With the advent of anodized aluminium for use in chainmaille a whole new world of design has been opened up. Where once a chainmaille artist was limited to only the colors of the metals themselves to do inlaid designs with, a rainbow of colors is now available. While inlaid maille armor is not exactly period, you know that if they could have done it back in the day they would have. Everything from simple designs to a full coat of arms are now possible.

To help you to select the right material for your purchase we offer this page with explanations of the different materials as well as their uses. We hope you find it to be both helpful and educational.

Mild Steel	This is about as close to the materials used in the middle ages to make maille as we can obtain. While being a more accurate representation of the period it does have the same drawbacks of authentic armor of the period. That being it likes to rust! It requires a lot of care and maintance to be kept in good looking condition.
Galvnized Steel	While not exactly period, this material is one that is greatly favored for re-enactment armor. It is inexpensive and requires very little care to be kept looking good. It has good strength and with a little care it will last the owner a lifetime.
Stainless Steel	This is a good choice for those that want good protection during battle re-enactments and want to look good while out there swinging their blade. It will usually have a much glossier finish to it than other steels and any rust that forms will rarely cause any permenant discoloration.
Nickle Silver	Strong and shiney, Nickle Silver has a mirror finish with a gold under tone to it. Slightly heavier than galvanized it usually has a much higher tensile strength to it. It is often reffered to as German Silver though it actually contains no Silver in the alloy.
Titanium	Super light for the strength level of the metal, this is the material that the knights of the middle ages could only dream about. Unfortunatly it's price usually places it above the range of the adverage re-enactor. For those that have had a chance to wear a Halburk made from this material, they will crave one for their very own.
Aluminium	Very light and available in several levels of gloss from matt silver to highly polished. It's light weight will require a heavier guage to be used to obtain a combat rating. It can be anodized into many colors for costume and fantasy armor. When anodized it is an inlay artists dream material due to the wide varity of colors available.
Brass	While brass is a beautiful metal it is really impracticle to do a full Halburk with it. The salts and acids of sweat will cause it to discolor quickly, often tuurning everything it touches green. Even when hardened it is fairly soft while at the same time having a greater weight than many other metals. It does however make a good inlay material for simple one color designs.
Stirling Silver	Bright and shiney, Stirling Sliver is a great choice for both ear rings and necklaces. While Fine Silver is a purer form of silver it is also much softer, making it unsuitable for many jewelry applications.
Gold and Gold Filled	Gold have been a favorite metal for use in jewelry since man first started making adornments. Easly worked into many shapes, nothing has the look and feel of this material. In its pure form it is too soft for most chainmaille applications so it must be mixed with lesser metals to increase the strength. Gold filled is actually a gold tube over a core of lesser metal. This gives you a much thicker layer of gold than simple plated materials.

There are of course many other materials that can be used to make chainmaille. While some of them are great materials they are also costly. We can obtain these materials on a special order basis for custom work but will require a deposit to cover their cost.

Remember... Not every material is a good choice for every application. If you have any questions on just which material is best for your custom items please feel free to ask. Simply go to the contact page and send your questions via the inquires link found there.

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