Material Selection


The first step in making chainmail is obtaining the raw materials to work with. Unfortunately, since chainmail isn't exactly an everyday item, you can't just run down to the corner store and pick up a pound of rings to make armor out of. For most of us, the first step in making chainmail will be to manufacture large qualtities of little metal rings.

Wire

The easiest way I have found to do this is to start with spools of readily-available electric fence wire (availability may vary, depending on your location -- not too much call for electric fences in New York City or Los Angeles, I imagine). I'm in a semi-rural area, so I just take a ride down to the local farm store, where they have shelves full of all sorts of electric fence wire, most of it perfectly suited to making chainmail.

Types of wire

Galvanized Steel

From what I've seen, by far the most common type of wire available is galvanized steel. At my local farm store, they stock it in quarter-mile spools of 14 and 16 gauge sizes. Both of these are fine for making chainmail of various weights, but I prefer the heavier 14 gauge wire for most of my work. You can probably also find it in spools of other lengths, but I recommend just getting a quarter-mile spool at a time. It's cheap (less than $20 US for 1/4 mile of 14 gauge galvanized), and even if you decide that chainmail isn't what you want to do, you can probabvly find something to do with the rest of the wire.

Aluminum

Some people like to use Aluminum wire instead. This is also a common material for electric fence wire, and it is available in big spools of all the common sizes as well. Chainmail made with Aluminum wire is lighter than that made from galvanized steel, but it's also less durable. The rings tend to separate easier, even through "normal use", and it's easy to leave "bite marks" from your tools while making it.

Aluminum does have an interesting feature, however: Through a process called "anodizing", you can apply a surface finish, which adds toughness to the surface, and can be dyed a rainbow of really incredible colors. I only know a little bit about this surface treatment method, but I do know that it involves electric current and acid baths. That would certainly enough to get me kicked out of my apartment should I try my hand at it, so I don't actually have any first-hand experience with the process.

Stainless Steel

Some people have had a great deal of success using stainless steel as their chainmail material of choice. The advantages are obvious, in that stainless steel does not tarnish, discolor, or rust like most other materials. It's very low-maintenance in comparison. On the other hand, it is apparently a bit more difficult to work with, and is certainly more expensive. I don't even know where one would find stainless steel wire to use as raw materials, though several businesses will sell you pre-formed stinless steel rings in large quantities. These are mentioned in more detail further down this page.

Brass Rod

I've only worked with brass rod and wire a little bit, and have met with varying amounts of success. Brass welding rod is available just about everywhere, but in a limited range of sizes. The most common ones I've found have been 1/16" (16 gauge), 3/32", and 1/8". The 1/8-inch rod is really a bit too large to use with most wire I've found, as it is the equivalent of 8 gauge wire. 3/32" is a bit closer, but at 10 gauge, it's still a bit larger than the stuff I usually use. 1/16" works well if you're doing chainmail in 16 gauge, though I find that this is a bit too thin for my own work.

With some poking around the internet, I was able to find a company that offered two alloys of brass wire for use in jewelry. I bought one small spool of each to play with, and found that they were both far too pliable to support any real weight, though for trimming and accent work, they did OK. I just wouldn't use it for anything structural.

Copper

I've seen a few examples where people have used copper house wiring for embellishment, pattern work, etc. The reddish-gold color of fresh copper makes for an interesting look, though it develops its own problems after only a short time (see the section on metallurgy, below). As with the soft brass wire I mentioned before, copper is only of limited use, since it really isn't structurally strong enough to withstand much deformation. It, too, would quickly fall apart under its own weight if you tried making something out of nothing but copper rings. If you do use copper wire, confine it to the edges of your work.

The Wierd Stuff

Though the above materials are by far the most common ones which people use to make chainmail out of, one could use just about anything capable of being worked into rings. I have heard of people using titanium, though the rarity, expense, and metallurgical qualities each posed their own unique problems in the process. Feel free to try anything you might happen to have lying around, though for general purpose use, I have found galvanized steel to be the most readily-available and easily-worked material to use, and that's what I will be using throughout these pages.

A Word About Metallurgy

Often, people eventually start embellishing the pieces they make with little extras, dags, fringes, etc. One of the more common methods of adding a little bit of style is to use a different type of metal along the edge, or to draw out a design in the pattern of the chainmail. This can certainly be done to great effect, but one must also keep a few things in mind: Often, brass or copper rings are used to contrast with the silver-grey color of galvanized steel chainmail. This looks very nice at first, but as soon as the item in question is put into storage for a little while, evil things start to happen.

Any time two dissimilar metals are in contact with each other, an electrical charge is developed. Sweat and oils from your body, as well as the moisture in the air allow a tiny amount of current to flow between the metals. This leads to oxidation, which manifests itself as increased amounts of tarnish, rust, and corrosion on and around the metals in question. In some cases (such as copper), this oxidation in itself can lead to interesting effects, but it's still oxidation, and reduces the strength of the metal in question. I'm not saying not to use different types of metal to add highlights and embellishments to your projects. Just realize that any two metals in contact with each other will eventually begin to tarnish and oxidize. Know what to expect, and plan accordingly.

Rings

Once you've decided what material you're going to use to make your chainmail out of, you need to figure out how you're going to arrive at the "rings" stage. There are two main methods of getting to this stage:

  • Winding your own
  • Buying pre-formed rings

    Most of the people I know prefer to start with big spools of wire, and wind their own rings. No matter what material you use, this is probably going to be the most economical way to go, provided you can get your hands on spools of it in wire form. Being as I work with galvanized steel and wind my own rings, this is the method I have the most information on. Details can be found in the section on Winding your own rings later on in the guide.

    I've read and heard from other sources that there are plenty of sources for pre-formed rings, in a variety of sizes and materials. Eventually, I'll have some information about buying pre-made rings here. For now though, I'm still writing the pages, so I don't have anything just yet.

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