On armour - chainmail - materials needed

Right then, assuming you got your tools, now you need your supplies. I already mentioned buying online, so we are thinking of the other option now.

There are a number of things to consider when getting your supplies -how may people you want to kit out, material type, price etc...


The most widespread and commonly used material for homemade chainmail is the galvanized steel wire. Its used in fences etc and fairly easy to find. Its dirt cheap - a hauberk (knee-length long sleeved chainmail) will cost you 25-30$ in materials and there will probably be leftovers for a coif. Its also fairly resistant to corrosion - my own hauberk has seen use since 2009, through rain wind and snow without taking any corrosion related damage at all. And of course above all - its very easy to acquire in large quantities. The most common size used is 2mm wire. Don't ask me how much is that in the gauge system, check it yourselves.

You can use 2mm galvanized wire for everything. Chainmail shirts, coifs, helm aventels, battle bikini, chains, decorations and so on. Its your most common material and thus applies everywhere. You could find it in the local handyman store, though its likely the price would be high and the quantities low. Best option is to buy in bulk from a construction materials warehouse. Remember what I said about pooling in? Please do that, then send a guy with a car to such a warehouse to buy say...100-200kgs of wire. 100kg will be enough to outfit 4-5 guys from head to toe, or more if its partially. Its simpler this way.



Next possible material is aluminium wire. Now that is a notably less common material. It also has different qualities and price tag to it. For starters its 1/3rd the weight, which is a very notable bonus. Its equally corrosion resistant and well...shiny, that is if you like shiny stuff. Now the downsides - while its light weight, aluminium is also much weaker. Its easy for rings to pop open and fall, so expect regular damage. If you make an aluminium chain shirt, you'll have to reinforce the shoulders with steel rings, since aluminium ones can't support the weight. One more thing - it leaves smudges, and finally comes the price tag. While its only 1/3rd the weight of equal steel wire,aluminium is also 4-5 times the price tag per kg so its a bit more expensive too.

I really can't say much about finding it though. My own source is asking a person in another town to bring me some, and well thats it. What he brings me is this - its basically conductor wire without the insulation. I have to unwrap it first then turn it into chainmail. Again look for warehouses etc. It all depends on your local area.

Last one is the "exotic" stuff. Anodized rings and so on. Decoration is the word of the day here. You will probably have to buy them online though.There are exceptions though. You could find such rings in ....newsflash - jewellery supply stores. They won't come cheap either but you could make a piece of golden chainmail bikini for say the price of a full sized chainmail shirt.Using them for larger project is going to be hellishly expensive. Not to mention you are very unlikely to find enough of them in 1 store.

On armour - chainmail making basics - tools

All in all, chainmaille is great. Its has very ugh...low tech requirements to make, and virtually anyone with two hands can learn the basics. This is the armour type for everyone on a budget who wants something real on his back. Besides if its made from galvanized wire(and most of the time it will be) you won't have to worry about rust. All these qualities mean that chainmaille will be the preferred and most widespread type of metal armour you will find in your average larp group.
 There is nothing wrong with that, in fact its good. Actually 3-4 years ago, having a chain shirt around our parts meant you were awesome. Now, having a chainmail shirt is more or less basic gear for fighters. I alone can outfit my own personal retinue with the stuff I got in my armoury, but back on topic shall we?


There are a number of options to make your own chainmail. The obvious first task is - get rings. You could buy them online from say The Ring Lord though that will increase the price tag, or you could make it all yourselves.

First advice I'd give - pool in. Yes, that means you. You are obviously not in a one-man-larp group all by yourself. So pool in your resources and by resources I mean time, money, say a car for transportation of supplies in bulk. 5-6 people separating the labour between themselves can achieve a lot more than working on your own. I've tried it both ways so I know the difference.

Anyway first things to do is get tools and supplies. Thats the charm of chainmail - you probably already have most of the necessary tools in your house.


What you need is:

2x pliers. 
 Now don't skip on the pliers okay? You will be using them a lot so pick decent pairs. Don't buy small ones unless you are working aluminium or something soft. Buy average sized pliers, wrap the handles in something and well...there is no real way to avoid the blisters really. But don't worry your fingers will toughen up soon.

 Next thing on the list of tools is a small bolt cutter. 
You'll need it to cut out your rings. The red one works quite well and without much effort - just lock one of the grips into something like a vice. Smaller ones work too but require more effort (and thus - blisters)

So far our bill is roughly 30$

There is one more thing to get - something to wind coils on. 

 Here you can improvise. What you need is some kind of rod or dowel - can be store bought or anything that you find that fits the description. You will turn it into a mandrel to wind coils which you'd then cut into rings. Look for 8,9,10mm diameter. Its good to have several and of various sizes.