[Richard K]

So I've been looking for custom mail shirt makers and custom-chainmail seems to be out of business. Does anyone know where else I can send in measurements and have a shirt made? There's plenty of sites with ready made ones that I'd rather not wager sizing roulette on.

[Dan Howard]

How much do you want to spend?

[Richard K]

[Dan Howard]

[Jeremy V. Krause]

And $25,000 for something approaching the real thing. . . If Erik Schmidt is even making maille any more.

Maille production just isn't feasible in our modern commercial system. It's the medieval reproduction item hardest to get right and realistic for the average person to afford. You can get a fully smelted iron and steel sword with authentic inlay- balanced like the originals for around $3500-$5000 but not so with maille.

There's just so much work involved. I have given up on the idea of getting some maille because available reproductions are SO far off the mark.

[Arne G.]

What Dan said. You're either going to have to do it yourself or be willing to spend $$$

Note that DIY is not so hard - the toolset is minimal and fairly inexpensive. Just buy the "basic" hauberk, metal snips to cut out the extraneous rings, loose rings to do the tailoring, and the riveting tool(s). You'll find plenty of folks willing to provide guidance as to what to do, along with documentation such as Burgess' articles on the subject. It'll take some effort but it can be done.

One thing to keep in mind is that the ready made rings from India are not really all that historically accurate in appearance (among other things the overlaps are always over-flattened giving a weird tabbed appearance that looks off even from a distance) so while you can improve the fit and general look, the detail look is always going to be a little wrong.

[Dan Howard]

This might prove edifying.
http://myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=19189

[Simon Schw.]

[Jeremy V. Krause]

Try to contact Erik Schmid and see if he is up for making any. Look to spend $25,000 or so

[Henry R. Gower]

I've mainly approached this hobby from the point of view of swords. I am not into reenacting now, briefly in the past, and i remember not liking the maille shirt I bought for about 350. USD Years ago, which I turned around and sold.
Just in one fell swoop, reading this thread, i learned stuff that would take weeks to learn otherwise. It boggles my mind that it would cost 25k for a proper job. That is a few thou. more than my family car cost new, and it is a midsize import. Amazing ! Well, faced with this prospect, I think I would try some sort of work around. An aketon or brigandine, coupled with a nice helmet, adjust my period of interest a bit, anything that would allow me to escape such a price tag which would be matrimonially speaking, impossible ! Not to mention we are both retired.
As an academic exercise, I'm now wondering whether it would be possible to assemble a kit of armours that would be period acceptable and cost in the hundreds, at least under a thousand. Just a thought for the original poster of the thread who indicated his budget was about 500. USD My mother used to say, if the front door is locked, try the back door, failing that, try the window ! Old European proverb from her country. Anyway, that's my two cents.
Henry

[Dan Howard]

You can get a decent approximation of the right appearance with butted links. They need to be pretty small (4-5mm OD) and they need to be alternated with solid links. You have to get pretty close to tell that there are no rivets.

[T. Kew]

Isak Krogh is able to make really good mail, fully from wire. He's probably where I'd go if I was looking for a repro that's as accurate as possible.

There are also some folks who will do the compromise setup of retailoring and reassembling garments that start as Indian mail. Tom Biliter in the US is one, Mark Hale in the UK is another, Isak is a third. For functional use, e.g. mail components being used as part of an armour for armoured combat, this is a really solid way to go - you get the fit of proper tailoring, and most of the defensive benefits of solid riveting (particularly if your maker is willing to go through and check all the pre-set links).

[Joe Fults]

If you're constrained by budget, and if you're not doing historical re-enactment, then I would go fantasy. Historical accuracy simply costs money and time. Lots of it. Lord of the Rings is a heck of a lot easier to pull off. Besides, outside of a rare historical event, you might run into 6 people that know that Dirk the Barbarian lived in 1987 and not 1272.

[Dan Howard]

[T. Kew]

[Richard K]

I think there's a market for "cheat Indian mail" except it's made to tailor that doesn't cost 25K. Custom-chainmail use to be it, but unfortunately it's gone.

[Dan Howard]

[Dan Howard]

[Nathan Robinson]

I've removed the posts that are completely OFF-TOPIC to the subject of arms and armour and contained personal attacks. People, don't add that to this site. Stay on-topic to the discussion of arms and armour.

[Edward Lee]

Might not be what you are looking for but there is a custom wleded mail maker called "Master Knut".