How to Make Chain Mail

It takes a lot of time to make chain mail. Even creating a shirt of costume mail, which is not meant to be any sort of real protection, is a time-consuming endeavor. Given a bit of skill with hand tools and a willingness to learn from mistakes, you can make chain mail for that perfect accent to a Renaissance Faire costume.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Winding screw
• Gloves
• Metal wire
• Tools

1. Set up a winding screw. This is a long threaded screw that has a knob attached to one end and is supported so that you can freely turn the screw.
2. Draw the metal wire around the winding screw. Use the threads on the screw to guide the wire for a nice even wrap. Fill the entire screw and then snip off the extra wire.
3. Use a hacksaw to cut the windings. Make a cut parallel to the winding screw so that you create a single cut across all of the threaded wire. This makes the wire into links, which you will use to make chain mail.
4. Remove the metal links from the winding screw. Repeat this process to make more links. Depending on the size of the links, it can take thousands of links to create a hauberk, which is a chain mail shirt.
5. Take a pair of needle-nose pliers in each hand. Pick up a link and position the needle-nose pliers so that you are holding on to the link on either side of the cut.
6. Apply pressure to bend the metal of the link so that the cut ends line up. Put a dab of epoxy on the joined ends of the cut. Allow to dry. This is the primary link.
7. Take 4 unjoined links and thread them through the closed link you just made. Close and secure the links in the same manner as the primary link. These are the secondary links.
8. Thread another link through two adjacent secondary links. Close and secure the link. This is the new primary link.
9. Attach two more secondary links to the new primary link. Keep repeating this process until you have usable sections of chain mail.

Tips & Warnings

• You can solder or spot weld the links together if you are comfortable using these tools. This creates stronger mail.
• You can also substitute plastic rings made from PVC pipe for metal rings. This creates light-weight mail suitable for re-enactments or theatrical productions. This process was used to create the mail costumes for the Lord of the Rings movies.
• Wear gloves and eye protection when cutting metal or working with cut metal. Sharp edges may cause injury.
• This type of mail is not meant to stand the rigors of real combat. It is intended for costume purposes or very controlled padded contact sparring. Always wear padding under mail, as impact may cause the rings to burst and be driven into your flesh.

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