Introduction: Chainmail and Leather Armor
Disclaimer: I will not be showing you exactly how to make this, I will show the weaves of the wire and how I cut out the leather, but the shapes of the leather I will not show. The purpose of this is to inspire you to make your own and not make an exact copy of mine.
I've looked on the internet and have seen all the incredible chainmail works, so I decided to try to make my own, so in this instructible I will be going through the steps that I took to make this, but first I would like to apologize for not making very many Ible's lately, I've been busy with my new job and this instructable, however After much time and effort I am finally done and have finally found the time to put it on this wonderful website.
The front chest plate I used a type of chainmail called kamuari, it is Japanese style chain mail that works best against the traditional Samari's sword (the katana).
the whole thing is held together by rectangular shaped piece of leather that attaches to the back section of the rings, to attach it i used sinew (string made from animal tendons) along with some left over rings from making the chainmail .
to give it some cool design i made a backplate that has two layers: an OD green pressed leather top (looks like alligator skin) and a thin aluminum layer behind the leather.
in the future i would like to add sleeves to this and make a hood for it, so stay tuned for that. be sure to vote for me in the contests that this is entered in, thank you. without further a due here is the steps that i took to make this awesome armor, i hope this inspires you to make your own.
Step 1:
- small rings (used for making chain mail) you can make these by winding steel or copper wire around a steel rod then cuting in a straight line down the center of it making the rings
- some leather of variing colors
- sinew
- some of the tools you will need are - wire cutter, drill (if making the rings), scissors, a leather needle, and 2 needle nose pliers.
Step 2:
this is pretty easy to make all you need to do is make an exteremly long chain then connect them like in the photo shone.
Step 3:
when i got to the length of my torso i split the chain to each side allowing me to make a place for my head, then reconnected them after going the length i wanted.
Step 4:
in this step i measured, made, then attached the back to the front
Step 5:
in this next step I cut a large piece of brown leather and attached it to the back of the armor to make more like a vest. the pictures that I have are of the front and the back.
Step 6:
to make the back part i cut out the shape i wanted then gave it the alluinum piece. i did this 10 times to get the length that i wanted.
Step 7:
here i connected them all together using the leftover rings.
Step 8:
to finish it up i attached the back plate to the leather and the small amount of chain mail that is on the back.
Step 9:
here is a picture of me wearing it from the front. i hope you enjoyed looking at this little project that i've been working on this last month please be sure to vote for me, thank you.
Participated in the
Great Outdoors Contest
Participated in the
Metal Contest
Participated in the
Leatherworking Contest
15 Comments
9 years ago on Introduction
No offence to you at all, this is a really cool piece, but the chainmail part looks poorly done (or maybe the weave is just really strange). The most common chainmail is 4 in 1 European Mail or 8 in 1 (double mail). Yours doesn't have that "finished" uniform look to it, it all looks sort of random. Again though please take no offence because it is a really hard thing to do.
Reply 8 years ago
I've actually made this style before, I think it's a Japanese weave. Usually the rings that stand up vertically are usually a lot smaller diameter so they can't flop down.
Reply 9 years ago on Introduction
None taken, I was expecting to do a poor job. This was more intended to be practice to teach myself how. The weave that I used was supposed to have two rings per link, but because I wasn't planning on taking this thing into battle any time soon I only did it with one. Up close in person it looks really cool though, thank you for your comment.
9 years ago on Introduction
how long did this take? it looks very time consuming. it looks really great and is probably worth it.
Reply 9 years ago
About three days, it was well worth it though.
9 years ago
This guy is awsome
Reply 9 years ago on Introduction
Wow I have never been called awesome before, thank you for your complement.
9 years ago on Introduction
That's great! But it also does look a little "delicate" to me. Have you tried it in a battle already? You should also wear some padded coat under that armor, so it will absorb the hits better ;)
Anyway it looks cool. Would be awesome accessory for an orc costume ;)
Reply 9 years ago on Introduction
thank you, that sounds like a good use for it.
9 years ago on Introduction
Looks like it'll stop zombies as well as arrows. Nice work!
Reply 9 years ago on Introduction
thank you. It defiantly will stop arrows, but I haven't tried it on zombies yet. I wonder how much a live zombie costs on the internet? Within the next few days I will add a gif of it being shot with an arrow. Don't forget to vote!
Reply 9 years ago on Introduction
Well...I'm not sure, it's a great idea. Many medieaval age chainmail armors were riveted so they could whitstand a stab hit, not just a cut. I'm just afraid that arrow could go through your armor :/ But it's hard to say from the photos. Looking forward to gif! :)
Reply 9 years ago on Introduction
don't worry, I'm not going to shoot myself. I have a small target that I will try it out on. I will probably do it tomorrow.
9 years ago on Introduction
This looks awesome! I love the pattern you made with the leather down the back. It looks like spikes!
Reply 9 years ago on Introduction
Thank you I was going for a reptilian type theme, or like a dragon. Don't forget to vote.