Rebuildig my maille coif -- myArmoury.com

Sander Marechal · Posted: Sun 29 May, 2011 11:31 am Post subject: Rebuildig my maille coif

About a year ago I started a thread about maille coifs. Various other projects took precedence but now I finally have had time and money to start working on this.

I started off with a maille coif from Cap-a-pie, a UK supplier of riveted maille run by Mark Hale. I'd really like to recommend him here. Since I wanted to properly fit the coif to my head I needed tools as well as a coif and loose rings for this project. Mark didn't offer any tools on his website but he was kind enough to make me some anyway. I didn't have the tools to convert a pair of carpenters pincers to riveting pliers myself. His service was top notch, communications very fast and his prices very reasonable. It was only a few days later when the Fed Ex courier stopped at my place to drop off a very small package that weighted several kilograms.

The coif itself was of good quality. During my inspection and fitting I only came across three weaving errors: one missing rivet, one missing ring and one extra ring (it looked like an expansion was started but then forgotten about when weaving the next row). From what I have seen this is superior to e.g. GDFB or Ulfberth maille. I have seen close-up photos of those that showed more bad rivets on a single patch than I found on the entire Cap-a-pie coif.

The fit wasn't very good though. It was big, far too big for me. I'm not exactly small (1.82 meters, normal build) but I drowned in it. See the attached pictures. But, that's exactly why I ordered the tools and 2000 extra rings for Happy

(well, that and for making maille gauntlets. But hat will be another thread).

Sander Marechal · Posted: Sun 29 May, 2011 12:21 pm Post subject:

Here's what my coif looks like after the first weekend of work. I started with trimming the mantle. I'm not very broad shouldered and the mantle was sticking out beyond my shoulders quite a bit. When I trained with the unmodified coif during my last WMA training it flopped around quite a lot. I trimmed off 9 rows of rings so that the mantle would come to about the edge of my shoulders. This also gave me a strip of maille that I can use for other things, like filling in the gap up to my chin. It's also a source for solid rings. The coif is half solid rings, half riveted rings, but I only ordered riveted loose rings.

Next up I started taking in the neck. My original plan based off my old thread was to take it in as far as I could and run a slit up the back so I could fit my head through. However, I noticed that while taking in the neck that I couldn't take it in too far. The standing collar on my gambeson meant that my neck wasn't all that smaller than my head. In the end the neck opening barely fits over my head so I don't need a slit in the back. The upshot of that is that I don't need a squire to lace me up Happy

I took in 8 columns from the side and back of the neck. Then I took another piece out from the front of the neck and mantle, reducing the entire circumference.

Lastly I filled up the gap below my chin with segments from the mantle trimmings. At first I filled it in quite high, up to my lips almost. Pretty much similar to this original from Gotland. I thought that with such a small opening, I might even get away without adding a ventail, but that felt quite uncomfortable against my chin and cheeks. So, I heightened the opening again so it fit closely against my jaw. Later on I will add a side ventail that will cover my chin and mount (and maybe nose) but I'll need to do a bit more research for that and order some leather.

And here are some pictures of the end result. Still to do: a ventail and leather lacing on my brow line. I'll take it out to WMA training again next Friday and see how well this fits when in action.

Elling Polden · Posted: Sun 29 May, 2011 1:35 pm Post subject:

looks real nice.
I am planing to do the same, with more or less the same coif as you, so I'll be following this with interest.

Are you going to have the mail cover the tip of your chin?

Thomas R. · Posted: Sun 29 May, 2011 2:37 pm Post subject:

Hi Sander,
I will follow this thread, too. I am eager to know, how your ventail will look like. In my experience it is a lot more practical to wear the seperate coif under the gambeson instead of over it. This way the standing collar of the gambeson could be worn like the presumingly standalone collars of the gambesons in some of the illuminations. Plus: the coif doesn't flap around and tears down on the sides of the head. I wonder which sort of helmet you will wear with it? It seems very tight now.

Best regards,
Thomas

Sander Marechal · Posted: Sun 29 May, 2011 3:12 pm Post subject:

Sam Gordon Campbell · Posted: Sun 29 May, 2011 7:30 pm Post subject:

I too think I'll follow along with this project.
It looks so much better fitted than when it was in its original state.
And why don't you wear a phrygian helmet or painted cervelliere with it instead?

Sander Marechal · Posted: Sun 29 May, 2011 10:48 pm Post subject:

Elling Polden · Posted: Mon 30 May, 2011 7:15 am Post subject:

I belive you could get away with a cervilere in 1066, but I would check the hastings kit guide first. I've got one of these, which is pretty good value for money:
http://www.battlemerchant.com/Helmets/Battle-...:2173.html