The Armour Archive

Just want to get opinions on it. Historical accuracy on ring size, durability that kind of thing. Your thoughts?

For me, it works. But then, I'm doing Japanese. Otherwise, the ring size is quite small. Durable enough. I wouldn't use it for 'Age of Mail' stuff.

It seems to me that they are using an image from the C.o.t.T (I recognize the picture). I find it amusing that the person seems to be wearing an A.A. favor.

Azon uses Whiting & Davis-style welded SS mesh. They insist on calling it mesh for reasons that may be readily imagined. Effective for modern-day use that is primarily in meat cutting and processing, with a sideline in shark suits. It is so fine-linked, and round-section wire also, that it looks more like silvery-gray, sci-fi cloth than mail at first glance. You can think of it as Frodo-maille if you like; it's what they used, plus decorations and a little photo processing so it'd look otherworldly.

Aside from that kind of application, on the whole I think I'd rather go through the tedium of building mail in flattened links nearer the middle of the size bell-curve, 3/16 to 5/16 inch ID. You get the flashing, fish-scale highlights of flat-ring mail then, higher authenticity at the price of more maintenance effort.

Well... it's a favor. But all I can see of it is a blue field with some sort of charge Or upon it. http://www.ringmesh.com/ -- enable scripts to see it come up in the homepage slideshow. Somebody in a visored sugarloaf and a long seg-breast seems to have himself a shirt of their product.

I have a shirt of it and I love it, but I am saving for a riveted shirt to replace it. Mainly, I find its downside to be that it really does lack the look or 'pop' of more historically sized maille. If you have back or knee problems and cannot bear the weight of riveted maille, and your checkbook cannot take the hit for some titanium, then it is a great choice.

Gethin wrote:It seems to me that they are using an image from the C.o.t.T (I recognize the picture). I find it amusing that the person seems to be wearing an A.A. favor.

There's a few of those favours floating about.

They're great shirts, and have excellent prices.

If you're looking at this for rapier, it's exactly what you need. For heavy? It's actually *worse* than nothing.

Destichado could you explain this? My thoughts were to use this for heavy over a gambason and under plate.

Chainmail of this size does not do much to distribute the force over bare skin it can even leave a minor road rash type mark with glancing blows.
It would look good with what your planning.

What he said. It's weight (I think they advertise something like 7 lbs?) with zero defensive benefit. For purely presentational purposes, though, it should do very nicely as it's so fine it won't obstruct your movement in the slightest.* I honestly don't even notice it when I'm wearing it.

*with the possible exception of lifting your arms over your head, depending on how you wear your plates over it.