Gallery - Ironskin

Knights in tights... This is the fully enclosed v

Knights in tights...

This is the fully enclosed version of mail-chausses. In fact, these are not only separate leg parts but full hosen. They are inspired by 15th-century sculptures.

Mail leg defense needs many tricks and tweaks to function properly. One of them is the laces under the knee. They hold the weight of the lower leg part and help to keep the mail near the knee loose enough to bend. Additional laces at the ankle enable you to get in and out of the tight leather shoes.

This is a joined project with Andreas Bornmann. He build the upper part. Everything from the upper tighs down is by Ironskin.

#mailchausses #legarmor #ironshoes #chainmailshoes #knightsintights #montypython #medievalshoes #sabatons #medievalclothing #fashionbaby #ironpants #chausses #preparetofight #deusvult #heavylegs #medievalarmor #chainmail #crusader #larparmour #medievalreenactment #larparmor #medievalhistory #cotedemaille #cotademalla #médiéval #medievalwarrior #medievalwarfare #deuslovult #ritter

Mail coif from the Battle of Visby Most of the ma

Mail coif from the Battle of Visby

Most of the mail coifs that we can look at today are from the battlefields of Visby in Sweden, 1361. The fallen fighters had been left behind with their armor still on.

This is one of the better preserved pieces. It shows that the coif is not much larger than the head itself. Whatever textile or other material would had been in between would not have been overly bulky.

The mail coif is constructed with a single center ring at the top. From there it is expanding downwards where it becomes a tube. The brim around the shoulders is squarish.

Pictures by Ironskin from @gotlandsmuseum

#battleofvisby #gotlandmuseum #maille #skullandbones #ancientarmor #swedishhistory #swedishknight #gotland #maille #skull #fallensoldier #coif #camail #camaglio #ringbrynja

A Crinet is the segmented neck-armor for a warhors

A Crinet is the segmented neck-armor for a warhorse. Together with the face-plate called Shaffron and the parts for the chest, back and sometimes legs it defines the horse's Barding.

This example is from the 1480s or slightly later, made in Milan, Italy for a noble person in Lyon, France. Such things can be known from makers' marks on the plate and written records of purchases.

Most interesting to me is the mail-part. It can lap over the reins and thus add a tiny bit of protection for the reins from being cut. Imagine cut-off reins on a warhorse - indeed a nightmare.

Metropolitan Museum New York, item number 14.25.1662.

#barding #horsearmor #warhorse #medievalwarhorse #horsearmour #shaffron #gothicarmor #schlachtross #horsewarrior #horsefight #renaissanceart #rohirim #storiamilanese #heavycavalry #mountandblade #Chanfron #ridersofrohan #medievalwar #medievalwarfare

Mail bevor with liner Mail bevors are late mediev

Mail bevor with liner

Mail bevors are late medieval neck defenses. They spare the top of the head from being clad in mail. I think that it's perfectly fine to wear these with the mail directly on the skin, but for comparison here is a version with a linen liner.

Often people would remark: Doesn't the mail pinch your beard and skin? When the mail is made smoothly enough, this is almost no concern. Furthermore, I have the suspicion that people wearing this in history were mostly shaved.

Admittedly the liner makes it feel more comfortable. However, cleaning is challenging. The salty sweat should be rinsed off every now and then to prevent rust. But the wet liner and the iron parts have to be looked after when it dries.

#medievalmask #rüstkammer #latemedieval #ironskin #facedefence #recreatingthepast #armoury #armory #late15thcentury #renaissance #fencingequipment #mittelaltermaske #1470s #chainmailmask #beforecovid #eisenmaske #mailarmor #rittermuseum #knightlyarmor #renaissancearmor #ironmask

From a birdseye ... There are many ways to shape

From a birdseye ...

There are many ways to shape the top of a coif. You can start from a center and add rings - or you create triangular segments and combine them. Can you guess what way this one was built?

#birdseyeperspective #birdseye #ringmail #ringmaille #vogelperspektive #camail #snowwarrior #changedperspective #mittelaltergedöns #ironskin #medievalcore #coldasmetal #stonecoldmetal #ringsandthings

The Mail-Shirt from Zeughaus Solothurn, Swizerland

The Mail-Shirt from Zeughaus Solothurn, Swizerland

This example has an unconventional way to tailor the armpits. It reminds me of oriental mail shirts - especially with the sleeves ending in a triangular tip. The rings appear all riveted and it looks as if they were being soldered with tin or brass additionally.

There is no additional information that I know of. So plenty of room for speculation. Where and when do think it was made?

Thank you to the kind person that sent me the pictures.

#armsandarmor #armsandarmorlove #zeughaus #solothurn #antiques #armsandarmours #panzerhemd #kettenhemd #museumcollection #chainmaille #haubergeon #zeughaussolothurn

The armory of the German city Dresden once listed

The armory of the German city Dresden once listed 24 mail collars in the year 1606. They had acquired these three so-called Bishop mantles from the local armorer Wolf Pohle, likely in the 1590s.

Often the slit of these mail coats is intended to be facing toward the wearer's backside. With these decorative brooches, I'm not so sure what side is the front.

These pieces are displayed in the Residenzschloss Dresden. @skd.museum. Thank you @wahlmann for taking the pictures.

#armoury #Dresden #Residenzschloss #bishopsmantle #chainmailcape #Rüstkammer #16thcenturyart #renaissanceart #landsknecht#renaissancearmor #armsandarmorlove

Mail jacket from Nuremberg Here is a shiny piece

Mail jacket from Nuremberg

Here is a shiny piece that I believe to be from the 15th- or 16th- century. The brass mark on the chest shows the coat of arms of the city of Nuremberg, Germany. The armor opens at the front to be closed by buckles with some overlap. There are short slits at the end of the sleeves. They allow this part to be narrower than the wrist.

The huge butted yellow rings must have been a later (modern) addition to close it with laces when the buckles were broken. Yet the brass rings at the collar and the wrist appear historic. The iron rings are all riveted with round crosssection. Amongst the brass rings, there are some solid rings, too.

Someone sent me these pictures long ago. I forgot where it's from. We're thinking of Kunsthistorisches Museum, Hofjagd- und Rüstkammer, Wien as of now.

Not only the elves in Lord of the Rings valued orn

Not only the elves in Lord of the Rings valued ornaments of the sun, moon, and stars. So did Renaissance Emperors such as Alexander III of Imereti (Modern Georgia). You see Galadriel played by Morfydd Clark with selected star-like appliques of precious metal on her mail armor. The gilded crescent moon of Alexander III however barely has space on his overly decorated mail armor.

Alexander IIIs armor was highly representative and ceremonial. We are talking about the 17th century here. The rings are all eclosed with rivets and form a comparably dense mesh. Even at that time mail shirts were worn occasionally under or over the clothes. They served as protection from threads in civil life.

Credits to @chassicafelese who already compared with other extant pieces. Thanks to @abedchechenya for help with the pictures. Pictures of the Alexander III mail shirt: Jonathan Cardy, Commons.Wikimedia, National Museum of Georgia. Picture of Galadriel left side of the first picture: Content of Amazon Prime. @primevideoin You can watch the series Lord of the Rings - The Rings of Power on Amazon Prime.

A mail shirt and questions... This example went t

A mail shirt and questions...

This example went through an auction by Hermann Historica in 2018 (Lot 3274). It's said to be a mail shirt from Nuremberg, Germany, from about the year 1480. The rings are all riveted with a 9.5mm outer diameter and an estimated 7mm inner diameter. The big brass ring is a makers mark, work and hard to decipher. The hooks are made from brass and are said to be as old as the piece. I've never seen such before. Often the slit is at the wearer's back. With this example, it would be suitable to be worn with the slit to the front or the back.

I'm thinking should I make two separate accounts: One for modern recreations of mail armour, and one for historic pieces? And what would you like to see more of in the future?

Stars and Rings - an Ottoman Armor Is it Christma

Stars and Rings - an Ottoman Armor

Is it Christmas yet? No, this is Ottoman Armor - beautifully crafted with silver, gilded decorations and red coral pearls.

The collar is made of extra tiny rings and clad with red velvet. Also, the gauntlets have a leather and silk lining.

Barely noticeable, the chest is tapering with seams from the armpits down. It is 10 inches/25cm wider than the waist. With that, the wearer was able to perform wide arm motions, even horseback archery. Under the mail, a fighter would typically wear a padded cotton garment and talisman-shirt decorated with verses from the Quoran.

The armor is likely from the 17th century Ottoman Empire. The mail-shirt weighs 21 pound/9.5kg and the gauntlets 1.50pound/0.7kg each.

These are objects KP B XVII.373/1 and KP B XVII.373/3 from the Museum Hessen Kassel, online on datenbank.museum-kassel.de and here @museum_kassel. Pictures by the museum. Thank you for allowing us to use them here.

The Bourke Scale Armor John G. Bourke was an army

The Bourke Scale Armor

John G. Bourke was an army officer and anthropologist on the American Frontier in the 1870s. He brought into his possession this gorget or collar of plate armor. It's been discussed whether this is a relic of the time when the first Europeans went into the Great Plains of America. Was it even obsolete late medieval gear brought to the New World?

Rather not: The armor consists of consistently shaped iron scales riveted onto cotton fabric. Carbon dating of the fabric reveals that it can't be older than 1650. Yet the material of the scales is bloomery iron. That points to an earlier date than roughly 1825.

The concept of plate armor was still known during Bourkes lifetime. Even though outdated to the military, we know of similar theater costumes of the 19th century. It is also known from text sources that native warriors in the Great Plains appreciated and used such armor in rare cases. It must have been acquired or made for that market - manufactured in the old or the new world.

Pictures and info from the paper "Scale armor on the North American frontier: Lessons from the John G. Bourke armor" by David J Killick et al. Plains Anthropologist DOI:10.1179/2052546X15Y.0000000001

#scalearmor #greatplains #americanarmor #spanishconquest #americanhistory #americanhistory🇺🇸 #scalearmour #gorget #ancientrelics #scalecollar #americanarmory #americanheritage #19thcenturyarmor #bloomery

Living history seems childish in times like these.

Living history seems childish in times like these. Yet more than ever we are longing for a feeling of protection and invulnerability. For us, it is calming to look at these mail mittens. And we hope you get that feeling, too.

These are handsewn by Ironskin with chainmail of 8mm rings. They are a part of a 13th-century mail hauberk. It took about 20 hours just to make the mittens. Now they finally got taken out for a walk in the old town.

Let living history be a thing that brings us together in a time full of things that are splitting us apart.@armoury_al_master @aos.rv.ua @buhurttech @kvetun_armoury @greykeeperhauberk @sergeisimunin

#livinghistory #livinghistorian #mittens #maille #chainmaille #knightout #knightout #medievalarmor #buhurtislove #reenactment #stressedout #invulnerable #handprotection #gauntlets #13thcentury #ironskin #handschuh #historynerds #medievalstuff #medievalknight #chainmailmaking #kettenhemd #reenactors #medievalreenactment #historyfans #chainmail #medievalknights

Armour has to fit! Looking at the brass marks one

Armour has to fit!

Looking at the brass marks one might think: "Why not leave out such details and make a cheaper armour? Stop sorting out the bad rings. Make the stitches a bit wider. This will certainly sell more."

At Ironskin we work to make good things. Only then do we feel that connection to the past the strongest. We can not serve everyone. We can not compete. You selected people, who share our vision - you keep us going. You care.

And with that, we proudly add brass marks to our works - following the tradition of medieval guilds. We will not settle for less. And we are grateful that we can.

#brassring #ironskin #medievalguild #brassmark #manufacturersmark #mailarmour #guildmark #chainmail #craftsmanshipmatters #chainmailrings #messingring #brassrings

The Battle of Visby - an epic reenactment event in

The Battle of Visby - an epic reenactment event in memory of the Danish invasion of the island of Gotland in 1361. About 400 living-history people from all around the world gathered here for a week.

War is not a glorious thing. I liked how Swedish and Danish people could met here to remember the lost lives of fighters and civilians. The organizers did a great job pointing that out.

#battleofvisby #battleofwisby #wisby #14thcentury #medievalwarfare #medieval #medievalbattle #medievalwar #knight #warhorse #cittywall #medievalwall #gotland #danishinvasion #reenactment #livinghistory #mittelalter #schlacht #siege #medievalevent #medievalknight #schlachtross #lanzenreiten #visby #mittelalterlager

Guardian statue on the facade of Nuremberg St. Lor

Guardian statue on the facade of Nuremberg St. Lorenz cathedral

When you can squat like that in armour, your mail-armorer has likely done a good job.

#nuremberg #stlorenz #cathedral #ridder #ritter #mountandblade #germanknight #chevaliere #medioevo #kettenhemd #medievaltimes #crusaderarmor #medievalreenactment #medievallivinghistory #14thcentury #crusader #cottedemaille #ringpanzer #cerveliere #livinghistory #medievaleurope #bannerlord #medievalwarrior #minne #ritterlichkeit #mittelalterlich

Still a mystery - the hauberk from Montenegro with

Still a mystery - the hauberk from Montenegro with its hood.

Of course, the most interesting parts near the neck are broken. Nevertheless, it was helpful to fill the missing area with blue marker rings. Only then did the bigger picture become visible. Luckily all holes were still connected with some rings. Thus large parts of the coif could be reconstructed to understand the tailoring.

This is from August's field trip to Berane in Montenegro. The piece is of unknown date, yet it's a promising candidate to be medieval or earlier.

#mysteriousarmor #armsarmorlove #medievalchainmail #hauberk #ironskin #treasurehunt #lostandfound #hiddeninmuseum #crusaderarmor #camaglio #findfromtheground #metaldetecting #ancientarmour #bluerings #armour #ancientarmor #museumfun #tatteredandtorn #afterbattle #mailarmor #ringpanzer #cotadimaglia #museumpiece #hauberk #cottedemailles #medievalarmor #armsandarmor #medievalarmour

Horse Armor in action This horse armor is made of

Horse Armor in action

This horse armor is made of mail with 8mm riveted and solid rings. It puts 40kg on the scale (88pounds) - 15kg for the front part and 25kg for the back. That is as much as three long-sleeved shirts. David Blum @phoenix4041, the rider, made it himself. And with deep respect, I have to say that I couldn't have done it any better. Where are the knights in need of horse armor? 😀

Video by André Görlach, David Blum and Simon Roloff.

#rossharnisch #pferderüstung #horsearmor #horsearmour #animalarmor #tjost #jousting #joustingtournament #Şövalye #joustinghorse #joustingknight #torneio #crusaders #medievalism #ritter #darkages #cavaleiro #seculoxiii #chevalier #cavaller #middleages #armsandarmor

2021 has been a good year! Why? You guys invited

2021 has been a good year! Why?

You guys invited me, showed me things and places. You joined this adventure to learn about history. We made and tested armor. We made and tested friendships. You never let me down. You guys enabled me to fully follow this passion for chainmail and made me meet some of the finest people in the living-history scene.

This fills me with deep gratitude that I'm alive among you passionate people!

I'm Sebastian, a 33-year-old guy from Germany. But YOU are Ironskin!

#bestof2021 #historynerds #ironskin #medievalstuff #armormaking #Ritterspiele #medievalknight #chainmailmaking #kettenhemd #reenactors #reenactment #medievalreenactment #historyfans #historians #nerdhobby #chainmail #medievalknights #patientpeople #medievaltimes #medievalpeople #buhurt #hema #historyfacts #historyfans #liveactionroleplay #medievalarmour #chainmaillove

Let's compete in the craft of making chainmail Th

Let's compete in the craft of making chainmail

There is this idea that I had for a long time: Wouldn't it be cool to see the chainmail that people are creating themselves and test it in a friendly competition? That idea is soon becoming reality and you can be part of it.

We will be testing pieces of chainmail the size of 20x20cm or 8x8". They will be made in the pattern of European 4in1 and they have to have riveted rings. There can optionally be solid rings as well. Butted rings are not allowed. The material has to be iron or mild steel. Apart from that the size and the dimensions of the rings are up to you.

The exact ways to test the pieces are not yet carved in stone. Your ideas for that are very welcome. How would you test it?

To participate, you need to make yourself a piece of chainmail and send it to me before June 30th, 2022. Participate here:

https://www.ironskin.com/ironskin-chainmail-competition

#kettenhemdringe #loricahamata #ironskin #chainmail #cottedemaille #chainmaille #chainmailrings #chainmailreconstruction #romanarmor #kettenhemd #ringpanzer #zakovica #cotademalla #Klinknagel #Кольчуга #Ringbrynje #harnisk #Kolczuga #nitning #makingrings #mailmaking #cottedemaille #jewellerymaking #makechainmail #ringschmieden #blacksmithingclass #armormaking

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