[R. D. Simpson]

I've begun to wonder about the relative advantages and disadvantages of maille and scale armour. I used the search feature, but have exhausted all search criteria that I could think of without finding an answer.

It seems to me that an upward cut or thrust could slide in between scales and (relatively) easily penetrate the fabric backing, but is that an accurate assessment?

Since maille seems to have been much more prevalent into medieval times, my guess would be that it had advantages over scale in weight, protection, or both, but I'm still pretty new to this so I could be completely off base.

So, which offered better protection, scale or maille? Which weighed more? Obviously the weight and protection of maille would depend on ring size and thickness, so for the purposes of this discussion let's assume a thickness roughly equal to between 16 and 14gauge and an inner diameter of around 3/8in.

[Chuck Russell]

ah but if your going by historical accounts, mail is more like 18 gauge 6mm ID.

romans had both scale and mail. but as time told, mail won out.

[R. D. Simpson]

[Dan Howard]

Scale has no advantages over mail except perhaps that it is a little quicker to manufacture and hence likely to be cheaper. Scale is harder to maintain. It deteriorates more quickly. It is heavier. It offers less protection. It is not as flexible.

[R. D. Simpson]