Leg hair getting yoinked out constantly. Did knights wear clothing under the chainmail to avoid this?
this post was submitted on 30 Sep 2025
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Yes, typically they wore padding both for comfort and extra protection.
I once wore some chainmail to a party and wore only underwear beneath it, and I ended up burning myself by being close to the bonfire. I was close to the fire because I was cold, because metal against one's skin late at night gets very chilly.
It was very silly, but also worth it. I looked great ,and I loved people's shock at it being actual chainmail (as well as their surprise when I replied "thanks, I made it myself!")
Are you Cody Reeder from Codyslab?
And because you don't want people thinking you are a baby dick
anyone going into any sort of battle would effectively be wearing a layer of pillows, because you generally appreciate not having your bones smashed, and pillows are cheap.
A gambeson?
Most recently ran into that word playing Kingdom Come
gambeson or whatever you can scrounge up to pad yourself with, 8 shirts is honestly surprisingly effective armor
Its also useful to protect you against things that would partially penetrate the metal rings.
If the rings are actually welded, it shouldn't be that bad right? I'd still put a fabric cover on it though
have you ever worn a puka shell necklace in the early 2000's while on a family trip to hawaii?
its kinda like that.
Not sure the wire is actually welded — it sounds like maybe welding wire is on just the kind of wire used? I don't know welding, so I don't know. It's possible they did weld the rings, but this would take an absurd amount of time (though I wouldn't put it past them, given that this endeavour already marks them as a thoroughly absurd person)
I have made chainmail though. There's two methods usually used: butted rings, and riveted rings. The butted rings involves wrapping wire round a dowel so you have a sort of spring shape, then snipping that to make the chain rings. Then you use pliers to open/close the rings as you weave them together (a common, basic weave is called "European 4 in 1"). I imagine this method is what OP used. Butted rings can catch on skin/hair, but with skill and good tools, you can minimise the likelihood of stuff getting caught in the wee gap in the rings. I imagine OP used this method if they were starting from welding wire. Welding each wire would take an inordinate amount of time though, so I would be deeply impressed if they had.
The other method is riveted rings. I've not personally used this method, but it's typically higher quality. Depending on the style of the riveted rings, this could be even more likely to catch skin/hair than the butted ones, but on the flip side, it's common for people to use solid rings as well as the riveted ones in this style (i.e. A row of riveted rings, then a row of solid rings, followed by another row of riveted rings). It occurs to me that you could probably also use solid rings when you're using the butted chainmail method, but I've not seen that before — I don't know why.
You're right that a fabric cover would be wise. However most people who I know who use more conventional weighted blankets usually use a separate regular blanket(or sheet) between the weighted blanket and their skin — even though weighted blankets often have removable covers, it's usually a faff to remove and wash the cover, so having a barrier sheet/blanket helps reduce that frequency
Yeah, I've used pliers and seen rivets but not welds. Just dunno why he'd say weld if he didn't mean it.
"Welding Wire" is a wire that's intended to be run through a MIG welder and used to weld other things together. The wire itself is not welded, it is used to weld. OP is using it for something other than welding, but is calling it what it was sold as so others can find it at the store. You can purchase it at normal hardware stores.
Chainmail only protects against cuts, stabs. Not trauma. You must were padded garments.
Knights invented jammie jams.
Finally a good reason to put my basic chainmail skills to use
It’s interesting when people make their post “I do X. WHY? Reasons.” when they could just say “I do things because reasons.” The pre-asking “Why?” has always struck me as peculiar for some reason.
It's a shortening of "why, you might ask?"
Imo it's a little more "conversational" than just, "here's what I did because this". Might be a leftover from the quirky era.
Gotta smell like shit tho, right?
Does aluminum normally smell like shit?
I think it's skin oils reacting on the aluminum surface, similar as with coins
I assume there is a light sheet underneath to keep it from pinching.
Oh my gosh, the pinching! I didn’t even think of that
And can you imagine how loud it would be to turn under this? Constant metallic rustling and clicking with every movement, every breath.
Don't they make weighted cooling blankets? I see them go on sale every summer.
"They come in all colors as long as it's mental-illness gray."
Knight, Knight, Don't let the raiders fight.
I am here today gentlemen and good ladies, to tell you that I have also done this, and it was wonderful. Thank you.
With aluminium ? how do you do it ?
no I used electric fence wire and spun and clipped my own rings. I still have it around here somewhere but I have taken off section for other projects
Do you mean there are other things that you are actively covering with chainmail right now ? is it a small battle chainmail for your cat ? that would be my first idea
it was a bit too much weight on the cats, but yeah I used it for like a cubby screen for the cats to hang out in and be able to see but also be like I will know if someone is entering this area.
I've been tempted to learn to do this for years, it looks very comfy
Gonna wake up looking like chimney sweep Tom
Ngl blankets are designed very well.
In a really cold room, they will shield from the cold and fill with your warmer body-temperature.
In a really warm room, they will shield from the warmth and fill with your colder body-temperature.
Colder body-temperature is still warmer than the ideal one but it was still pretty ahead of its time when invented.
Blankets were a natural evolution from skin since the first blankets were literally skin.
Mames sense I guess!