theory1

So is this the crimefighters outfit? Keep it hidden under normal clothes until needed? Or I'm ashamed to admit I'm a dork and I'm on my way to a Ren fair but don't want anyone to know..? Just razzin. Why cover a beautiful creation?

This is funny. I had an outdoorsy buddy of mine suggest I make something like this at one point. However, rather than a hoody, It would be a canvas coat. It could be a nice way to help prevent injury during a fall while hiking.

There are two purposes to it. The first is to serve as a spread-out weight for the person wearing it, so they have to work harder to move their arms and their legs are burdened more. The second is to serve as a sort of last line of defense against knives. You can take it apart, so when you go to Ren fairs and such, you can just wear the chainmaille, but if you'd rather not be pulled over by cops every 15 minutes while jogging, you can wear it with the hoodie.

The second is to serve as a sort of last line of defense against knives.

Will the maille be welded? If not, then there is absolutely no way that it would be any defense against a knife....

Tactical: That is not true. For one, I'm using an alternating washer/butted rings style in stainless steel with spring temper when possible. For two, I have several examples of 4in1 (butted only) in aluminum that can stand up to some pretty harsh knife attacks. For third, this is a layer of protection that the attacker won't see coming. Given, it isn't fool-proof, but no layer of armor is. Any Armor can be beaten given the right circumstances and attack. But a layer of hindrance can foil an attack if it unexpected or the attack is less than a perfect thrust. I'm not looking for a perfect armor, I'm looking for layer that I can wear on an everyday basis without drawing attention to it.

a hammer is going to do more damage to you than a knife and youre going to move slower in this heavy mail. maybe just invest in a leather jacket?

The heavy part is part of the design. By consistently going against that resistance, I will be getting stronger on a daily basis. Also, if I am attacked by a hammer in real life, I have bigger problems. It also goes back to what I was telling tactical, there is no such thing as a perfect armor. Something is always going to be faster, stronger, or expolit a weakness. :-) also, even in the case the hammer, the chain mail links will help to distribute the bludgeoning power of the weapon a bit. It'll still hurt like a mother bear though.

its an interesting idea but not the most practical thing. If I wanted to straigth train and add some protection I would get waighted anklets and arm bands and carry a heavy backpack and wear a leather jacket, it would be much cheeper, quicker and the waight would be easier to ditch if you needed to run away from someone.