I was wondering if anyone has heard of storing a mail shirt in wood chips to prevent corrosion? Someone asked me about it, and I was stumped - never heard of using wood chips. I can understand that you can't really spray it with oil, because over the long term, the oil will pick up dust and foul the mail up into a disgusting mess. So I would think the best storage would be in an acid free box, or one made of a proper type of wood (such as walnut, which doesn't give off corrosive gasses), and keep the temperature and humidity under control.

Any thoughts on this?

Tim

In regards to oil attracting dust and causing corrosion: we need to define what we mean by "long term". If you're in some kind of living history or re-enactment group, where you mail gets worn on even a semi-regular basis, oil will be fine. When we hear of oil attracting dust and thereby moisture, which causes corrosion, we're talking about a period of years or centuries. I assume you're not going to be hanging it in a cathedral for the next century or five.
:D

I usually keep my mail oiled and stored in a cloth bag in a trunk. My old butted hauberk was stored in this fashion for about ten years without being touched, with no ill effects.

I've never heard or read of wood chips being used. Depending on the type of wood it might even have acidic properties which would cause rust. This is one reason why only certain types of wood are suitable for scabbard cores. I don't know what advantage wood chips would offer, other than acting as a primitive form of desicant that might keep moisture away from the mail. I'd be interested to hear of any historic reference for this method of storage.

Mine has been sitting in a soft nylon gym bag since '97 and is only pulled out ocassionally to show people. It hasn't shown any ill-effects. It's wrapped in a towel but otherwise is dry without oil. I don't live in a particularily humid climate, however.

i keep mine in a burlap sack on the office floor.

I've read somewhere about storage/polishing in barrels of sand, but that sounds like a pain to clean up after, not to mention lug around...

There are a few chemicals in wood chips that are likely to increase metal corrosion (acids, tannins, etc). Mail can be tumbled with wood shavings to help keep it clean (sand is too corrosive) but I wouldn't recommend storing it in contact with wood chips, shavings, sawdust, etc.