Galerie - Ironskin

Bishops-Mantle in the making This is the work of

Bishops-Mantle in the making

This is the work of Miroslav Bobr Krédl from Czech Republik. He is currently producing his version of a 16th-century neck- and chest defense with beautiful handmade rings. The neck area is made smaller and bulkier which is outstanding. Only a few people undertake the extra effort to replicate that.

All over the lower part, there are inserted patches of brass rings. I haven't seen that on originals, yet it is not unimaginable. The armor is closed on the back with some elegant hand-made buckles with iconic line decor. The bishop mantle is still about to grow bigger in size. Already it is a remarkable work of craft that earns my deep respect! Good work Miroslav!

Pictures by courtesy of Miroslav Bobr Krédl. Originally shared via Facebook.

Mail-Gauntlet made from fragments This object fro

Mail-Gauntlet made from fragments

This object from the Cleveland Museum of Art is labeled as 15th-century. Yet we have reason to be skeptical: Some of the rings might be from that time, but the glove is put together from at least five different mail-fragments. The fragments are connected by butted rings. You can differentiate the parts by color and ring size from far and by the ring shape in closeup.

We see wedge rivets and pin rivets, riveted-solid weaves, and riveted-only weaves. Some rings have round and other flat crosssections. There are some additional butted brass rings that seem to have formed a decorative element. It's almost as if the glove is a demonstration piece for chainmail variety. I'm speculating that the glove was built by a 19th- or 20th-century antiquity dealer or collector, using mail patches from various sources.

This is item 1916.1901.a. In the online collection of clevelandart_org, you can study the high-resolution image yourself. Original image by Cleveland Museum of Art. Collage by Ironskin.

Laced coif with square bib: It's your turn! They

Laced coif with square bib: It's your turn!

They are a beautiful thing, aren't they? @theholy_knight recently made one. I made one. And I think you can make one, too!

It's not too difficult with prepared materials and detailed instructions. I'm currently putting together a kit that helps you to learn to make it. My dream is to see more reenactors with tight-fitting coifs that also allow you to get your head through.

You'll soon find this kit on ironskin.com. You can comment "interested" to get a message from me when it's ready.

Thank you to those who asked me to prepare this, especially @walofdeath. Pic and work by Ironskin. Next time I'll smile more. ;)

Short-sleeved mail shirt with a story On a recent

Short-sleeved mail shirt with a story

On a recent visit to Switzerland I discovered this mail armor hung inside Lenzburg castle. It caught my attention because the short-sleeves showed some tailoring features: They had gores inserted near the elbow. It would not be worth the effort to do this tailoring on a short-sleeved shirt. Consequently the armor must have been long-sleeved once and later cut shorter. Thus it is possibly older than the suggested date of 15th-century.

With that observation one can understand which side of the shirt is the front. The museum had put this "wrong" with the descriptive text at the backside of the shirt. Furthermore there are seams on the back of the shirt that give extra shoulder space to the wearer.

The front of the shirt has a mysterious piece of metal riveted onto the mail close to the throat. It could be the remains of a buckle or an arsenal mark. What do you think?

The rings are riveted/solid. The riveted rings have wedge rivets and the solid rings seam to be drifted. On the bottom of the shirt there are fringes of brass rings.

This is inventory number K38.32 from the collection of Aargau museum, Switzerland. Currently it is displayed inside Lenzburg castle. Pictures by Ironskin.

Elephant-Armor from India, 17th-century This is t

Elephant-Armor from India, 17th-century

This is the officially largest suit of animal armor in the Guinness World Records. It consists of more than 5000 plates and countless rings. They add up to a total weight of 118kg (260 pounds).

You can look at it in person in the Royal Armories Leeds, UK. It is object XXVIA.102. But I guess you would find it anyway. Pictures by Royal Armories.

#warelephant #tusk #elephant #platearmor #mailarmour #spiritanimal #animalarmor #chainmaille #guinnessworldrecordholder #guinnessworldrecords #elefant #war #olifant #oliphant #indian #indianarmy #royalarmoury #madeinindia #historyofart #history #leeds #royalarmouries #imba #hannibal #ivory #animalartist #scalearmor #cosplay #yourmom

15th-century Bolero: Why is it cut out? My latest

15th-century Bolero: Why is it cut out?

My latest work here is a sort of mail-jacket that is worn under plate armor. It's 6mm rings with red deer leather, handmade buckles and a white silk liner inside the standing collar.

With the cut-out chest, the armor is not only lighter, but allows more freedom of movement. Don't get me wrong: It has all tailoring features of a fully functional enclosed mail-shirt. Yet in this shape it is less problematic if there is any friction between mail and plate.

I hear you remarking: "Oh but the lower arms are not tailored skin-tight." This here is the smallest circumference possible that still allows the wrist to pass through. Later the lower arm mail will be held in place by the plate parts on top.

Greetings to the new owner, Virgile from Switzerland. Work and pictures by Ironskin.

Haubergeon in 6mm Baggy sleeves - the ultimate ni

Haubergeon in 6mm

Baggy sleeves - the ultimate nightmare of anyone loving chainmail. Don't you think? This haubergeon is intentionally build that way. It is following an Italian fashion from the Late Middle Ages / Renaissance.

There was still a lot of tailoring happening around the shoulders, hips and collar. With these adjustments the weight could be reduced to 8.3kg with improved mobility.

Work and pictures by Ironskin. Oil Painting of St. George (likely by Artist Sodoma, 16th century) as presented on dorotheum_com. Thank you at @seborstianb for modelling.

Mail collar from the 1400s or earlier This collar

Mail collar from the 1400s or earlier

This collar is made from 5mm iron- and copper-based rings. They appear riveted and solid to me. The neck section features a 4in1-patterned mail.

You may be surprised to find the buckle so close to the center. Yet this is factoring in plenty of overlapping. The strap that is meant for the buckle must have been riveted to the left end. There is still the rivet. On the right end, there is a broken hook. It has once served as a clasp to keep the overlapping parts of mail together.

Pictures by the Cleveland Museum Of Art (edited). Item Number 1916.1584

#mailcollar #chainmaille #neckdefense #armsandarmor #chainmail #clevelandmuseumofart #armorcollection #neckdefence #medievalbuckle #kragen #kettenkragen #Clevelandsights #armorstudy #armsandarmour #fencingglove #fencingequipment #fencingarmsandartifacts

Milanese Brigantine with Mail, 1370 to 1410 You s

Milanese Brigantine with Mail, 1370 to 1410

You see a brigandine with big plates at the top of chest and back. All plates are riveted onto a hemp fabric. Furthermore, mail is stitched onto the hemp from the inside.

This is a rare and great example to study how mail can be sewn onto fabric. The rings are all wedge riveted. They are aligned with their smooth side facing away from the hemp - likely to be more gentle to other fabric worn closer to the skin.

At sides of the armour there are pairs of big punched rings. They have likely served to tie the front and back together.

The armour is displayed in the armouries of Castello Sforzesco in Milan, Italy. Pictures by Ironskin.

Find vs. Modern Chainmail I didn't even have the

Find vs. Modern Chainmail

I didn't even have the intention to reconstruct this specific piece. Yet recently I had the occasion to photograph one of my handmade meshes next to an original belonging to @antikhd. Both rings are of approximately 4.5 mm inner diameter.

There is no context or other facts known about the original. It can be noted however, that meshes of very small rings were especially common during the Roman period and again in late medieval times. During the latter, they served as extra dense meshes for more vulnerable body parts like the throat and neck.

Thank you, Heiko from @antikhd for dropping by and having a long chainmail nerdtalk with me. Picture by Ironskin.

Mail Vest, Germany, late 16th century This armor

Mail Vest, Germany, late 16th century

This armor was sold by German auction house @hermann_historica back in 2019. It led to a hammer price of 6400 euro. The fastening methods here are interesting: The collar section has an iron hinge that can be closed with a pin. The hinge is fixed with three huge rivets to the mail. Similarly, the chest has five iron buckles. And the collar still is still lined with its original silk lining.

The description suggests that these vests can be worn under a civilian textile doublet as personal body armor in unsafe situations.

Pictures by Hermann Historica presented on hermann-historica_de. This is Lot 3622.

6in1 mail collar - How often did that exist? You

6in1 mail collar - How often did that exist?

You see Charles Lin with his gorgeous 15th-century mail collar. He made the band around the neck from 6mm round rings linked 6in1. It took him 40 hours just for that part.

As a response to his pictures shared on FB, some of you were asking whether these 6in1 meshes truly did exist. In fact, the vast majority of European chainmail neckbands are made from bulky rings linked 4in1. They look dense because the rings are comparably small in diameter compared with their wire crosssection.

To shed some light on that question I ran through mail collars and similar pieces in my memory. What I found was 3 pieces with 6in1 and 47 pieces with 4in1. That means 6% of these pieces are 6in1. 94% are dense 4in1. You find the full list in the comments.

Anyway, for us building such collars, the 6in1 is a handy way to achieve that look without making custom rings. To do so you have to add rings row by row or column by column and set the rivets before adding new rings.

Pictures kindly provided by Charles Lin. Check out his blog for instructions on how to build that:
https://practiceandart.wordpress.com

For some, it's just a tailoring mannequin... ...f

For some, it's just a tailoring mannequin...

...for others, it's a scarecrow that scares the hell out of people entering a tent in the dark. And ultimately it's a perfect storage place to temporarily put aside chainmail projects. Apparently, German mail-makers in days of old did the same. The old print is from 1698.

You guys voted to name him Woody Woodhead. Ever since he is a versatile and helpful companion.

#scarecrow #tailoringmannequin #büste #mailmaker #camaglio #sarwürker #woodenhead #costumetailoring #williammarshall #kettenhaube #cottedemailles #chainmailart #chainmailheadpiece #customscarecrow #notusedasintended #medievalstuff #schneiderpuppe

Mail Skirt with triangular fringes Have you come

Mail Skirt with triangular fringes

Have you come across many mail skirts? They seem to be rare - at least rarer than the brayettes from two posts ago.

This skirt is meant to be worn in combination with 15th- to 16th-century plate armor. I made it with inspiration from a German effigy. The fringes here have an edge of brass rings as some mail collars do.

Thank you add @etrenz_113 for developing this project with me!

Pictures: Top right: Effigy of Eberhard IV. the younger inside Stiftskirche Stuttgart, Germany. He died 1419. The effigy as you see it was (re-)made 1576. Photo by Andreas Praefcke on commons_wikimedia. Bottom Right: Detail of a mail collar from the British Museum. Dated 1350. Museum number: 1856,0701.2244. Other pictures: Ironskin.

Late 16th-century Hussar armor This very agile ar

Late 16th-century Hussar armor

This very agile armor is from 1580/90. It was worn by light cavalry units called hussars. Hussars earned a huge reputation in Poland, although similar troops were in use all over central and eastern Europe from the 15th- to the 18th-century. This example seems to be from the Austrian Imperial Army.

The mail is made of tiny rings with beautifully tapering sleeves. The sleeves appear extra long. That is because the mail is stretching more without a real arm inside.

Foto: UMJ/N.Lackner as shown on museum-joanneum_at. The Armor is exhibited in Landeszeughaus, Graz, Austria.

Mail Glove from the Swedish Royal Armouries This

Mail Glove from the Swedish Royal Armouries

This mail glove is made of a regular part of mail with rows running along with the fingers and a more dense part with rows running around the wrist. Both parts are connected by decorative latten rings.

In the closeup we can observe that seam: All latten rings hold 3 rings. Yet the rings from the top alternate between holding 4 or 5 rings.

There is no specific dating, yet I can imagine 16th-century or 15th-century. Some similar gloves were in use for fencing. Sometimes the mail was only on the inside of the hand to allow grabbing a blade.

Pictures by Livrustkammaren emuseumplus_lsh_se, Image Nr. DIG 19727. I artificially enhanced the color of the latten rings.

Mysterious Mail Cap or Coif This piece is outstan

Mysterious Mail Cap or Coif

This piece is outstanding for its huge ring diameter of about 10mm or more. The rings in the center are all riveted. Near the lower edge, there seem to be some solid rings as well.

The mail is arranged in a circular pattern around the head. The center of that circle does not rest on the exact top of the figurehead yet sits a little bit closer to the back. With this fragment, it is hard to tell whether the entire piece was once designed like that. However, that is a design that has proven practical benefits in my personal experience of tailoring mail.

From that one central point, the mail pattern is expanding by deviations from the 4in1 manner. These deviating rings with 3in1 or 5in1 linked rings are not distributed evenly or randomly. The expansions sit arranged in lines. This means that the top of the coif was likely constructed by sewing together 5 or 6 triangular pieces of mail.

What type of garment is it? There are mail caps that could be worn as an additional layer on top of mail coifs. Yet the thing here extends further downwards. Hence it could have been a coif itself, but now it is torn. Since the lowest rings appear to be riveted/solid instead of riveted only there could have been some alteration during history to the piece.

The museum declares it as 12th- or 13th-century. I do see neither facts to support that nor clues dating it differently. The remarkably huge rings make it especially suspicious and interesting.

This is inventory number 20121 of the collection inside Palazzo Ducale, Mantova, Italy. Pictures by Ironskin.

Brass rings - or copper alloy rings to be more cor

Brass rings - or copper alloy rings to be more correct - have been in use pretty much throughout the ages. Almost always they just serve a decorative purpose near the hems of chainmail because they are more expensive and more brittle than iron. These are some hems suitable for mail skirts and shirt bottoms. You can get rings like these yourself on our website.

#copperalloy #brassrings #chainmailrings #mailskirt #decorations #ironskin #brassart #gilden #shinymetal #ringmail #ringarmor #makeyourownmedieval #brassring #messing # rivetedchainmail

For some of you, this is just a fun side project.

For some of you, this is just a fun side project. For others it is an opportunity to learn about mail tailoring:

This egg has a vertical seam right in the center of the image. It is not just an ordinary expansion of the mail pattern - no, all rings hold 4 other rings. You find this at historic mail-collars and bishop-mantles. Do you have suggestions on how we can name this seam? Please let me know in the comments. We can vote for the best name by liking the comment.

Actually, I have a (temporary) name for this, but I'm not telling it in order to not spoil your creativity. You find more about this and other seams in the "Connecting-Seams"-chapter on my website ironskin_com.

Thank you guys for being around all year and contributing with your many thoughts and suggestions! This would be empty without you. Happy Holidays!

Special credits to @puddlejumper_22 who already had the idea of covering eggs in chainmail last year. Picture: Ironskin.

Buckles, straps and hooks Means of closing mail i

Buckles, straps and hooks

Means of closing mail is a topic that I tended to neglect for long. In addition to my experiments in the picture, there are also fibulas and brooches that can be closed with a pin. Hooks and laces can be connected to the mail itself or to bigger extra rings or chains.

It's hard to point out which means are appropriate for which time period. Many of these helpers are riveted onto mail as if it was plate or leather. Sometimes these rivets are the only trace left.

Work and picture by Ironskin. It's a test piece. It won't stay like that. Hence the missing rivets in the mail.

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