From: "landsnail", [EMAIL PROTECTED]
There are dedicated souls who still make it, not that I
can name them off-hand:
In the traditional method I have observed, the smith
makes a wire and winds it onto a mandrel to form what
looks like a spring.
Each turn of this spring is then clipped to make a
pile of links.
The clipped ends of each link are flattened and punched
with a tiny hole.
The link is interlinked with (at least) two other
completed rings and a tiny rivet is used to complete
this ring.
Patchworks of chain mail are thus built up and linked to
form and finish whichever part is being constructed.
I seem to recall an estimate of between three days and a
week for a skilled mailer working full-time to produce
a suit.
This is why chainmail never was cheap....
I did once toy with the idea of producing one in tin
or pewter, because it's easy to work and the links
could then be easily soldered, and would stay
silvery (It helps to be surrounded by sticks of tin
and lumps of lead and antimony <g>).
The alternative is knitting....
Tim : )
Cybershooters website: http://www.cybershooters.org
List admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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