Other equipment/ body armor

[OVERKILL]

 Robin Holmes mentioned his jacket, and I thought there should be a topic about protecting your body from bites, etc. Hopefully he'll explain his jacket in detail and describe how it was made. Snake proof chaps would probably be zombie bite resistant as well. Leather is tough, but might not be a good idea in SoCal or Florida, where you'd probably suffer a heatstroke from wearing it. (On an unrelated note, the spellcheck suggested I spell "SoCal" "Skoal")

[Robin Holmes]

You asked. I deliver. First, I made the overcoat. Not that hard. It's not a very complicated coat. Pair of pockets, pair of sleeves, and a lot of material. Then, I took a few weeks to knit a full torso set of chainmail with sleeves down to the elbow, and chain down to the middle of the thigh. One pair of pliers, and a LOT of chain links. Plus, a lot of patience and strength. I sewed that to the undercoat, (that being the fuzzy warm lining) in such a way that the back of the suit is padded by the undercoat, and the rest goes over my shirt. At the top of the overcoat is a zipper. That's what keeps the over and under coats together. It does close, but I still need to find a few spare buttons for it, to make sure it closes enough to conceil the chainmail. I almost decided to weight the bottom of the coat down with a few spare links, but then decided against it.

[OVERKILL]

 What material is the main coat made of? Not to get argumentative, but why did you only make the chainmail go to the elbows? Wouldn't it be better to have the forearms as well or better protected than the upper arms? I'm thinking of Cholo being bitten in Land of the Dead or muggers with a knife, your forearm could block the attack while you drew your sword. But I'm sure your reason makes sense as well.

[Admin]

(On an unrelated note, the spellcheck suggested I spell "SoCal" "Skoal")

Haha, well, the spellcheck pulls from an online dictionary for it's suggestions, not easily changeable.. too bad though.

I think I can understand Robin's reason for only having the chain mail to the elbows though... there have to be some compromises for daily usage for such things, and if you use steel links, the added fatigue from having the extra 3 pounds (or whatever it might be) at the end of your sleeves day in and day out would sure keep me from wearing the coat as much as I probably would without it.

Maybe Robin has another reason though, I look forward to hearing it!

[Robin Holmes]

The coat itself is made from cotton. The chains, from titanium for the chest, stainless steel in the shoulders and back, and the arms are made of aluminum.
The reason I didn't go all the way to the wrist is because of two things. One, the coat already weighs fifteen or twenty pounds, and I don't need the extra weight, and two, the mobility in the elbows is far too valuable to lose. When swinging a sword, the elbows do most of the work. Hence, I need more flexibility then solid chain provides. I've been playing around with the idea of buying a pair of bracers. There's a fetish ware shop in town that will make them out of just about anything one asks for, as long as you've got the coin.

[OVERKILL]

 Ya know, now that you mention it I believe most medieval chainmail only came to the elbow. Although the shoulders do quite a bit of work, it seems like the closer to the hands the more your joints flex in swordfighting, so I also understand not wanting to impair movement. Saying that the extra weight was not a problem, are there any designs that would not hinder flexibility and movement (i.e. not too bulky either).

[Robin Holmes]

What you want, is the medieval version of a swat vest. A chain vest. Doesn't cover the arms at ALL. Just the chest.

[Admin]

Ya know, now that you mention it I believe most medieval chainmail only came to the elbow. Although the shoulders do quite a bit of work, it seems like the closer to the hands the more your joints flex in swordfighting, so I also understand not wanting to impair movement. Saying that the extra weight was not a problem, are there any designs that would not hinder flexibility and movement (i.e. not too bulky either).

I think a loose 4-1 pattern with 1/2" ti rings would do you right OVERKILL, there are lots of web resources about knitting chain-mail, or we can start a section here about it if you guys would be interested.

Robin, I'm sure you meant that your shoulders do most of the work, but your elbows need more flexibility since the shoulder is roughly 800% stronger than the elbow joint.

[Robin Holmes]

The elbows need to move more, which is what I was getting at.

[Admin]

The elbows need to move more, which is what I was getting at.

Yeah, that's what I thought, I was just trying to clarify for everyone what you meant. thanks for letting us know!

[OVERKILL]

 Sorry, I should have been a bit more specific. I meant something that would cover the forearms, but not interfere with flexibility, or be too bulky to move like by simply making it oversize. Something like a cutout at the elbow or something, I'm not very familiar with the manufacturing of chainmail. I've saw the sharkbit chainmail being repaired but not made. Kinda like knowing how to crochet a chain, but having no idea how to loop it back in to start a square.

[Robin Holmes]

Honestly, I'm after the same problem, but a different way of going at it. I was thinking a pair of metal bracers

[OVERKILL]

 I'm not a big fan of taking ideas from movies. But I saw the Condemned I think it was, anyway the WWE film with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. He taped a steel bar along the ulna on either arm to block blades, so a brace would seem like a good idea in theory anyway, but practice is another story.

[AK]

How about a chainmail vest and seperate pieces for the lower arms, maybe even extending to cover the top of the hand?

What about coating armor plates with Rhino liner too?

I'm going to be custom building some armor and I would definately like all the input into it I can get. I am probably going to not do chainmail, but I am making a design that will be able to incorporate it should I ever want to. Either that or I would make the chainmail vest and arm pieces go over top the whole thing like an overcoat deal.

Actually I should hit the drawing board. This thread just gave me some ideas!

[Robin Holmes]

I'm still after bracers. If only for the indimidation factor. They're decent protection for the wrists, as well. Anyone who plans on using a bow, should invest in a pair. Keeps your arms from getting shredded by the bowstring.