Rob MacLennan

Agree on that point. Unless the LARP organization specifically requires steel, you'd be far better off with anodized aluminum. With butted rings there is inevitably going to be regular maintenance needed, but putting the shirt on a diet would minimize that. Unfortunately TRL recently mentioned that the welder was out of stock and there would not be more made, so that's out.

Probably spam. There's been rather a lot of it lately. I'm killing at least 6 spam posts every morning, before going to work.

Yeah, I've seen reviews of some of those $100.00 butted steel rings shirts. A couple were unboxing videos and, straight out of the box, there were loose rings rattling around in the packaging.

Having the 'stretch' be horizontal is the norm for European 4-in-1. It allows the chain to better follow the contours of the body and the mail is more dense when hung this way, therefore, it's more protective. If the mail is hung the other way then the links tend to hang fully open. This doesn't mean that you shouldn't also tailor it to fit when it's "hanging closed." My shirt is loosely based on the "A2" pattern, which can easily be found with a Google search. It involves expansions across the shoulder blades, to allow proper forward reach, and contractions at the waist, to avoid bagging. I'll be adding another 10" or so to the length.

I agree with mightydog. Working in patches tends to give more of a feeling of accomplishment. That's how I'm going with this project: http://www.morallyambiguous.net/multimedia/gallery/index.php/chainmail/Personal-Armour-Project-Gallery

Looks good

That's more gap than should be. It's likely in your closing technique. Watch the attached video and look at how I turn the ring past closed, then back again until I can 'wiggle' the ends into alignment. This is aluminum but I use the same technique with both stainless and high carbon steel rings.

Smaller rings. Finer gauge.

I can't speak to the size of ring, but for the pattern think of it as either Half Persian with an extra row, or Full Persian missing a row. Have a look at the Tag Kits page to get an idea: http://theringlord.com/cart/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=220&cat=Wrapped+Tag+Projects

The steel fencing wire (wire used to hold up fences) is zinc plated so that it will be more resistant to corrosion. Unplated wire is also available from specialty suppliers like The Ring Lord. I suspect that if you look carefully enough, you'll find suppliers in Germany that have wire in a variety of steel alloys.

If you view the image at full size, you can pick up the brushed finish.

Quite the mix there. The scales look to be large, brushed finish clear anodized aluminum. I'd guess that the rings are 16 gauge stainless steel. You'd need 5/16" to connect the scales but I'm also seeing what looks like 3/16" in the centre of the top and the sides, and connecting across the upper line of the bottom. Top upper line of the bottom also has what looks to be alternating 5/16" and 3/8" rings, connected by those 3/16" rings. I'd guess that the larger rings that connect the straps on the bottom are 1" in inside diameter.

Have you heard of Plasti Dip? It's a rubberized coating you can apply in either spray or dip form. It looks like you could plug the ends and seams of those pliers' handles, then dip them to get a somewhat softer grip on the handles.

You may find this link of assistance. https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnx0aGVoYXBweWJhcmJhcmlhbmhvcmRlbGFuZHN8Z3g6MmJiMjM3ODk1ODIxZmFlMA My own preference at the elbow would be to use plain chainmail in the inside, as there would be less material to be compressed when you bend your arm, but it wouldn't be a necessity. As Konstantin says a little expansion baggy-ness at the outside of the elbow would give room for movement.

You'll need 1000 small scales per square foot, when using the recommended ring size, so you just need to determine how many square foot the project will require.