

p.s. the price varies a bit by model but stays around $300

i tried ordering one from them a few months ago and they said they'd be out of stock for an indeterminate amount of time. I'd suggest calling before you place an order.

skip the butted mail it sucks.

If you don't want to buy Indian mail you are out of luck... unless you have at least $10,000. The riveted mail available comes out of India, most from the same shops. All the US based companies are simply distributers. I wouldn't even bother with the butted rubbish. It is worthless for almost any intended purpose. If you do have between $10,000-30,000 there are a few custom makers in the United States and Europe I could recommend.
Cheers,
Hadrian

If you wanted a welded stainless steel welded hauberk there is always Master Knute at http://www.weldedchainmail.com/ tailored to You around $900 for a knee length shirt. (less if you are smaller than I,,,)

You can also always try KultofAthena.com
Their prices are pretty sweet and a lot of variety too.

http://www.kultofathena.com/armor-body.asp

The only butted worth using would be 14 gauge, which is heavy...

archibald wrote:If you wanted a welded stainless steel welded hauberk there is always Master Knute at http://www.weldedchainmail.com/ tailored to You around $900 for a knee length shirt. (less if you are smaller than I,,,)

I believe that much of his labor is done in Viet Nam. There is a lot of work in a chainmail shirt and most Americans will not produce one for what American consumer wish to pay.

IF it is a child in India or Viet Nam who is getting paid .08 cents a day, they are able to make a living where there would not be one otherwise. I have never been to India, so I cannot speak to who is making it or what they are getting paid. I DO know that getting work in an overcrowded country like that is problematic. I do not know what the answer is here, short of going over and handing some of my money directly to the poor people of these countries. I have kids and I would not want them to live in squalor...

From what I have heard about Master Knutes welded hauberks is that they are made in his wife's family factory and are machine knit. I could be wrong but if machine knit by a small family company conditions shouldn't be too bad for the trained operators.
But like I said I could be wrong.

Hello,
I would agree somewhat with what Icefalcon wrote. I have not seen the mail making shops in India, but have lived in third world countries. With exchange rates as they are; it may come out that a kid is working for very, very, little. However we are not accounting for the cost of living in said countries. I met dozens of adults in China working for less then a dollar an hour. Ironically the service was often superior as they were happier that they had a job... and more afraid of loosing it, than most American workers I have met. Children are often working to help their families afford to live. It is unfortunate that it is the case, but it is so. My father, in the US, had to start paying his mother rent at the age of 8 because she couldn't afford to pay the landlord. Perhaps you are paying a meagre amount... but you are giving a kid a job, and perhaps, helping a family.
If you want to buy from a US manufacturer, great! Many are willing to work for as little as $10 an hour (equivalent to working at a fast food restaurant). The problem is that even at $10 an hour you can quickly rack up thousands of dollars.
One of the unfortunate problems with the medieval period is that time was cheap and materials expensive. The world we live in today is exactly the opposite, trying to replicate historical objects is often made difficult by this fact. In third world countries, however, it tends to be a more medieval situation. Labor is cheap; materials are expensive. Which is what leads to so many goods being produced in the third world.

I would advise against getting butted or welded mail. I don't see the point. Most commercial butted mail is also made in India. Albeit there are some custom butted mail manufactures in the US and Europe. Why though would you buy it? It is not even vaguely historically accurate. Welded-stainless is just as bad. Properly tailored, mild steel, flat ring, riveted mail is not exactly perfect either... but it is the only mildly economical choice, and it at least it looks mildly historical. Butted, or welded-stainless, on the other hand does not.

Cheers,
Hadrian

I want to be clear on a point. In no way am I putting down Master Knuut's maille. From what I can see, it is very well made and is priced well.

Be well,

Ice