Subject: Making Chainmail armor.

From: [email-masked]
Date: 5 Nov 1995 18:02:27 GMT

Does anybody else out there make Chainmail armor? If you do, how about
e-mailing me and we can trade time-savers and other tips for making it.

    -Tim

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From: wes derrick <[email-masked]>
Date: 8 Nov 1995 05:04:05 GMT

It's me again.  I just remembered what the leather boiled in oil is 
really called.  It is curboulli.  Most leather armor of the time was 
made from this stuff unless it had to be flexible.  Boiling in oil 
apparently drives the moisture out and with pressing results in a much 
denser and stronger material.  I think the analogy of skin to toenails 
could be aptly made.  This "drying-out" process also shrinks the 
material.  Presumably one makes the suit with some looseness in it and 
then you boil it in oil which draws it together very tightly.  A proper 
tightness is essential to it's usefulness as a loose weave allows arrows 
to force apart the armor and "nick" you.