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Heavy Metal Knitting


pdlnpeabody

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This is way off from anything mini, but I used to make chain maille for fun before I started my latest house project. I've made a number of wallet chains, but the biggest project I've done was a vest using 1/4" rings in King's maille (6 rings into 1). It took 30,000 rings and weighs over 22 pounds. I've been stabbed, slashed and shot at with arrows, and NOTHING has gotten through it yet. Some friends of mine want to take it to the firing range, throw it over a barrel and see if it will stop a bullet. It might, but it doesn't stop blunt force trauma, so I don't intend to see what it does against a baseball bat or small caliber ammunition.

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I used to attend SCA meetings before the kids took up all my time and even displayed my castle in their tents at the Hoggtowne Medival Fair one year, but never formally joined.

I will most likely be at Bike Week on March 3rd or 4th.

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A good friend does this work, too, but he's never made anything from the smaller rings. It's impressive work, Jeremy! If you haven't yet visited Higgins Armory Museum in Worcester, MA, be sure to put it on your bucket list. It's an awesome collection and they have an amazing maille shirt there with hand forged rings each with a different design.

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this is very cool thanks for sharing!

What kind of tools do you use?

I use two pairs of needle-nose pliars. The narrow tips make it easier to manipulate the rings, but there is a safety trade-off. The larger rings like I use for wallet chains are thick galvanized steel, so it takes a lot of force to bend them. Every once in a while I'll slip with the pliars and more often than not, I'll end up jabbing the pliar tip into my chest. Haven't broken any ribs yet, but wouldn't be surprised if it eventually happens.

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Jeremy, I've found a bench vise help hold one pair of pliers giving me two hands with the second pair, plus keeping those tips away from the torso. Breaking a rib is the least of the damage you could do to yourself with those things!

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Jeremy, sounds as if you ought to be wearing the maille vest while you're working!

I don't think the pliers are sharp enough to cause a stab type of wound, but the vest only protects against cutting and stabbing wounds. The blunt force impacts will still cause damage under the maille. That's why they used war hammers and mace against chain maille-clad enemies in medieval times.

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