Chain mail (that thing medieval knights wore)?
So one of my friends needs some chain mail for a drama performance (ish. Long and not-really-understood-by-me story.). At the very least, he wants to look "like a knight" without spending too terribly much money. I've seen some RenFaire outfit pictures posted around here, and thought people might have ideas. Anyone know of a place to buy (or rent, I suppose) good chainmail / knight costumes?
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Comments
omf
I definitely imagined this as a post about chain letters when I saw the title, and that didn't change until I got to "RenFaire." I wondered WTF a drama performance needed some chain letter for, and why you couldn't just google some of that shit up.
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I did...
*exactly* the same thing! I don't know if I should feel more or less ridiculous because you did the same thing.
Nah, you are...
... in good company. It took me until "look like a knight" to figure out that this wasn't about chain letters.
LOL! Me too...
i immediately though, on noes she didn't pass on consuela's chain letter LOL
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Back on the topic... ;)
I've heard that TV reenactments used to or possibly still do use shirts knitted out of bulky gray yarn. I don't know how well that would work on stage, though.
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Not sure
that it's on stage. From the sound of it, it involves mock-challenging someone already in on the joke to a duel. But in front of all their coworkers in a "you work for the department" sort of setting. So a lot more up close?
I doubt he'd do knitted. He's kind of intense about his Projects. He and his roommate built the following "Egypt" for a dinner party in their otherwise perfectly standard two person apartment:
http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs173.snc1/6492_63230502350...
And just to clarify the epic, since our photo-taking was minimal: they layered over the floor with a tarp and stucco and sand to imitate a desert, that black sheet on the ceiling has Christmas lights under it to look like stars, the ditch in the center of the table is attached to a closed water system which releases water from the far end and pours off the end of the table into a bucket which then feeds the pump, and the standing torches you can kinda-not-really see in the back of the room can be ignited on command with a hidden switch under the table.
So... I do not think he will go for wool unless absolutely necessary, no
"The worst thing in life isn't to die. The worst thing is to have lived but have missed it."
I will try to be good.
Real chain maille is HOT
If your friend doesn't want to go for the knitted look because of the temperature, I don't think he'd like the real McCoy. I'm part of a medieval reinactment society and some of our men wear real chain maille for tournaments. They almost die of heat stroke by the time they're finally done and the first thing they do is to get somebody to help them out of it.
If it's for a party kind of setting, couldn't he just wear a tunic with some rich embroidery which is what a knight would've worn for such an occasion and it's by far not that hot in a tunic either
Ooooops ... I overread that
Ooooops ... I overread that the party was a former project ... my bad ... forget what I said up there ...
moderately expensive, but probably time-saving
He could buy a whole bunch of cheap chain in whatever length would cover the top of his shoulder to the top of his hip, and then loosely lace them together into a mock-mail with some cheap wire or gray shoelaces or something. Chain and wire of various strengths, types, and prices can be found at Tractor Supply stores and probably your local hardware store or home improvement chain (Lowe's, Home Depot, etc).
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Been there, done that.
You've actually got several options with different amounts of accuracy, cost and effort involved.
More Accurate:
- Actual Chain.
try checking out the shirt on ThinkGeek: http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts-apparel/miscellaneous/9080/
- Make it yourself
From wire: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/trevor.barker/farisles/guilds/armour/mail.htm
Fake it:
- Soda tabs. I'll see if I can find a picture for this technique, but it involves LOTS of soda tabs (and effort) but I put together six coifs in a month for a stage production. I got several pounds of tabs by going around a middle school cafeteria for a week or two to get them. the upside is that it's pretty easy to explain, so if you have some true friends who don't mind sore fingers, you can assembly line this.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Recycle_Soda_Pop_Tabs_Into_Chain_Mail/
- Knit. Use a very wide needle and go at it like you're making a fishnet sweater. Spray paint the whole thing silver or use a shiny yarn and it should be good enough at a distance.
- From PVC tubes: http://www.larp.com/orcs/PVCmail.html
My personal choice for budget is to go with soda tabs if you have the time to collect the tabs and make a costume. If not, my next choice would be knitting. Just remember that you can do small sections that look good, around the neck, sleeves, anywhere it might show, and then throw a tabbard over it.
Minor amendment after looking
Minor amendment after looking at how exactly they did the soda tab chainmail on Instructables. I actually cut only the top ring of the 8 shape, then linked that to two others, using that snipped ring in place of a ring of wire, as in this tutorial: http://www.mailleartisans.org/articles/articledisplay.cgi?key=515 This one probably would look better up close.
Appoligies, I was in a little bit of a hurry.
Humm.
I was about to say chain mail would be expensive, and after looking at the shirt on ThinkGeek and the table setup, that would probably be a good option cost-wise. A hauberk from a smith can easily be two or three times more expensive than the one on ThinkGeek, or more.
When you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. -Arthur Conan Doyle
------
It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
Thinkgeek has a coif too
Thinkgeek has a coif too http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts-apparel/hats-ties/b53e/
Only $30, more likely to fit, and has the most knightish look.
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Aluminum mail
You can buy a shirt of aluminum mail for a few hundred dollars. It would weigh about 5 lbs and is not hot. For example, http://store.fastcommerce.com/icefalcon/riveted-aluminum-ff80818118cf3b0... or http://www.ringmesh.com/ChainMail_Shirts_and_Vests_s/25.htm (or just google "rivited aluminum mail").
Mail is in demand, so re-selling online when he was done with it would reduce the net price a bit, but it may be more than he wants to spend. He could always check EBay.
A sweater painted silver is also traditional (I think that's what the Monty Python crew used).
contact the local SCA or
contact the local SCA or re-enactors wherever he is?
post on Craiglist?
I mean, I have at least a couple friends with that and armor and such...
"A gift of the spirits is in equal parts a curse." -AK
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