I ordered a set of GDFB flat ring/wedge rivet maille from KultofAthena
As predicted, it had the tube sleeves, that give you the maille wings look so unpopular in period art but inexplicably popular at Renaissance faires..... :confused:

I decided to taper them. I cut a slit down each arm, removed the excess, and then used butted links to "sew" the seam back up. I also added a horseman's slit.

Here are the results, enjoy :)

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Looks great Nathan! I found that it was well worth the time and effort to do the tailoring myself. Did you try putting your plate armor on over the maille before you tailored it as a comparison for when you finished tailoring it?

It makes a tremendous difference. Not only does the mail bunch up horribly and make fit a nightmare with plate arms, it also restricts movement to the point of defeating the purpose of wearing it in the first place. Once you tailor the sleeves though, it's like night and day. I think you'll be very happy with the fit and feel of it now.

Hey Nathan,

How many pounds of material did your tailoring remove?

Have you used any of the removed mail for dagger, arrow, etc puncture testing?

Also, by the fit under street clothing, I assume you not intending to wear your mail over a gambeson or similar arming clothing?

Nice work!

Looks awesome! What size did you order?

Thank you all for the kind words!


David, I ordered the 48 chest circumference

Ian, I don't think could have worn plate over it before tailoring. I will have to try sometime. And yes, it is night and day. It's much much easier to do everything in. Heck, it's even easier to take off!

Mr Arndt, I would say I might have removed about a pound to a pound and a half from the total wight, bringing it to around 19-20 pounds.
I haven't used it for any testing yet, but probably will at some point. I'll post another thread of results when I finally do.
And yes, actually. I wear it under an arming doublet. The street clothes were only because I threw it on right after finishing the tapering, and snapped some pictures. No time for a proper arming up ;)

Thanks for the measurements Nathan. I was trying to see where that size fell on your build as I am quite a bit smaller. Seems like I will need to trim off quite a bit! Also, one last question:
Is it mild or stainless?

David, it's mild.

Mr Arndt, yes, as Ian mentioned, it is like night and day.
I think it will perform well. The stuff was hard enough to get through, even with wire cutters :p
And no, if you look very closely, you will see there is still some room in the sleeves.

Nice work Nathan. I still need to do mine, but the coif comes first!

I too did the slit up the centre on the back and front of mine ;)

Did you take off the grease? And if so what did you put on to protect it instead?

Looking good, can't wait to see it under the rest of the kit!

Thank you, Brett!

Yeah, I got to the coif first also. Little projects come first.

And I didn't take it off per-say, but I've had it siting in paper since I got it. The stuff slowly absorbs it.

What did you do to your maille for the grease issue?

The arms were always going to be the last on my list of things to do. I was trying to get my coif done prior to my party but ran out of time with everything else that needed to be done. I have almost made the crown from my eye brows up in riveted/solid links.

I used a degreaser, but one that uses water, which is not the best idea as you need to dry it and oil it as soon as possible. But I got it mostly dried and then used a water repelling based lubricant, it currently has a mix of Inox and RP7 on it at the moment.

I had it in a plastic container with a damp rid (water absorbent) in there but have since rolled it in an oily towel and put it in a sealed bucket. Works well. Before use I get it out and roll it around in a bath sheet (read big towel) which gets most of the excess oil off of it :)

Once I've made the coif I'll start on the sleeves, I should have plenty of spare rings and rivets left :) The decide if I tackle tailoring the torso at all...

Outstanding job Nathan, tailoring ones mail makes a world of difference.