(01-28-2015, 01:39 PM)Boo the Hamster Wrote: We should talk then, because I'm curious on how it works historically, and don't really understand leather and plate outside of some light reading here and there.
Budget Chainmail is made by using two pair of pliers and crimping rings together in an interlocking pattern. The rings themselves are typically 10-14 gauge wire and between 1/4 to 3/4 inches in diameter.
High quality chain is either riveted or soldered together at the ring's split. Each ring. Very time consuming.
Either way, the rings themselves each have a single point of weakness, being the joint. It does not take much pressure from a piercing object to split the ring at the seam and spread it. This is why chain is very weak to piercing attacks. That and the fact that the chain hangs loosely means that when you do apply said pressure, the rings tend to re-align themselves allowing an easier entry point.
Cutting (slashing) attacks, however, will simply slide off the rings. At that point the real damage comes from the weight of the weapon which could still break bones at the cost of dulling the edge.
