Hello, I was wondering if anyone could give me a comparison between two of the more affordable lines of chainmaille; the battlemerchant chainmaille and the GDFB chainmaille.
I have heard about how people with the dome or round riveted maille get cuts and have their gambesons pulled apart over time due to the rivets catching threads and such, and that wedge rivets are more comfortable and less destructive. It would be nice to hear if anyone has some firsthand experience with this ^_^
If you could recommend a brand for someone who can't really push more than half a grand without going into debt troubles, what would your recommendation be?
Thank you for your time and patience.

You get what you pay for. You are better off starting with a good soft kit and then saving up for decent mail.

For me, the first question would be which type was appropriate for the time and place I wanted to represent? For instance, I would not consider getting wedge-riveted mail for a Viking kit, because that's not how Viking mail was made. Once I knew which construction method was appropriate, then I'd worry about which company did a better job at making that style.

I know there is a lot of concern about the details of ring construction on reproduction mail these days, and that's a good thing. The closer it is to the real thing, the better! I've also heard some folks say that such-and-such a reproduction is "nothing like" historical mail, because of the shape of the ring overlap, or the size of the rivet heads, etc. I'm afraid I start losing my fanatacism at that point--plenty of folks out there are still using BUTTED mail, for heaven's sake, and I still remember the days long ago when actual soda can pull-tab mail was in use! So if we are actually able to get mail with a choice of round rivets (with alternating rows of solid rings!) or wedge rivets, sometimes for not much more than we used to pay for *butted* mail, I'd say we're in heaven.

As for mail rivets snagging on clothing, it sounds like you already found the thread about that. I don't recall that very many people reported a problem like that, so it may have been mail from just one manufacturer, or whatever was being worn under that mail, etc. I doubt it's something inherent to round rivets, though. I also haven't really kept up with the various manufacturers of mail these days, so I can't help much, there. (I tend to think of it as a scale with "Made in India" at one end and "Erik Schmid" at the other, with nothing in between...)

Good luck!

Matthew

I have a round riveted flat ring mail hauberk from India that I am using as a base to build a 1250 knight's kit. There are authenticity problems with the Indian product which you can find with a forum search so I won't raise them again. Instead I'll focus on practical issues.

I bought it from eBay merchant all_beststuff and I highly recommend this seller. They are very good at returning emails promptly and answering questions well. You get the choice of 9mm or 8mm ring diameters, flat or round wire, all riveted or alternating rivet/solid, wedge or round rivets, and they have pieces with many combinations of these features in stock. So if you want an all riveted round wire 8mm shirt, for example, they can do it in a timely manner. If you are going to buy Indian riveted mail all_beststuff is a very good source.

My untailored hauberk and coif cost about $500 altogether, which I consider to be a great value, seeing as there is ample material left over from tailoring for side projects like gussets, aventail, etc. They also included a rivet tool and several thousand rings and rivets free of charge.

I have not noticed that the round rivets catch clothing, if you wear it with the dome side facing inward. They do catch on hair if you're not careful.

Personally I still think that butted mail looks better than a lot of the riveted mail on the market. I can tell Indian mail from a long distance (even on TV) but I can't tell the difference between butted and round-sectioned riveted mail until I am close enough to tell that there aren't any rivets (sometimes I have to physically hold it and look closely). But butted mail is no good for smacking around with weapons. It depends on what you want it for.

Don't forget that the dimensions of historical mail is reported by measuring the OUTSIDE diameter, but mail retailers use the INSIDE diameter. If a museum says that their mail has a diameter of 8mm, you should be looking for a modern reconstruction with a diameter of 5-6mm.

I'd suggest wedge for your period. Dome riveted does catch on stuff as well, especially linen gambesons, if you got a canvas one like my old gambeson you shouldnt have an issue though, personally I spent 300 on my gambeson which was custom made and buying a brand new one was out of bounds for me so I just sold my old maille and got wedge riveted, in the long run I dont regret it because it's easier to put on and off and I prefer the look of it better, it was first used in the 1200s in Germany and spread outside during the 1300s.
I have an Erik Schmid coif and the wedge riveted is closer than the dome riveted anyway, only real issue is the flat rings can be a bit abrasive and sharp when you handle them, I had even worse problems with the dome riveted links though. I NEVER wanted to touch the maille with bare hands because of how prickly it was. Historical dome riveted maille had a flat inside like modern wedge does, indian dome riveted however has that protruding rivet and personally I cannot stand it. I do suggest getting half riveted half non though as it's stronger and less likely to catch. While fighting in my old hauberk I had the rings catch on each other and lock up which I didnt have the problem with the half solid links.
I'd suggest Battle Merchant over GDFB cause the links are not only smaller but they got a better riveting job. I dont have a single missing rivet on my Battle Merchant chausses while my GDFB hauberk was missing maybe about 5 rivets. GDFB is OK with quality, about as good as Icefalcon in quality. I will however say wedge riveted links are harder to rivet than dome when you tailor it yourself, thats the price you pay for having the smooth inside.

Concerning yourself over the most authentic option is a bit like chasing down a rabit hole. In truth none of the mass produced mail, or its components, is authentic in appearance. With that in mind you might as well stick with a riveted version, as it won't require as much maintenance as butted mail. I find wedge riveted mail easier to repair than the round riveted variety.

My butted link is around 10 years old, and its going strong. Its made of spring steel links in a 4 in 1 weave, and has stood up to fighting with rebated steel weapons for that entire time.It has needed the odd bit of repair , and a bit of enlargement(owing to middle age spread) but there are hauberks in the group I'm a member of that are still sound after nearly twice as long.So if the butted link is well made it is quite durable.

If your main concern is durability and second is maintenance, with history a distant third, then I suggest welded stainless steel mail. There are at least a couple reputable sources for it, I suggest Icefalcon:

http://store.fastcommerce.com/icefalcon/top-q...183-c.html