A chainmail (ringed armor) is a type of medieval armor. It had the form of a shirt. In Russia different varieties of mail were used up to the 17th century.
Сhainmail was made of iron rings. The wire was made using the method of drawing. It was put on the cylinder — the mandrel — to make a long spiral. About 600 meters of iron wire-spirals were needed for one chain mail. This spiral was cut into pieces. The open rings of the same diameter were made. Half of them were welded. The ends of the remaining open rings were flattened and holes were punched on them for rivets or pins, which had to be made separately. The chainmail could then be assembled. Each open ring was joined to four welded rings and riveted together. The rivet had a diameter of about 0,8 mm and it had to be fastened to the ring already woven into the mail. This operation required great accuracy and skill. In this way each ring was joined to the four adjacent ones. The closed ring was connected to the four open ones and the open one — to the four whole ones. One chainmail consisted of 20-25 thousand iron rings. Sometimes several copper rings were included into the chain mail, giving it an ornate look. After it was assembled, the chainmail was cleaned and polished with sand until it shined. The finished chainmail could weigh from 6.5 to 16 kilograms, but this weight was evenly distributed over the whole surface of the body.
Thick clothing consisting of many layers of material — cloth, wool and horsehair — was put under the chain mail. The whole padded jacket was stitched with durable threads, so it was hard to the touch and at the same time soft, like a blanket. This garment attenuated the impact force and was a cushioning protective layer against the rough touch of iron mail.
The chainmail provided good protection against cutting blows of the saber, sword and axe. Studies have shown that when struck hard by a sword, the rings of soft wire bent around the blade. The armor did not protect from crushing weapons like a hammer or a mace. Even if they did not tear the chain mail, they severely damaged internal organs. Ringed armor did not save from strong stabbing blows of a sword, and even more so from a direct blow of a spear. Nor did it provide reliable protection against archery and crossbow fire at a sighting distance of 50-75 meters. The usual arrows penetrated through the cells of the rings and inflicted shallow, but painful and bleeding wounds. Arrows with a faceted tip and crossbow bolts easily pierced the chainmail.
Сhainmail was made of iron rings. The wire was made using the method of drawing. It was put on the cylinder — the mandrel — to make a long spiral. About 600 meters of iron wire-spirals were needed for one chain mail. This spiral was cut into pieces. The open rings of the same diameter were made. Half of them were welded. The ends of the remaining open rings were flattened and holes were punched on them for rivets or pins, which had to be made separately. The chainmail could then be assembled. Each open ring was joined to four welded rings and riveted together. The rivet had a diameter of about 0,8 mm and it had to be fastened to the ring already woven into the mail. This operation required great accuracy and skill. In this way each ring was joined to the four adjacent ones. The closed ring was connected to the four open ones and the open one — to the four whole ones. One chainmail consisted of 20-25 thousand iron rings. Sometimes several copper rings were included into the chain mail, giving it an ornate look. After it was assembled, the chainmail was cleaned and polished with sand until it shined. The finished chainmail could weigh from 6.5 to 16 kilograms, but this weight was evenly distributed over the whole surface of the body.
Thick clothing consisting of many layers of material — cloth, wool and horsehair — was put under the chain mail. The whole padded jacket was stitched with durable threads, so it was hard to the touch and at the same time soft, like a blanket. This garment attenuated the impact force and was a cushioning protective layer against the rough touch of iron mail.
The chainmail provided good protection against cutting blows of the saber, sword and axe. Studies have shown that when struck hard by a sword, the rings of soft wire bent around the blade. The armor did not protect from crushing weapons like a hammer or a mace. Even if they did not tear the chain mail, they severely damaged internal organs. Ringed armor did not save from strong stabbing blows of a sword, and even more so from a direct blow of a spear. Nor did it provide reliable protection against archery and crossbow fire at a sighting distance of 50-75 meters. The usual arrows penetrated through the cells of the rings and inflicted shallow, but painful and bleeding wounds. Arrows with a faceted tip and crossbow bolts easily pierced the chainmail.
