Alright, let’s talk about making some chain mail armor. I got this crazy idea in my head to try and make a full suit, and boy, was it a journey. I started completely clueless, but hey, you gotta start somewhere, right?
Getting Started
First things first, I needed to figure out what I was even doing. I watched a bunch of videos and read some stuff online. Turns out, you need a lot of metal rings and some tools. I ordered a big bag of galvanized steel rings – the kind you’d use for fencing, but smaller. And for tools, I just grabbed a couple of pairs of pliers from the garage.
The First Few Rings
The first step was opening and closing the rings. Sounds easy, but it’s a real pain at first. You gotta twist them open, not pull them apart, or they won’t close right. I messed up a bunch in the beginning. My fingers were sore, and I was ready to give up after, like, ten rings. But I kept at it, and after a while, I got the hang of it.
Weaving the Pattern
Next up was actually weaving the rings together. I went with the basic 4-in-1 pattern, where each ring goes through four others. It’s the most common one and looked the easiest. I started with a small patch, just to get a feel for it. It was slow going, but kinda meditative once I got into a rhythm. Connecting, twisting, connecting, twisting. You get it.
Making it Bigger
Once I had a decent-sized patch, I started thinking about how to turn this into actual armor. I figured a shirt would be the best starting point. So I started making more patches and connecting them together. This was a whole new level of tedious. But seeing it slowly take shape was pretty cool, I gotta admit. It was like watching it progress before my eyes.
Sleeves and Shaping
Adding sleeves was tricky. I had to figure out how to increase and decrease the number of rings to make it fit right. There was a lot of trial and error, and I definitely undid and redid sections multiple times. I remember I spent a lot of time thinking about how to make the rings fit. I mean, it was not easy. But I just kept trying. Slowly but surely, it started to look like a shirt. I was just happy that I made it this far.
Finishing Touches
After what felt like forever, I finally finished the main part of the shirt. I added some leather trim around the edges to make it a bit more comfortable and to keep the rings from poking me too much. The thing was heavy, man. Like, really heavy. But it was also kinda awesome to put it on and feel like a medieval knight or something. Putting it on makes you feel powerful!
Lessons Learned
- Patience is key: This project took way longer than I expected. I was so done with it after a couple days. You gotta be prepared to put in the hours. It is not easy at all.
- Get good tools: My hands were killing me after a while. Better pliers would have made a big difference. I was stubborn and didn’t want to buy any, but it would’ve made my life easier.
- Start small: Don’t jump straight into a full suit of armor. Try a small project first to see if you even like doing it. I was so close to quitting, that I’m glad I didn’t just buy a full suit of armor.
So, yeah, that’s my chain mail armor story. It was a wild ride, and I’m not sure I’d do it again. But I’m pretty proud of what I accomplished. Maybe I’ll tackle a helmet next, who knows? I just need a break first. My hands need to recover!
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