Knights

The best way to make chainmail would depend on your weave.

I use European 4-in-1 (which is probably the easiest), and i use various techniques.

You can purchase wiring at Home Depot where the concrete items are held ($5).

You can make a rig, which consists of a metal rod, some wood, and a drill (Google it)

(I personally made a rig out of a fireplace broom with a hole drilled through.)

Then, wrap the wire around like a spring on the rig.

Take off

Cut the individual rings (i cut in the same space to get even rings)

Then, comes the important part. The weaving.

There are several methods to weave.

(I call them):

Strip technique

Add-on technique

The hanging technique

Before the techniques: learn how 4-in-1 works. (I Googled for several days before i started.)

Strip Technique

Make a 4-in-1, add on with the 2-in-1, and repeat until you've aquired desired length. (If you are making a shirt, measure your body's width and go by that.)

Then, make another strip the same length.

Repeat until you have desired height.

Now, look at your strips, you have to line up the patterns.

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(((((((((((((( This is what you're looking for.

What you will do, is attach two similar strips with individual rings.

How this is done is by this: 4-in-1 theory: FOR EVERY 4 RINGS, THERE IS 1 IN THE MIDDLE.

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Hard to show over text, but here is the idea.

Then, from that, connect sheets of chainmail in the same way.

Add On Technique

Remember when i mentioned adding 2-in-1's? That's it...

A tip when doing this is studying the direction of rings

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(((( If you have this, ( add this like this.

Again, hard to show like this...

Hanging technique

(What i use)

Take a strip of chainmail and lie it down.

Take a string or a small sturdy pole and stick it through the very top row.

____(((((((_____

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((((((( Like this.

Then, take the individual rings, and add then to two rings.

(((((((((

)^ those two.

On some rows, you'll have two add one to one ring to keep it even, or it will start getting narrow like a triangle.

Tip, when weaving, look at the direction of rings.

(((((((((

If like this: start on this side > and weave to the left.

Well, there you go.

Hope it helped. If not, Youtube this. Youtube has very good examples.

Also Google chainmail techniques, and you'll find good ways.

I will actually make my own tutorial on my site, and will post it once it's done.

haronah.webs.com

Yes - with every kind of armor, it was likely improved either because of advancements in weapons. An example involving the subject would be reinforced armor.

You can also see an example of this on the movie "The Knights Tale"

Answer:

When people talk of armour they usually have a mental picture from old Hollywood movies - clanking piles of iron mongery that nevertheless seemed to weigh next to nothing. The movie armour is often cobbled together by special effects folks or borrowed from local historical reenactment societies. In either case examples of any different types of armor are used together whether they would be historically appropriate or not.

Armour traces back to the use of leather and metal bits to ward off spears and arrows, Roman lorica hamata and the lorica segmentata, the mail hauberk and byrnnes of the early medieval age, to the full steel plate harness worn by Medieval and Renaissance knights.

Early armour was made of mail, small rings knit together. Steel plate bits were added to protect sensitive parts as pointed swords and arrows became more popular (mail isn't much good in that case). Gradually, small additional plates or discs of iron were added to the mail to protect vulnerable areas.

In the 13th--15th century plate armour made of iron was developed. As iron became more common the cost of building such systems became related to labour not material and plate won out. Mail still was used in small amounts around the groin, elbows and knees for its combination of flexibility and protection.

The helmet which all movie knights wear evolved from iron skull caps. The small skull cap evolved into a bigger true helmet, the bascinet. It grew larger and more complex and had open-able visors installed in the 1300's. These improvements allowed more protection for the back of the neck and the sides of the head.

Armour became specialized - designed for hand to hand combat or jousting. .

As weapons improved in the 15th century armour was forced to become heavier. As an example early armour weighed 15 to 20 kg but this was "improved" to become crossbow and bullet proof an weighed 25 to 30 kg by the end of this period.