Making Scale Mail

Hello!
I'm making scale mail for a cosplay and thought I'd share the process.
I'm not an expert and there are probably other methods to try or patterns that can be done, but this is what I know and how I do it. I'm sharing in the hopes that it will help you whether you're starting out or have more experience making scale mail!
The small section of scale mail in this video uses 48 scales and 85 rings, including the five anchor rings on the top five scales.
The scales and rings I got from - theringlord.com/
Scales - Small Titanium dark blue
Rings - 3/16" Black Stainless Steel
If you have questions, feel free to ask or go to the website above for more answers and tutorials.
Thanks for watching:)
Facebook!
/ warriorclassstudios
MY COSPLAY BLOG!
warriorclassstudios.blogspot.com/
WARHAMMER VERMINTIDE 2
• Warhammer: Vermintide 2
HALO
• HALO
Ori and the Blind Forest
• Ori and the Blind Forest
Music - Lullaby by Yung Logos

[@pepleatherlab3872]

Imagine how brutal this process must've been in the Middle Ages without complex alloys. I bet the finish products were quite heavy as well. Thanks for the vid. 🍺👍

[@warriorclassstudios]

Yes, they must've had a lot of patience and skill! Many things that were made by hand seem to be very beautiful even years later

[@robertaylor9218]

This is awesome. Frankly it’s almost usable too. If you went back later and welded or riveted the rings and wore it over a gambeson, it’d probably hold up well in light combat or dueling. And now my daughter doesn’t want to let me sleep so we can keep watching you make things.

[@warriorclassstudios]

Thank you! I'm working on incorporating this scale mail into a cosplay but it would be interesting to see how it would hold up in a battle. I'm glad you're enjoying the videos! :)

[@Kargoneth]

Yes. Welding or riveting would be needed to keep it from coming undone. Those tiny rings would open up too easily if subjected to tensile forces.

[@robertaylor9218]

@@Kargonethyeah, that’s what I figured. It’s also flexible armor and not especially massive. So I’d expect a gambeson would be needed to distribute the force from blows, and to catch anything that managed to tear or rip a hole. Like a pike or something.

[@cool06alt]

If this thing being riveted/welded, it could be even practical as mounted riot police's horse armor.

[@jfu5222]

I have thousands of leftover rabies tags from when I worked at an animal hospital. They're stainless steel, one inch diameter with a small hole to attach to the collar. I've been wanting to make scale armor with them, I figured I'd have to rivet them to leather, but this might work out with bigger rings!

[@warriorclassstudios]

That's an interesting idea!

[@kennyhagan5781]

That is truly a wonderful thing to see. I have no doubts that the finished project will be a wonder to behold. Thank you for this.

[@warriorclassstudios]

Thank you very much!

[@Kargoneth]

Beautiful results. I would be concerned with the rings opening over time. Stainless steel is low-maintenance and clean so that you do not have to oil it, but open rings of any metal are weak. Welding them with a TIG welder and fill rod, and then heat treating them to even out the stresses within the steel would increase the durability of the maille substantially.

[@warriorclassstudios]

This is only for cosplay so I'm not too worried about it coming apart. However, if I were to use this for actual combat it definitely would be wise to weld the rings. I'd have to learn to weld first, though! :)

[@Kargoneth]

@@warriorclassstudios If the maille links weren't so tiny, then I'd suggest stick welding or MIG. There are a great many resources online that teach welding, but I myself found in-person instruction to be useful. Fortunately, my dad had a metal fabrication shop and I worked for him for a couple years and was able to try and eventually become comfortable with various methods of welding (I never did get to try stick welding). I think that it is a worthwhile skill to have, even though I don't have a welding machine. You might be able to talk to a local welding shop or metal fabrication shop to let you try it out, though for liability reasons it might not be possible. If you have a trades college or university, then you might be able to ask if you can sit in on a class or two, or they might be able to recommend local resources to help you. The basic welding course at my local college is 8 weeks and $600, but does not include the helmet, gloves, steel-toed boots, and other equipment, but many of these can be rented. Local artisans who work with metal might be another route to investigate for some in-person lessons. Buying a TIG machine (welding machine, hoses, regulator, ground clamp, welding cable) can be quite expensive. This does not include the consumables (gas, fill rods, electrodes). Then there's the helmet, gloves, and surface on which to weld. If it interests you and you find it useful, but you cannot justify purchasing a welding machine, then you might consider renting a machine for a week from a rental company in your area for much less money than buying one.

[@warriorclassstudios]

I think in-person where I can be hands-on would be the coolest way to learn, but I don't have the time or need for it at the moment :)

[@stevenwillard8436]

Oooh. Titanium. I likey.

[@Robert-bm2jr]

That's really quite beautiful. Thanks!

[@martinhallen7509]

Nice work

[@robb4044]

That's really cool!

[@nilspetterhellvik5519]

Thank you for the video. It looks just amazing. I really enjoyed it

[@warriorclassstudios]

I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@bensullivan9478]

good choice of materials i think 😊

[@imtryingalright8555]

Beautiful.

[@sylvieschmitt-morel864]

It’s beautiful 🤩

[@James-Burton]

Adicionar escamas é um bom uso para cota de malha sem rebite. Creio que seja, de fato, o melhor uso.

[@Kargoneth]

Thanks for the video!

[@warriorclassstudios]

Thanks for watching!

[@tiki-nagasvoice7919]

So cool!! How did you make (or find) those scales?

[@warriorclassstudios]

I got the scales from here: theringlord.com/ Thanks for watching:)

[@sammyjoe1209]

Enjoyed watching, thank you! 😁 For the 3/16" rings, what was the gauge of the rings you used? Thanks!

[@warriorclassstudios]

Thanks for watching! They are 18g

[@sammyjoe1209]

@@warriorclassstudios 😊 Thank you!

[@lewisconklin7252]

Cool

[@user-wz7fe2bq5c]

Those titanium scales must be expensive but ya it looks really cool like it was made from blue dragon scales.

[@warriorclassstudios]

They weren't too bad, but I guess it would depend on the project you're using them for. And there is the option to buy them in bulk, but they may have done some changes since last I checked :)

[@tmross4]

So like making regular chainmail, but adding the scales.

[@warriorclassstudios]

Yeah I suppose it is similar. Never thought about it that way but it makes sense!

[@kronoskai2738]

I had the same thought while watching! A very similar method to making butted maille on a 4 in 1 pattern, but here a scale replaces the central closed ring.

[@xexzersy]

wicked

[@kronoskai2738]

Are you able to join smaller sections together, or do you have to add individual scales to the starting piece like shown in the video?

[@warriorclassstudios]

I think you can definitely join sections together. It's just a matter of lining up the rings and scales to where they connect in the right places to continue the pattern. Each of those smaller sections will have started as one scale like in the video.

[@desertegle40cal]

Next, show us how to make Snail Mail. 😁

[@warriorclassstudios]

🐌📨

[@desertegle40cal]

@@warriorclassstudios I figured it was just regular mail except it was slimy and you made it VERY slow :-)

[@warriorclassstudios]

Ah, well it technically is a slow process ^_^ It would definitely be more difficult if it was slimy though!

[@CRTCLDSSTR]

It's even blue, is that Mithril?

[@warriorclassstudios]

I wish :)

[@CRTCLDSSTR]

@@warriorclassstudios it could be...

[@kinngrimm]

Loving that color. Is that the natural color of titanium? I often wondered if different types of armors that were used over the centuries could be successfully combined. Like f.e. Alexander the great was said to have had very lightweight and durable breastplates made from a composite material. Basicly on the outside you have such a scalemale which is crafted onto such composite material to achiev a better shape, which in return is then crafted onto rough leather which then is crafted onto a strong cotton/flax mixture that could take up sweat and still prevent cold under which one wears just usual underwear. Onion principle. Hard materials on bigger body parts, joints free only with the more flexible materials. All the while every part would needs to be easily replaceable, from partially or complettly exchanging the different layers as they wear and tear. I think i would pay money for such just to have it =)

[@kinngrimm]

though i would then wanted to incorporate maybe 2-3 colors for more of camoflage look and maybe showing some heraldry due to the use of different colored scales on the breast or shoulder(s).

[@warriorclassstudios]

It's possible they could've done something like that. I suppose over many, many years they would've improved upon different armor and materials and how they worked together. Comfort and movement are as important as durability and protection depending on what you're facing :) That would be an awesome thing to wear! To answer your question, though, I don't think this is the natural color of this titanium. I think it might be a process called anodizing, if I'm not mistaken.

[@kinngrimm]

@@warriorclassstudios thanks for the quick response:) . In parts this was done with plate, ring and scale mails, they all had incorporated another layer beneath. Plate more of a gamberson type below so the plate would not give you cuts, scale and ring mail had leather they were fixed upon whereby early ring mail was just like a vest thrown over leather cloathing and with time the two became a fixed combination. So that was already a thing here in europe in the early and middle ages. Plate male being the last thing before and during muskets came up. Before that definetly ringmail, not so sure when scalemale came into the picture i would assume inbetween as it needs a bit more artisery by the smiths. Over the ´decades i saw several armories here in germany and surrounding countries which included easily a timespan of roughly a thousand years, but only due to online gaming (Mount and Blade) i truely became interested in that topic hrhr. I imagine you use your creation for larps, right?

[@warriorclassstudios]

Interesting, so many small bits of history everywhere :) I am making the scale mail for a cosplay but I'm sure it could be used for larping as well

[@kyradavis7130]

Would 4 inch scales be too big and could a trapezoid shape work?

[@warriorclassstudios]

I'm not sure, I haven't tried it with bigger scales or different shapes, but I imagine it would be the same process. If you were to use a bigger scale, I think you would also need bigger rings though. It's not exactly the same but you could use paper or cardboard to test it out before buying more expensive material.

[@kyradavis7130]

@warriorclassstudios How much would it be and could it be found in orange?

[@warriorclassstudios]

It may depend on how many you need. There are probably many places to get them, but I got mine here: theringlord.com/ I would spend some time doing research and looking at different sources/artisans and how the various types of metals behave. I have seen scales in many colors so I think orange would be possible!

[@kyradavis7130]

@@warriorclassstudios I ask because I need enough scales for a six foot 7 man

[@warriorclassstudios]

That's a lot of scales! I hope you find what you're looking for:)

[@spidertazzfb47]

Can you hook me up with somebody that makes mail for money-making products? I want to sell mail for my operation and need to know somebody that does make reliable work?

[@warriorclassstudios]

Hi! I don't actually know anybody that does work like that. You can try looking in forums for someone who might be available to help you out. Sorry I couldn't help much but thanks for watching!

[@PTS0x45]

Music is too loud and it's hard to hear you. Otherwise, a great video. Thanks. BTW, you don't even need that music; it doesn't have a functional purpose in your video.

[@warriorclassstudios]

Thanks for the feedback and for watching!