View allAll Photos Tagged sharkbite
The SharkBite is our multi-colored aluminum combination GoPro thumb screw wrench and bottle opener.
- Photo by Jeff Holland
The GoTough grip is a great rig for your GoPro camera! Also included in this photo is one of our GoTough all-metal thumbscrews, a SharkBite thumbscrew wrench, and a Fotodiox LED 120 light. - Photo By Jeff Holland
The back room at R Bar, home of the Sharkbite Sideshow circus-cabaret revue, has had some attentions lately: the side counter has been replaced by comfy seating with low tables, and the place looks great. Momentarily I hope that the lights might be brighter this time out, but ha! Dimmer than usual, tonight, and heavy on the lurid reds.
Tonight's show-starter and intermission dancer is Shaina Cruea, who has divined how to combine body-building and dance into a sublime workout regimen. She is limber, graceful, and strong, and I love watching her perform. Now that the pole is having a sort of renaissance, I always like to notice how a really good dancer will get people talking about pole dance with a frank, eager curiosity, recognizing it as an athletic and artistic outlet, as well as a sexy one.
Shaina, bless her, does not make it look easy. But she makes it look easy for her.
At the Piedras Blancas NES Rookery near San Simeon along the Central Coast of California we often see seals injured by shark bites, almost always White Shark attacks (Carcharodon carcharias). This young male has sustained an attack on his left and right face and neck, involving his lower eye lid and medial acanthus but apparently not his globe. His dentition is also spared. The next two images show the bite extending further down his neck. He is in the fortunate 20% or so of seals to reach age 5-6--male sexual maturity. Whether his injuries will prevent him from attaining the bulk he will need to be an alpha male (1%) or even mating (<2% of males ever mate) remains to be seen. But, so far, he's shown he's a survivor!
The open wound of from a 10-15ft tiger shark bite in Maui.
notice the white part in the middle of the wound- that's his bone!!
October 29, 2007
Friday the 13th isn't so much an excuse for this edition of the Sharkbite Sideshow as it is a motif for it: our warm-up dancer has a demure bullet hole prettily posted on her forehead, there are great intimations of pending doom throughout, and stalking up and down the side of the back room at R Bar is a demure masked Jason. And I'd tell you more about Jason, but if I did I'd have to kill you.
I've been away for the last few Sharkbite shows, but it's a pleasure to be back and to see Sasha the Fire Gypsy at work. The venue is especially dark tonight - that's darker than usual, which is remarkable - and Sasha catches me off guard; I'm shooting with a lens that doesn't love making focus out of darkness, and I don't have time to switch out before she is in full action.
This photo has been spotted as high as #151 on the Flickr Daily Interestingness charts.
The Scaring from the attack from another Shark, mating or just put it's nose into somewhere to soon and got told?
KLAX ( Los Angeles International Airport) - 09 SEP 2014
Reliance Worldwide Corporation (SharkBite) 1990 Challenger 604 N23SB on short final to RWY 25L.
The GoTough SharkBite from Fotodiox is a great tool for tightening GoPro thumbscrews, and it's also a bottle opener!
photo: tim richardson
styling: karen langley
hair: bok-hee at streeters
model: kasia struss at women
photographic assistant: mark pokorny
retouching: sharkbite
post production: parallel
I know I'm late but how can you be on time with a shark attack :D Actually I had to laugh cause all I could think of was Sea Witch like in Little Mermaid. Ya so I amuse myself ;D
My GoPro shark video was published on October 1, 2010 to DiveFilm HD (the current #1 Sports & Recreation Podcast on iTunes). It has been amended to include a making of section, which shows the rig I used to get the footage.
DiveFilm is an underwater video podcast put out by Mary Lynn Price and sponsored by Wetpixel (wetpixel.com). We are very excited because it is currently (as of today) the #1 Sports & Recreation Podcast on iTunes! Since the iTunes ranking is based on downloads, I encourage you to watch the video through iTunes, even if you streamed it from this post. Support DiveFilm! :) itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/divefilm-hd-video-hd/id214353624#
Painting by Christopher Ian Henry. Tattoo artist and co-owner of Tattoo Boogaloo in San Francisco CA. You can find Prints,Tshirts,hoodies,iphone cases, to even a damn pillow case, at www.redbubble.com/people/sharkbites Thanks for looking.
Dad leans on Aaron's crutches while Aaron's not using them. :) Obviously something interesting was happening off to the left....
www.funkindeepfreeze.blogspot.com/2008/01/shark-attack.html
also as an interesting side note- the views on this picture were ASTRONOMICALLY huge one day, I traced the link back to some site for people who have cast fetishes. no seriously. I've learned about a LOT of interesting fetishes that I've NEVER even knew existed from Flickr.
Illustration by Christopher Henry. Tattoo artist and co-owner of Tattoo Boogaloo in San Francisco Ca.
Acrylic painting by Christopher Henry. Artist and co-owner at Tattoo Boogagloo in San Francisco CA. You can find this image and other paintings of mine,on shirts, hoodies,iphone cases, even coffee mugs, at www.redbubble.com/people/sharkbites
It's been almost three months since I posted last in here; life has been, as they say, out of balance. I was just starting to get busy with rehearsals for a March production of Julius Caesar, in which I played Caesar, when last I put up a picture - for that matter, when last I took one.
The show was a terrific success, but I was feeling ill as it ran, and the day after we closed I went into the hospital so they could stabilize me and put in a chest catheter. A couple of days later I began dialysis - not my favorite thing, but it sure is making me feel better - and there has been a lot to deal with overall, in my corner of the world.
Which is here nor there as regards this picture of Liz Epp, a newcomer to the Sharkbite Sideshow and seen here during the intermission of Sharkbite's Valentine's Day festivities. I wish she had been facing our way during this move, but her lines are irresistible; she's like a complex letter in an alphabet of dreams.
Paintings for sale. By Christopher Henry. Artist and co-owner of Tattoo Boogaloo in San Francisco Ca. If interested email me at,crutch623@hotmail.com You can also purchase prints,posters,stickers,t-shirts and much more at @Sharkbites/redbubble.com
Sharkbite Sideshow happens pretty much every other Friday at R Bar, and from time to time it falls on Friday the 13th, which means a special helping of mayhem. Sometimes there are hockey-mask visits from winsome Jasons, and sometimes it's just a matter of murder in the air.
Tonight Bunny Buxom gleefully raises the bar for bloody excess. She comes in wearing a Hannibal Lecter restraint mask and a straitjacket, eyes glittering as she surveys the audience. She handily escapes from the straitjacket - as one does - and reveals a body marked with blood spatters, bite marks, bandages, and stitches. Once the mask is off, she tears into the open wounds with gusto, ripping off the bandages and scabs, shredding and devouring some of the moister and more tender parts of her anatomy.
The pretty fringe on her costume makes her seem like a nightmare flapper.
Paintings for sale. By Christopher Henry. Artist and co-owner of Tattoo Boogaloo in San Francisco Ca. If interested email me at,crutch623@hotmail.com You can also purchase prints,posters,stickers,t-shirts and much more at @Sharkbites/redbubble.com
copyright © 2010 sean dreilinger
view shark claims grandpa's finger - _MG_6657 dcraw on a black background.
Paintings for sale. By Christopher Henry. Artist and co-owner of Tattoo Boogaloo in San Francisco Ca. If interested email me at,crutch623@hotmail.com You can also purchase prints,posters,stickers,t-shirts and much more at @Sharkbites/redbubble.com
Mail (chain mail, chainmaille) is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh. A coat of this armour is often referred to as a hauberk.
HISTORY
The earliest example of mail was found in a Dacian chieftain's burial located in Ciumești, Romania. Its invention is commonly credited to the Celts, but there are examples of Etruscan pattern mail dating from at least the 4th century BC. Mail may have been inspired by the much earlier scale armour. Mail spread to North Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, India, Tibet, South East Asia, and Japan.
Mail continues to be used in the 21st century as a component of stab-resistant body armour, cut-resistant gloves for butchers and woodworkers, shark-resistant wetsuits for defense against shark bites, and a number of other applications.
ETYMOLOGY
The origins of the word “mail” are not fully known. One theory is that it originally derives from the Latin word macula, meaning "spot" or “opacity” (as in macula of retina). Another theory relates the word to the old French “maillier”, meaning “to hammer” (related to the modern English word “malleable”).
The first attestations of the word “mail” are in Old French and Anglo-Norman: “maille” “maile”, or “male” or other variants, which became “mailye” “maille” “maile”, “male”, or “meile” in Middle English.
The modern usage of terms for mail armour is highly contested in popular and, to a lesser degree, academic culture. Medieval sources referred to armour of this type simply as “mail”, however “chain-mail” has become a commonly used, if incorrect neologism first attested in Sir Walter Scott’s 1822 novel The Fortunes of Nigel. Since then the word “mail” has been commonly, if incorrectly, applied to other types of armour, such as in “plate-mail” (first attested in 1835). The more correct term is “plate armour”.
Civilizations that used mail invented specific terms for each garment made from it. The standard terms for European mail armour derive from French: leggings are called chausses, a hood is a coif, and mittens, mitons. A mail collar hanging from a helmet is a camail or aventail. A shirt made from mail is a hauberk if knee-length and a haubergeon if mid-thigh length. A layer (or layers) of mail sandwiched between layers of fabric is called a jazerant.
A waist-length coat in medieval Europe was called a byrnie, although the exact construction of a byrnie is unclear, including whether it was constructed of mail or other armour-types. Noting that the byrnie was the "most highly valued piece of armour" to the Carolingian soldier, Bennet, Bradbury, DeVries, Dickie, and Jestice indicate that:
There is some dispute among historians as to what exactly constituted the Carolingian byrnie. Relying... only on artistic and some literary sources because of the lack of archaeological examples, some believe that it was a heavy leather jacket with metal scales sewn onto it. It was also quite long, reaching below the hips and covering most of the arms. Other historians claim instead that the Carolingian byrnie was nothing more than a coat of mail, but longer and perhaps heavier than traditional early medieval mail. Without more certain evidence, this dispute will continue.
MAIL ARMOUR IN EUROPE
The use of mail as battlefield armour was common during the Iron Age and the Middle Ages, becoming less common over the course of the 16th and 17th centuries. It is believed that the Roman Republic first came into contact with mail fighting the Gauls in Cisalpine Gaul, now Northern Italy, but a different pattern of mail was already in use among the Etruscans. The Roman army adopted the technology for their troops in the form of the lorica hamata which was used as a primary form of armour through the Imperial period. After the fall of the Western Empire much of the infrastructure needed to create plate armour diminished. Eventually the word "mail" came to be synonymous with armour. It was typically an extremely prized commodity as it was expensive and time consuming to produce and could mean the difference between life and death in a battle. Mail from dead combatants was frequently looted and was used by the new owner or sold for a lucrative price. As time went on and infrastructure improved it came to be used by more soldiers. Eventually with the rise of the lanced cavalry charge, impact warfare, and high-powered crossbows, mail came to be used as a secondary armour to plate for the mounted nobility.
By the 14th century, plate armour was commonly used to supplement mail. Eventually mail was supplanted by plate for the most part as it provided greater protection against windlass crossbows, bludgeoning weapons, and lance charges. However, mail was still widely used by many soldiers as well as brigandines and padded jacks. These three types of armour made up the bulk of the equipment used by soldiers with mail being the most expensive. It was sometimes more expensive than plate armour. Mail typically persisted longer in less technologically advanced areas such as Eastern Europe but was in use everywhere into the 16th century.
During the late 19th and early 20th century mail was used as a material for bulletproof vests, most notably by the Wilkinson Sword Company. Results were unsatisfactory; Wilkinson mail worn by the Khedive of Egypt's regiment of "Iron Men" was manufactured from split rings which proved to be too brittle, and the rings would fragment when struck by bullets and aggravate the damage. The riveted mail armour worn by the opposing Sudanese Madhists did not have the same problem but also proved to be relatively useless against the firearms of British forces at the battle of Omdurman. During World War I Wilkinson Sword transitioned from mail to a lamellar design which was the precursor to the flak jacket.
Also during World War I a mail fringe, designed by Captain Cruise of the British Infantry, was added to helmets to protect the face. This proved unpopular with soldiers, in spite of being proven to defend against a 100 g shrapnel round fired at a distance of 90 m.
MAIL ARMOUR IN ASIA
Mail Armour was introduced to the Middle East and Asia through the Romans and was adopted by the Sassanid Persians starting in the 3rd century AD, where it was supplemental to the scale and lamellar armour already used. Mail was commonly also used as horse armour for cataphracts and heavy cavalry as well as armour for the soldiers themselves. Asian mail was typically lighter than the European variety and sometimes had prayer symbols stamped on the rings as a sign of their craftsmanship as well as for divine protection. Indeed, mail armour is mentioned in the Koran as being a gift revealed by Allah to David:
21:80 It was We Who taught him the making of coats of mail for your benefit, to guard you from each other's violence: will ye then be grateful? (Yusuf Ali's translation).
From the Middle East mail was quickly adopted in Central Asia by the Sogdians and by India in the South. It was not commonly used in Mongol armies due to its weight and the difficulty of its maintenance, but it eventually became the armour of choice in India. Indian mail was often used with plate protection. Plated mail was in common use in India until the Battle of Plassey and the subsequent British conquest of the sub-continent.
The Ottoman Empire used plated mail widely and it was used in their armies until the 18th century by heavy cavalry and elite units such as the Janissaries. They spread its use into North Africa where it was adopted by Mamluk Egyptians and the Sudanese who produced it until the early 20th century.
Mail was introduced to China when its allies in Central Asia paid tribute to the Tang Emperor in 718 by giving him a coat of "link armour" assumed to be mail. China first encountered the armour in 384 when its allies in the nation of Kuchi arrived wearing "armour similar to chains". Once in China mail was imported but was not produced widely. Due to its flexibility and comfort, it was typically the armour of high-ranking guards and those who could afford the import rather than the armour of the rank and file, who used the easier to produce and maintain brigandine and lamellar types. However, it was one of the only military products that China imported from foreigners. Mail spread to Korea slightly later where it was imported as the armour of imperial guards and generals.
Japanese mail armour
In Japan mail is called kusari which means chain. When the word kusari is used in conjunction with an armoured item it usually means that mail makes up the majority of the armour composition. An example of this would be kusari gusoku which means chain armour. Kusari jackets, hoods, gloves, vests, shin, shoulder, thigh guards, and other armoured clothing were produced, even kusari tabi socks.
Kusari was used in samurai armour at least from the time of the Mongol invasion (1270s) but particularly from the Nambokucho period (1336–1392). The Japanese used many different weave methods including: a square 4-in-1 pattern (so gusari), a hexagonal 6-in-1 pattern (hana gusari) and a European 4-in-1 (nanban gusari). The rings of Japanese mail were much smaller than their European counterparts; they would be used in patches to link together plates and to drape over vulnerable areas such as the armpits.
Riveted kusari was known and used in Japan. On page 58 of the book Japanese Arms & Armor: Introduction by H. Russell Robinson, there is a picture of Japanese riveted kusari, and this quote from the translated reference of Sakakibara Kozan's 1800 book, The Manufacture of Armour and Helmets in Sixteenth Century Japan, shows that the Japanese not only knew of and used riveted kusari but that they manufactured it as well.
... karakuri-namban (riveted namban), with stout links each closed by a rivet. Its invention is credited to Fukushima Dembei Kunitaka, pupil, of Hojo Awa no Kami Ujifusa, but it is also said to be derived directly from foreign models. It is heavy because the links are tinned (biakuro-nagashi) and these are also sharp edged because they are punched out of iron plate
Butted and or split (twisted) links made up the majority of kusari links used by the Japanese. Links were either butted together meaning that the ends touched each other and were not riveted, or the kusari was constructed with links where the wire was turned or twisted two or more times; these split links are similar to the modern split ring commonly used on keychains. The rings were lacquered black to prevent rusting, and were always stitched onto a backing of cloth or leather. The kusari was sometimes concealed entirely between layers of cloth.
Kusari gusoku or chain armour was commonly used during the Edo period 1603 to 1868 as a stand-alone defence. According to George Cameron Stone Entire suits of mail kusari gusoku were worn on occasions, sometimes under the ordinary clothing
Ian Bottomley in his book "Arms and Armor of the Samurai: The History of Weaponry in Ancient Japan" [34] shows a picture of a kusari armour and mentions kusari katabira (chain jackets) with detachable arms being worn by samurai police officials during the Edo period. The end of the samurai era in the 1860s, along with the 1876 ban on wearing swords in public, marked the end of any practical use for mail and other armour in Japan. Japan turned to a conscription army and uniforms replaced armour.
EFFECTIVENESS
Mail armour provided an effective defence against slashing blows by edged weapons and penetration by thrusting and piercing weapons; in fact, a study conducted at the Royal Armouries at Leeds concluded that "it is almost impossible to penetrate using any conventional medieval weapon." Generally speaking, mail's resistance to weapons is determined by four factors: linkage type (riveted, butted, or welded), material used (iron versus bronze or steel), weave density (a tighter weave needs a thinner weapon to surpass), and ring thickness (generally ranging from 18 to 14 gauge (1.02–1.63 mm diameter wire) in most examples). Mail, if a warrior could afford it, provided a significant advantage to a warrior when combined with competent fighting techniques. When the mail was not riveted, a well-placed thrust from a spear or thin sword could penetrate, and a pollaxe or halberd blow could break through the armour. Some evidence indicates that during armoured combat, the intention was to actually get around the armour rather than through it - according to a study of skeletons found in Visby, Sweden, a majority of the skeletons showed wounds on less well protected legs. The flexibility of mail meant that a blow would often injure the wearer, potentially causing serious bruising or fractures, and it was a poor defence against head trauma. Mail-clad warriors typically wore separate rigid helms over their mail coifs for head protection. Likewise, blunt weapons such as maces and warhammers could harm the wearer by their impact without penetrating the armour; usually a soft armour, such as gambeson, was worn under the hauberk. Medieval surgeons were very well capable of setting and caring for bone fractures resulting from blunt weapons. With the poor understanding of hygiene however, cuts that could get infected were much more of a problem. Thus mail armour proved to be sufficient protection in most situations.
MANUFACTURE
Several patterns of linking the rings together have been known since ancient times, with the most common being the 4-to-1 pattern (where each ring is linked with four others). In Europe, the 4-to-1 pattern was completely dominant. Mail was also common in East Asia, primarily Japan, with several more patterns being utilised and an entire nomenclature developing around them.
Historically, in Europe, from the pre-Roman period on, the rings composing a piece of mail would be riveted closed to reduce the chance of the rings splitting open when subjected to a thrusting attack or a hit by an arrow.
Up until the 14th century European mail was made of alternating rows of round riveted rings and solid rings. After that point European mail was almost all made from wedge riveted rings only. Both were commonly made of wrought iron, but some later pieces were made of heat-treated steel. Wire for the riveted rings was formed by either of two methods. One was to hammer out wrought iron into plates and cut or slit the plates. These thin pieces were then pulled through a draw plate repeatedly until the desired diameter was achieved. Waterwheel powered drawing mills are pictured in several period manuscripts. Another method was to simply forge down an iron billet into a rod and then proceed to draw it out into wire. The solid links would have been made by punching from a sheet. Guild marks were often stamped on the rings to show their origin and craftsmanship. Forge welding was also used to create solid links, but there are few possible examples known; the only well documented example from Europe is that of the camail (mail neck-defence) of the 7th century Coppergate helmet. Outside of Europe this practice was more common such as "theta" links from India. Very few examples of historic butted mail have been found and it is generally accepted that butted mail was never in wide use historically except in Japan where mail (kusari) was commonly made from butted links.
MODERN USES
PRACTICAL USES
Mail is used as protective clothing for butchers against meat-packing equipment. Workers may wear up to 3.6 kg of mail under their white coats. Butchers also commonly wear a single mail glove to protect themselves from self-inflicted injury while cutting meat.
Woodcarvers sometimes use similar mail gloves to protect their hands from cuts and punctures.
The British police use mail gloves for dealing with knife-armed aggressors.
Scuba divers use mail to protect them from sharkbite, as do animal control officers for protection against the animals they handle. Shark expert and underwater filmmaker Valerie Taylor was among the first to develop and test shark suits in 1979 while diving with sharks.
Mail is widely used in industrial settings as shrapnel guards and splash guards in metal working operations.
Electrical applications for mail include RF leakage testing and being worn as a faraday cage suit by tesla coil enthusiasts and high voltage electrical workers.
STAB-PROOF VESTS
Conventional textile-based ballistic vests are designed to stop soft-nosed bullets but offer little defense from knife attacks. Knife-resistant armour are designed to defend against knife attacks; some of these use layers of metal plates, mail and metallic wires.
HISTORICAL RE-ENACTMENT
Many historical reenactment groups, especially those whose focus is Antiquity or the Middle Ages, commonly use mail both as practical armour and for costuming. Mail is especially popular amongst those groups which use steel weapons. A modern hauberk made from 1.5 mm diameter wire with 10 mm inner diameter rings weighs roughly 10 kg and contains 15,000–45,000 rings.
One of the drawbacks of mail is the uneven weight distribution; the stress falls mainly on shoulders. Weight can be better distributed by wearing a belt over the mail, which provides another point of support.
Mail worn today for re-enactment and recreational use can be made in a variety of styles and materials. Most recreational mail today is made of butted links which are galvanized or stainless steel. This is historically inaccurate but is much less expensive to procure and maintain than historically accurate reproductions. Mail can also be made of titanium, aluminium, bronze, or copper. Riveted mail offers significantly better protection ability as well as historical accuracy than mail constructed with butted links. Riveted mail can be more labour-intensive and expensive to manufacture. Japanese mail (kusari) is one of the few historically correct examples of mail being constructed with such butted links.
DECORATIVE USES
Mail remained in use as a decorative and possibly high-status symbol with military overtones long after its practical usefulness had passed. It was frequently used for the epaulettes of military uniforms. It is still used in this form by the British Territorial Army, and the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps of the Canadian Army.
Mail has applications in sculpture and jewellery, especially when made out of precious metals or colourful anodized metals. Mail artwork includes headdresses, Christmas ornaments, chess sets, and jewelry. For these non-traditional applications, hundreds of weaves or patterns have been invented.
IN FILM
In some films, knitted string spray-painted with a metallic paint is used instead of actual mail in order to cut down on cost (an example being Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which was filmed on a very small budget). Films more dedicated to costume accuracy often use ABS plastic rings, for the lower cost and weight. Such ABS mail coats were made for The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, in addition to many metal coats. The metal coats are used rarely because of their weight, except in close-up filming where the appearance of ABS rings is distinguishable. A large scale example of the ABS mail used in the Lord of the Rings can be seen in the entrance to the Royal Armouries museum in Leeds in the form of a large curtain bearing the logo of the museum. It was acquired from the makers of the film's armour, Weta Workshop, when the museum hosted an exhibition of WETA armour from their films. For the film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Tina Turner is said to have worn actual mail and she complained how heavy this was.
WIKIPEDIA
Chain mail (often just mail or sometimes chainmail) is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh. It was generally in common military use between the 3rd century BC and the 16th century AD in Europe, and longer in Asia and North Africa. A coat of this armour is often referred to as a hauberk, and sometimes a byrnie.
HISTORY
The earliest examples of surviving mail were found in the Carpathian Basin at a burial in Horný Jatov, Slovakia dated at 3rd century BC, and in a chieftain's burial located in Ciumești, Romania. Its invention is commonly credited to the Celts, but there are examples of Etruscan pattern mail dating from at least the 4th century BC. Mail may have been inspired by the much earlier scale armour. Mail spread to North Africa, West Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, India, Tibet, South East Asia, and Japan.
Herodotus wrote that the ancient Persians wore scale armour, but mail is also distinctly mentioned in the Avesta, the ancient holy scripture of the Persian religion of Zoroastrianism that was founded by the prophet Zoroaster in the 5th century BC.
Mail continues to be used in the 21st century as a component of stab-resistant body armour, cut-resistant gloves for butchers and woodworkers, shark-resistant wetsuits for defense against shark bites, and a number of other applications.
ETYMOLOGY
The origins of the word mail are not fully known. One theory is that it originally derives from the Latin word macula, meaning spot or opacity (as in macula of retina). Another theory relates the word to the old French maillier, meaning to hammer (related to the modern English word malleable). In modern French, maille refers to a loop or stitch. The Arabic words "burnus", برنوس, a burnoose; a hooded cloak, also a chasuble (worn by Coptic priests) and "barnaza", برنز, to bronze, suggest an Arabic influence for the Carolingian armour known as "byrnie" (see below).
The first attestations of the word mail are in Old French and Anglo-Norman: maille, maile, or male or other variants, which became mailye, maille, maile, male, or meile in Middle English.
The modern usage of terms for mail armour is highly contested in popular and, to a lesser degree, academic culture. Medieval sources referred to armour of this type simply as mail; however, chain-mail has become a commonly used, if incorrect, neologism coined no later than 1786, appearing in Francis Grose's A Treatise on Ancient Armour and Weapons, and brought to popular attention no later than 1822 in Sir Walter Scott's novel The Fortunes of Nigel. Since then the word mail has been commonly, if incorrectly, applied to other types of armour, such as in plate-mail (first attested in Grose's Treatise in 1786). The more correct term is plate armour.
Civilizations that used mail invented specific terms for each garment made from it. The standard terms for European mail armour derive from French: leggings are called chausses, a hood is a mail coif, and mittens, mitons. A mail collar hanging from a helmet is a camail or aventail. A shirt made from mail is a hauberk if knee-length and a haubergeon if mid-thigh length. A layer (or layers) of mail sandwiched between layers of fabric is called a jazerant.
A waist-length coat in medieval Europe was called a byrnie, although the exact construction of a byrnie is unclear, including whether it was constructed of mail or other armour types. Noting that the byrnie was the "most highly valued piece of armour" to the Carolingian soldier, Bennet, Bradbury, DeVries, Dickie, and Jestice indicate that:
There is some dispute among historians as to what exactly constituted the Carolingian byrnie. Relying... only on artistic and some literary sources because of the lack of archaeological examples, some believe that it was a heavy leather jacket with metal scales sewn onto it. It was also quite long, reaching below the hips and covering most of the arms. Other historians claim instead that the Carolingian byrnie was nothing more than a coat of mail, but longer and perhaps heavier than traditional early medieval mail. Without more certain evidence, this dispute will continue.
IN EUROPE
The use of mail as battlefield armour was common during the Iron Age and the Middle Ages, becoming less common over the course of the 16th and 17th centuries when plate armour and more advanced firearms were developed. It is believed that the Roman Republic first came into contact with mail fighting the Gauls in Cisalpine Gaul, now Northern Italy. The Roman army adopted the technology for their troops in the form of the lorica hamata which was used as a primary form of armour through the Imperial period.
After the fall of the Western Empire, much of the infrastructure needed to create plate armour diminished. Eventually the word "mail" came to be synonymous with armour. It was typically an extremely prized commodity, as it was expensive and time-consuming to produce and could mean the difference between life and death in a battle. Mail from dead combatants was frequently looted and was used by the new owner or sold for a lucrative price. As time went on and infrastructure improved, it came to be used by more soldiers. The oldest intact mail hauberk still in existence is thought to have been worn by Leopold III, Duke of Austria, who died in 1386 during the Battle of Sempach. Eventually with the rise of the lanced cavalry charge, impact warfare, and high-powered crossbows, mail came to be used as a secondary armour to plate for the mounted nobility.
By the 14th century, articulated plate armour was commonly used to supplement mail. Eventually mail was supplanted by plate for the most part, as it provided greater protection against windlass crossbows, bludgeoning weapons, and lance charges while maintaining most of the mobility of mail. However, it was still widely used by many soldiers as well as brigandines and padded jacks. These three types of armour made up the bulk of the equipment used by soldiers, with mail being the most expensive. It was sometimes more expensive than plate armour. Mail typically persisted longer in less technologically advanced areas such as Eastern Europe but was in use throughout Europe into the 16th century.
During the late 19th and early 20th century, mail was used as a material for bulletproof vests, most notably by the Wilkinson Sword Company. Results were unsatisfactory; Wilkinson mail worn by the Khedive of Egypt's regiment of "Iron Men" was manufactured from split rings which proved to be too brittle, and the rings would fragment when struck by bullets and aggravate the injury. The riveted mail armour worn by the opposing Sudanese Madhists did not have the same problem but also proved to be relatively useless against the firearms of British forces at the battle of Omdurman. During World War I, Wilkinson Sword transitioned from mail to a lamellar design which was the precursor to the flak jacket.
Also during World War I, a mail fringe, designed by Captain Cruise of the British Infantry, was added to helmets to protect the face. This proved unpopular with soldiers, in spite of being proven to defend against a three-ounce (100 g) shrapnel round fired at a distance of one hundred yards (91 m). A protective face mask or splatter mask had a mail veil and was used by early tank crews as a measure against flying steel fragments (spalling) inside the vehicle.
IN ASIA
Mail armour was introduced to the Middle East and Asia through the Romans and was adopted by the Sassanid Persians starting in the 3rd century AD, where it was supplemental to the scale and lamellar armour already used.
West Asia, India and China
Mail was commonly also used as horse armour for cataphracts and heavy cavalry as well as armour for the soldiers themselves. Asian mail could be just as heavy as the European variety and sometimes had prayer symbols stamped on the rings as a sign of their craftsmanship as well as for divine protection. Indeed, mail armour is mentioned in the Quran as being a gift revealed by Allah to David:21:80 It was We Who taught him the making of coats of mail for your benefit, to guard you from each other's violence: will ye then be grateful? (Yusuf Ali's translation)
From the Abbasid Caliphate, mail was quickly adopted in Central Asia by Timur (Tamerlane) and the Sogdians and by India's Delhi Sultanate. Mail armour was introduced by the Turks in late 12th century and commonly used by Turk and the Mughal and Suri armies where it eventually became the armour of choice in India. Indian mail was constructed with alternating rows of solid links and round riveted links and it was often integrated with plate protection (mail and plate armour). Mail and plate armour was commonly used in India until the Battle of Plassey by the Nawabs of Bengal and the subsequent British conquest of the sub-continent.
The Ottoman Empire and the other Islamic Gunpowders used mail armour as well as mail and plate armour, and it was used in their armies until the 18th century by heavy cavalry and elite units such as the Janissaries. They spread its use into North Africa where it was adopted by Mamluk Egyptians and the Sudanese who produced it until the early 20th century. Ottoman mail was constructed with alternating rows of solid links and round riveted links. The Persians used mail armour as well as mail and plate armour. Persian mail and Ottoman mail were often quite similar in appearance.
Mail was introduced to China when its allies in Central Asia paid tribute to the Tang Emperor in 718 by giving him a coat of "link armour" assumed to be mail. China first encountered the armour in 384 when its allies in the nation of Kuchi arrived wearing "armour similar to chains". Once in China, mail was imported but was not produced widely. Due to its flexibility, comfort, and rarity, it was typically the armour of high-ranking guards and those who could afford the exotic import (to show off their social status) rather than the armour of the rank and file, who used more common brigandine, scale, and lamellar types. However, it was one of the few military products that China imported from foreigners. Mail spread to Korea slightly later where it was imported as the armour of imperial guards and generals.
JAPANESE MAIL ARMOUR
In Japan mail is called kusari which means chain. When the word kusari is used in conjunction with an armoured item it usually means that mail makes up the majority of the armour composition. An example of this would be kusari gusoku which means chain armour. Kusari jackets, hoods, gloves, vests, shin, shoulder, thigh guards, and other armoured clothing were produced, even kusari tabi socks.
Kusari was used in samurai armour at least from the time of the Mongol invasion (1270s) but particularly from the Nambokucho Period (1336–1392). The Japanese used many different weave methods including a square 4-in-1 pattern (so gusari), a hexagonal 6-in-1 pattern (hana gusari) and a European 4-in-1 (nanban gusari). The rings of Japanese mail were much smaller than their European counterparts; they would be used in patches to link together plates and to drape over vulnerable areas such as the armpits.
Riveted kusari was known and used in Japan. On page 58 of the book Japanese Arms & Armor: Introduction by H. Russell Robinson, there is a picture of Japanese riveted kusari, and this quote from the translated reference of Sakakibara Kozan's [ja] 1800 book, The Manufacture of Armour and Helmets in Sixteenth-Century Japan, shows that the Japanese not only knew of and used riveted kusari but that they manufactured it as well.
... karakuri-namban (riveted namban), with stout links each closed by a rivet. Its invention is credited to Fukushima Dembei Kunitaka, pupil, of Hojo Awa no Kami Ujifusa, but it is also said to be derived directly from foreign models. It is heavy because the links are tinned (biakuro-nagashi) and these are also sharp-edged because they are punched out of iron plateButted or split (twisted) links made up the majority of kusari links used by the Japanese. Links were either butted together meaning that the ends touched each other and were not riveted, or the kusari was constructed with links where the wire was turned or twisted two or more times; these split links are similar to the modern split ring commonly used on keychains. The rings were lacquered black to prevent rusting, and were always stitched onto a backing of cloth or leather. The kusari was sometimes concealed entirely between layers of cloth.
Kusari gusoku or chain armour was commonly used during the Edo period 1603 to 1868 as a stand-alone defense. According to George Cameron Stone
Entire suits of mail kusari gusoku were worn on occasions, sometimes under the ordinary clothing
Ian Bottomley in his book Arms and Armor of the Samurai: The History of Weaponry in Ancient Japan shows a picture of a kusari armour and mentions kusari katabira (chain jackets) with detachable arms being worn by samurai police officials during the Edo period. The end of the samurai era in the 1860s, along with the 1876 ban on wearing swords in public, marked the end of any practical use for mail and other armour in Japan. Japan turned to a conscription army and uniforms replaced armour.
EFFECTIVENESS
Mail armour provided an effective defense against slashing blows by edged weapons and some forms of penetration by many thrusting and piercing weapons; in fact, a study conducted at the Royal Armouries at Leeds concluded that "it is almost impossible to penetrate using any conventional medieval weapon". Generally speaking, mail's resistance to weapons is determined by four factors: linkage type (riveted, butted, or welded), material used (iron versus bronze or steel), weave density (a tighter weave needs a thinner weapon to surpass), and ring thickness (generally ranging from 1.02–1.63 mm diameter) wire in most examples). Mail, if a warrior could afford it, provided a significant advantage when combined with competent fighting techniques.
When the mail was not riveted, a thrust from most sharp weapons could penetrate it. However, when mail was riveted, only a strong well-placed thrust from certain spears, or thin or dedicated mail-piercing swords like the estoc could penetrate, and a pollaxe or halberd blow could break through the armour. Strong projectile weapons such as stronger self bows, recurve bows, and crossbows could also penetrate riveted mail. Some evidence indicates that during armoured combat, the intention was to actually get around the armour rather than through it—according to a study of skeletons found in Visby, Sweden, a majority of the skeletons showed wounds on less well protected legs. Although mail was a formidable protection, due to longswords getting more tapered as time progressed, mail worn under plate armour (and stand-alone mail as well) could be penetrated by the conventional weaponry of another knight.
The flexibility of mail meant that a blow would often injure the wearer, potentially causing serious bruising or fractures, and it was a poor defence against head trauma. Mail-clad warriors typically wore separate rigid helms over their mail coifs for head protection. Likewise, blunt weapons such as maces and warhammers could harm the wearer by their impact without penetrating the armour; usually a soft armour, such as gambeson, was worn under the hauberk. Medieval surgeons were very well capable of setting and caring for bone fractures resulting from blunt weapons. With the poor understanding of hygiene, however, cuts that could get infected were much more of a problem. Thus mail armour proved to be sufficient protection in most situations.
MANUFACTURE
Several patterns of linking the rings together have been known since ancient times, with the most common being the 4-to-1 pattern (where each ring is linked with four others). In Europe, the 4-to-1 pattern was completely dominant. Mail was also common in East Asia, primarily Japan, with several more patterns being utilised and an entire nomenclature developing around them.
Historically, in Europe, from the pre-Roman period on, the rings composing a piece of mail would be riveted closed to reduce the chance of the rings splitting open when subjected to a thrusting attack or a hit by an arrow.
Up until the 14th century European mail was made of alternating rows of round riveted rings and solid rings. Sometime during the 14th century European mail makers started to transition from round rivets to wedge shaped rivets but continued using alternating rows of solid rings. Eventually European mail makers stopped using solid rings and almost all European mail was made from wedge riveted rings only with no solid rings. Both were commonly made of wrought iron, but some later pieces were made of heat-treated steel. Wire for the riveted rings was formed by either of two methods. One was to hammer out wrought iron into plates and cut or slit the plates. These thin pieces were then pulled through a draw plate repeatedly until the desired diameter was achieved. Waterwheel powered drawing mills are pictured in several period manuscripts. Another method was to simply forge down an iron billet into a rod and then proceed to draw it out into wire. The solid links would have been made by punching from a sheet. Guild marks were often stamped on the rings to show their origin and craftsmanship. Forge welding was also used to create solid links, but there are few possible examples known; the only well documented example from Europe is that of the camail (mail neck-defence) of the 7th century Coppergate helmet. Outside of Europe this practice was more common such as "theta" links from India. Very few examples of historic butted mail have been found and it is generally accepted that butted mail was never in wide use historically except in Japan where mail (kusari) was commonly made from butted links. Butted link mail was also used by the Moros of the Philippines in their mail and plate armours.
MODERN USES
PRACTICAL USES
Mail is used as protective clothing for butchers against meat-packing equipment. Workers may wear up to 3.6 kg of mail under their white coats. Butchers also commonly wear a single mail glove to protect themselves from self-inflicted injury while cutting meat, as do many oyster shuckers.
Scuba divers sometimes use mail to protect them from sharkbite, as do animal control officers for protection against the animals they handle. In 1980 marine biologist Jeremiah Sullivan patented his design for Neptunic full coverage chain mail shark resistant suits which he had developed for close encounters with sharks. Shark expert and underwater filmmaker Valerie Taylor was among the first to develop and test shark suits in 1979 while diving with sharks.
Mail is widely used in industrial settings as shrapnel guards and splash guards in metal working operations
Electrical applications for mail include RF leakage testing and being worn as a Faraday cage suit by tesla coil enthusiasts and high voltage electrical workers.
STAB-PROOF VESTS
Conventional textile-based ballistic vests are designed to stop soft-nosed bullets but offer little defense from knife attacks. Knife-resistant armour is designed to defend against knife attacks; some of these use layers of metal plates, mail and metallic wires.
HISTORICAL RE-ENACTMENT
Many historical reenactment groups, especially those whose focus is Antiquity or the Middle Ages, commonly use mail both as practical armour and for costuming. Mail is especially popular amongst those groups which use steel weapons. A modern hauberk made from 1.5 mm diameter wire with 10 mm inner diameter rings weighs roughly 10 kg and contains 15,000–45,000 rings.
One of the drawbacks of mail is the uneven weight distribution; the stress falls mainly on shoulders. Weight can be better distributed by wearing a belt over the mail, which provides another point of support.
Mail worn today for re-enactment and recreational use can be made in a variety of styles and materials. Most recreational mail today is made of butted links which are galvanised or stainless steel. This is historically inaccurate but is much less expensive to procure and especially to maintain than historically accurate reproductions. Mail can also be made of titanium, aluminium, bronze, or copper. Riveted mail offers significantly better protection ability as well as historical accuracy than mail constructed with butted links. Riveted mail can be more labour-intensive and expensive to manufacture. Japanese mail (kusari) is one of the few historically correct examples of mail being constructed with such butted links.
Decorative uses
Mail remained in use as a decorative and possibly high-status symbol with military overtones long after its practical usefulness had passed. It was frequently used for the epaulettes of military uniforms. It is still used in this form by the British Territorial Army.
Mail has applications in sculpture and jewellery, especially when made out of precious metals or colourful anodized metals. Mail artwork includes headdresses, decorative wall hangings, ornaments, chess sets, macramé, and jewelry. For these non-traditional applications, hundreds of patterns (commonly referred to as "weaves") have been invented.
Large-linked mail is occasionally used as a fetish clothing material, with the large links intended to reveal – in part – the body beneath them.
IN FILM
In some films, knitted string spray-painted with a metallic paint is used instead of actual mail in order to cut down on cost (an example being Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which was filmed on a very small budget). Films more dedicated to costume accuracy often use ABS plastic rings, for the lower cost and weight. Such ABS mail coats were made for The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, in addition to many metal coats. The metal coats are used rarely because of their weight, except in close-up filming where the appearance of ABS rings is distinguishable. A large scale example of the ABS mail used in the Lord of the Rings can be seen in the entrance to the Royal Armouries museum in Leeds in the form of a large curtain bearing the logo of the museum. It was acquired from the makers of the film's armour, Weta Workshop, when the museum hosted an exhibition of WETA armour from their films. For the film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Tina Turner is said to have worn actual mail and she complained how heavy this was. Game of Thrones makes use of mail, notably during the "Red Wedding" scene.
WIKIPEDIA
Acrylic painting by Christopher Henry. Artist and co-owner at Tattoo Boogagloo in San Francisco CA. You can find this image and other paintings of mine,on shirts, hoodies,iphone cases, even coffee mugs, at www.redbubble.com/people/sharkbites
Peril S. Curves makes delicious, over-the-top costumes, and when she throws herself into the slick plastic realm of dollery - it's a word when I say it's a word, thanks - she does it in high style. As Barbie, she's bodacious, shiny, stiff, and artificial; producer Joe the Shark carries her on stage in her I'm-a-doll-in-a-package pose, and places her under the lights like you might set up a mannequin.
The more she is real, the less she is Barbie, and ultimately the molded plastic contours strip away to reveal a real and rather feral woman beneath.
Because this edition of the Sharkbite Sideshow lands during Shark Week, everyone is little bit giddy about the shark thing. At the end of the piece, as she prances about the stage as a less-kempt but much more interesting real girl, Peril slips in a startling set of shark teeth and gives us a good roar. We may get to a picture of that, one of these days.
Over at dictionary.reference.com, the first of the slang definitions for "doll" is this: "a pretty but expressionless or unintelligent woman." It's a Barbie world, I guess.
The May Babies edition of Sharkbite Sideshow starts off with pole dancing, as always. This is my first time seeing Nikita Darling perform on the pole, and she's astonishing: easygoing, strong, sexy, and confident.
In some ways, pole dancing is marching the same slow trek to legitimacy that burlesque as a whole went through in the last decade. Not that long ago a dance pole was pretty much the sole domain of strippers. It wasn't so much a challenge for skill as it was a clever way to get rid of clothing. Which is not to say it wasn't possible to perform well, but that performing well wasn't always the major consideration.
A few years later on, happily, the pole is a means of expression and athleticism and skill. I'm reminded of watching gymnasts on the balance beam or the parallel bars: the dancers' routines are full of personality, tension, and grace. Also: hot.
I'm very fond of the annual May Babies shows, because I am a May Baby too. I'm celebrating my birthday in the audience, after a lovely afternoon shooting flowers in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and watching Antonioni's L'Eclisse at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. As days go, this is a fine one.
BB Heart is frisky and light-hearted when she skips up onto the stage at Sharkbite Sideshow in the guise of arch-lunatic Harley Quinn, from the DC worlds of the Batman comics.
I collected comics in my day, but I was a Marvel guy. Still, it's hard not to appreciate Harley, who was once The Joker's analyst and then his sidekick and companion, and who has more recently been Poison Ivy's unannounced on-and-off lover.
BB taunts and toys with the audience, as befits a psycho-villain of her stature. At one point she strips off her glove and stuffs it into the mouth of Jonny Porkpie, the Burlesque Mayor of New York, who is sitting in the second row. She brandishes her giant gun. When her act is finished and she flits into the offstage darkness, the glove is still in Jonny's mouth; stage kitten Zoe Ziegfeld retrieves it.
It's always a treat when Aurora Black turns up on the bill at Sharkbite Sideshow: she's a graceful ballerina, given to performing en pointe. To the classical technique she adds a gleeful embrace of the bawdy showgirl aspects of burlesque, and the combo is always a winner.
I've processed this image fairly heavily. Aurora's pose and form are unchanged, but I've desaturated and shifted the colors some, and dropped out most of the stage of the R Bar, the better to invoke the sense of a dream visitor, dancing in the dark.
Cupcakes
1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® devil's food cake mix
Water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on cake mix box
1 container Betty Crocker® Rich & Creamy vanilla or butter cream frosting
Blue food color
Fishing Poles
24 cocktail straws
24 pieces dental floss
24 Betty Crocker® Shark Bites® chewy fruit snacks (2 to 3 pouches)
1. Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Make and cool cake as directed on box for 24 cupcakes.
2. Stir together frosting and 2 or 3 drops food color. Frost cupcakes with blue frosting; pull up on frosting, using metal spatula, so frosting looks like waves.
3. To make fishing poles, cut each straw to make one 3-inch piece. Cut dental floss into 3 1/2-inch lengths. Attach piece of dental floss to end of each straw, using needle, to look like fish line. Attach 1 fruit snack to end of each piece of dental floss. Decorate each cupcake with a fishing pole. Store loosely covered.
Find more recipes at www.bettycrocker.com.
See the other Make-A-Wish Cupcakes of the Week by visiting www.bettycrocker.com/StirringUpWishes.
''The SHARKBITE tee!! Limited edition! Get it today at Sharkcookie.com @jordynjones'' Jordyn Jones @sharkcookie_models Photo #Jordyn #Jones #Actress #Model #Modeling #Singer #Dancer #Dancing #Dance #Star #Instagram #Photography #Jordyn Jones #JordynOnline www.jordynonline.com #JordynJones
Aaron and the man that made him all better- Dr Peter Galpin. Apparently Dr Galpin is the #1 fixer-upper of shark bite victims, Aaron was his 9th. He said that he was almost to the double digits!
But check out that cool wheelchair! I love those rims. Dr Galpin is awesome!
Chain mail (often just mail or sometimes chainmail) is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh. It was generally in common military use between the 3rd century BC and the 16th century AD in Europe, and longer in Asia and North Africa. A coat of this armour is often referred to as a hauberk, and sometimes a byrnie.
HISTORY
The earliest examples of surviving mail were found in the Carpathian Basin at a burial in Horný Jatov, Slovakia dated at 3rd century BC, and in a chieftain's burial located in Ciumești, Romania. Its invention is commonly credited to the Celts, but there are examples of Etruscan pattern mail dating from at least the 4th century BC. Mail may have been inspired by the much earlier scale armour. Mail spread to North Africa, West Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, India, Tibet, South East Asia, and Japan.
Herodotus wrote that the ancient Persians wore scale armour, but mail is also distinctly mentioned in the Avesta, the ancient holy scripture of the Persian religion of Zoroastrianism that was founded by the prophet Zoroaster in the 5th century BC.
Mail continues to be used in the 21st century as a component of stab-resistant body armour, cut-resistant gloves for butchers and woodworkers, shark-resistant wetsuits for defense against shark bites, and a number of other applications.
ETYMOLOGY
The origins of the word mail are not fully known. One theory is that it originally derives from the Latin word macula, meaning spot or opacity (as in macula of retina). Another theory relates the word to the old French maillier, meaning to hammer (related to the modern English word malleable). In modern French, maille refers to a loop or stitch. The Arabic words "burnus", برنوس, a burnoose; a hooded cloak, also a chasuble (worn by Coptic priests) and "barnaza", برنز, to bronze, suggest an Arabic influence for the Carolingian armour known as "byrnie" (see below). The first attestations of the word mail are in Old French and Anglo-Norman: maille, maile, or male or other variants, which became mailye, maille, maile, male, or meile in Middle English.
The modern usage of terms for mail armour is highly contested in popular and, to a lesser degree, academic culture. Medieval sources referred to armour of this type simply as mail; however, chain-mail has become a commonly used, if incorrect,[citation needed] neologism coined no later than 1786, appearing in Francis Grose's A Treatise on Ancient Armour and Weapons, and brought to popular attention no later than 1822 in Sir Walter Scott's novel The Fortunes of Nigel. Since then the word mail has been commonly, if incorrectly, applied to other types of armour, such as in plate-mail (first attested in Grose's Treatise in 1786). The more correct term is plate armour.
Civilizations that used mail invented specific terms for each garment made from it. The standard terms for European mail armour derive from French: leggings are called chausses, a hood is a mail coif, and mittens, mitons. A mail collar hanging from a helmet is a camail or aventail. A shirt made from mail is a hauberk if knee-length and a haubergeon if mid-thigh length. A layer (or layers) of mail sandwiched between layers of fabric is called a jazerant.
A waist-length coat in medieval Europe was called a byrnie, although the exact construction of a byrnie is unclear, including whether it was constructed of mail or other armour types. Noting that the byrnie was the "most highly valued piece of armour" to the Carolingian soldier, Bennet, Bradbury, DeVries, Dickie, and Jestice indicate that:
There is some dispute among historians as to what exactly constituted the Carolingian byrnie. Relying... only on artistic and some literary sources because of the lack of archaeological examples, some believe that it was a heavy leather jacket with metal scales sewn onto it. It was also quite long, reaching below the hips and covering most of the arms. Other historians claim instead that the Carolingian byrnie was nothing more than a coat of mail, but longer and perhaps heavier than traditional early medieval mail. Without more certain evidence, this dispute will continue.
IN EUROPE
The use of mail as battlefield armour was common during the Iron Age and the Middle Ages, becoming less common over the course of the 16th and 17th centuries when plate armour and more advanced firearms were developed. It is believed that the Roman Republic first came into contact with mail fighting the Gauls in Cisalpine Gaul, now Northern Italy. The Roman army adopted the technology for their troops in the form of the lorica hamata which was used as a primary form of armour through the Imperial period. After the fall of the Western Empire, much of the infrastructure needed to create plate armour diminished. Eventually the word "mail" came to be synonymous with armour. It was typically an extremely prized commodity, as it was expensive and time-consuming to produce and could mean the difference between life and death in a battle. Mail from dead combatants was frequently looted and was used by the new owner or sold for a lucrative price. As time went on and infrastructure improved, it came to be used by more soldiers. The oldest intact mail hauberk still in existence is thought to have been worn by Leopold III, Duke of Austria, who died in 1386 during the Battle of Sempach. Eventually with the rise of the lanced cavalry charge, impact warfare, and high-powered crossbows, mail came to be used as a secondary armour to plate for the mounted nobility. By the 14th century, articulated plate armour was commonly used to supplement mail. Eventually mail was supplanted by plate for the most part, as it provided greater protection against windlass crossbows, bludgeoning weapons, and lance charges while maintaining most of the mobility of mail. However, it was still widely used by many soldiers as well as brigandines and padded jacks. These three types of armour made up the bulk of the equipment used by soldiers, with mail being the most expensive. It was sometimes more expensive than plate armour. Mail typically persisted longer in less technologically advanced areas such as Eastern Europe but was in use throughout Europe into the 16th century.
During the late 19th and early 20th century, mail was used as a material for bulletproof vests, most notably by the Wilkinson Sword Company. Results were unsatisfactory; Wilkinson mail worn by the Khedive of Egypt's regiment of "Iron Men" was manufactured from split rings which proved to be too brittle, and the rings would fragment when struck by bullets and aggravate the injury. The riveted mail armour worn by the opposing Sudanese Madhists did not have the same problem but also proved to be relatively useless against the firearms of British forces at the battle of Omdurman. During World War I, Wilkinson Sword transitioned from mail to a lamellar design which was the precursor to the flak jacket.
Also during World War I, a mail fringe, designed by Captain Cruise of the British Infantry, was added to helmets to protect the face. This proved unpopular with soldiers, in spite of being proven to defend against a three-ounce (100 g) shrapnel round fired at a distance of one hundred yards (91 m). A protective face mask or splatter mask had a mail veil and was used by early tank crews as a measure against flying steel fragments (spalling) inside the vehicle
IN ASIA
Mail armour was introduced to the Middle East and Asia through the Romans and was adopted by the Sassanid Persians starting in the 3rd century AD, where it was supplemental to the scale and lamellar armour already used.
WEST ASIA, INDIA AND CHINA
Mail was commonly also used as horse armour for cataphracts and heavy cavalry as well as armour for the soldiers themselves. Asian mail could be just as heavy as the European variety and sometimes had prayer symbols stamped on the rings as a sign of their craftsmanship as well as for divine protection. Indeed, mail armour is mentioned in the Quran as being a gift revealed by Allah to David: 21:80 It was We Who taught him the making of coats of mail for your benefit, to guard you from each other's violence: will ye then be grateful? (Yusuf Ali's translation)
From the Abbasid Caliphate, mail was quickly adopted in Central Asia by Timur (Tamerlane) and the Sogdians and by India's Delhi Sultanate. Mail armour was introduced by the Turks in late 12th century and commonly used by Turk and the Mughal and Suri armies where it eventually became the armour of choice in India. Indian mail was constructed with alternating rows of solid links and round riveted links and it was often integrated with plate protection (mail and plate armour). Mail and plate armour was commonly used in India until the Battle of Plassey by the Nawabs of Bengal and the subsequent British conquest of the sub-continent.
The Ottoman Empire and the other Islamic Gunpowders used mail armour as well as mail and plate armour, and it was used in their armies until the 18th century by heavy cavalry and elite units such as the Janissaries. They spread its use into North Africa where it was adopted by Mamluk Egyptians and the Sudanese who produced it until the early 20th century. Ottoman mail was constructed with alternating rows of solid links and round riveted links. The Persians used mail armour as well as mail and plate armour. Persian mail and Ottoman mail were often quite similar in appearance.
Mail was introduced to China when its allies in Central Asia paid tribute to the Tang Emperor in 718 by giving him a coat of "link armour" assumed to be mail. China first encountered the armour in 384 when its allies in the nation of Kuchi arrived wearing "armour similar to chains". Once in China, mail was imported but was not produced widely. Due to its flexibility, comfort, and rarity, it was typically the armour of high-ranking guards and those who could afford the exotic import (to show off their social status) rather than the armour of the rank and file, who used more common brigandine, scale, and lamellar types. However, it was one of the few military products that China imported from foreigners. Mail spread to Korea slightly later where it was imported as the armour of imperial guards and generals.
JAPANESE MAIL AMOUR
In Japan mail is called kusari which means chain. When the word kusari is used in conjunction with an armoured item it usually means that mail makes up the majority of the armour composition. An example of this would be kusari gusoku which means chain armour. Kusari jackets, hoods, gloves, vests, shin, shoulder, thigh guards, and other armoured clothing were produced, even kusari tabi socks.
Kusari was used in samurai armour at least from the time of the Mongol invasion (1270s) but particularly from the Nambokucho Period (1336–1392). The Japanese used many different weave methods including a square 4-in-1 pattern (so gusari), a hexagonal 6-in-1 pattern (hana gusari) and a European 4-in-1 (nanban gusari). The rings of Japanese mail were much smaller than their European counterparts; they would be used in patches to link together plates and to drape over vulnerable areas such as the armpits.
Riveted kusari was known and used in Japan. On page 58 of the book Japanese Arms & Armor: Introduction by H. Russell Robinson, there is a picture of Japanese riveted kusari, and this quote from the translated reference of Sakakibara Kozan's [ja] 1800 book, The Manufacture of Armour and Helmets in Sixteenth-Century Japan, shows that the Japanese not only knew of and used riveted kusari but that they manufactured it as well.
... karakuri-namban (riveted namban), with stout links each closed by a rivet. Its invention is credited to Fukushima Dembei Kunitaka, pupil, of Hojo Awa no Kami Ujifusa, but it is also said to be derived directly from foreign models. It is heavy because the links are tinned (biakuro-nagashi) and these are also sharp-edged because they are punched out of iron plate
Butted or split (twisted) links made up the majority of kusari links used by the Japanese. Links were either butted together meaning that the ends touched each other and were not riveted, or the kusari was constructed with links where the wire was turned or twisted two or more times; these split links are similar to the modern split ring commonly used on keychains. The rings were lacquered black to prevent rusting, and were always stitched onto a backing of cloth or leather. The kusari was sometimes concealed entirely between layers of cloth.
Kusari gusoku or chain armour was commonly used during the Edo period 1603 to 1868 as a stand-alone defense. According to George Cameron Stone Entire suits of mail kusari gusoku were worn on occasions, sometimes under the ordinary clothingIan Bottomley in his book Arms and Armor of the Samurai: The History of Weaponry in Ancient Japan shows a picture of a kusari armour and mentions kusari katabira (chain jackets) with detachable arms being worn by samurai police officials during the Edo period. The end of the samurai era in the 1860s, along with the 1876 ban on wearing swords in public, marked the end of any practical use for mail and other armour in Japan. Japan turned to a conscription army and uniforms replaced armour.
EFFECTIVENESS
Mail armour provided an effective defense against slashing blows by edged weapons and some forms of penetration by many thrusting and piercing weapons; in fact, a study conducted at the Royal Armouries at Leeds concluded that "it is almost impossible to penetrate using any conventional medieval weapon". Generally speaking, mail's resistance to weapons is determined by four factors: linkage type (riveted, butted, or welded), material used (iron versus bronze or steel), weave density (a tighter weave needs a thinner weapon to surpass), and ring thickness (generally ranging from 18 to 14 gauge (1.02–1.63 mm diameter) wire in most examples). Mail, if a warrior could afford it, provided a significant advantage when combined with competent fighting techniques.
When the mail was not riveted, a thrust from most sharp weapons could penetrate it. However, when mail was riveted, only a strong well-placed thrust from certain spears, or thin or dedicated mail-piercing swords like the estoc could penetrate, and a pollaxe or halberd blow could break through the armour. Strong projectile weapons such as stronger self bows, recurve bows, and crossbows could also penetrate riveted mail. Some evidence indicates that during armoured combat, the intention was to actually get around the armour rather than through it—according to a study of skeletons found in Visby, Sweden, a majority of the skeletons showed wounds on less well protected legs. Although mail was a formidable protection, due to longswords getting more tapered as time progressed, mail worn under plate armour (and stand-alone mail as well) could be penetrated by the conventional weaponry of another knight.
The flexibility of mail meant that a blow would often injure the wearer, potentially causing serious bruising or fractures, and it was a poor defence against head trauma. Mail-clad warriors typically wore separate rigid helms over their mail coifs for head protection. Likewise, blunt weapons such as maces and warhammers could harm the wearer by their impact without penetrating the armour; usually a soft armour, such as gambeson, was worn under the hauberk. Medieval surgeons were very well capable of setting and caring for bone fractures resulting from blunt weapons. With the poor understanding of hygiene, however, cuts that could get infected were much more of a problem. Thus mail armour proved to be sufficient protection in most situations.
MANUFACTURE
Several patterns of linking the rings together have been known since ancient times, with the most common being the 4-to-1 pattern (where each ring is linked with four others). In Europe, the 4-to-1 pattern was completely dominant. Mail was also common in East Asia, primarily Japan, with several more patterns being utilised and an entire nomenclature developing around them.
Historically, in Europe, from the pre-Roman period on, the rings composing a piece of mail would be riveted closed to reduce the chance of the rings splitting open when subjected to a thrusting attack or a hit by an arrow.
Up until the 14th century European mail was made of alternating rows of round riveted rings and solid rings. Sometime during the 14th century European mail makers started to transition from round rivets to wedge shaped rivets but continued using alternating rows of solid rings. Eventually European mail makers stopped using solid rings and almost all European mail was made from wedge riveted rings only with no solid rings. Both were commonly made of wrought iron, but some later pieces were made of heat-treated steel. Wire for the riveted rings was formed by either of two methods. One was to hammer out wrought iron into plates and cut or slit the plates. These thin pieces were then pulled through a draw plate repeatedly until the desired diameter was achieved. Waterwheel powered drawing mills are pictured in several period manuscripts. Another method was to simply forge down an iron billet into a rod and then proceed to draw it out into wire. The solid links would have been made by punching from a sheet. Guild marks were often stamped on the rings to show their origin and craftsmanship. Forge welding was also used to create solid links, but there are few possible examples known; the only well documented example from Europe is that of the camail (mail neck-defence) of the 7th century Coppergate helmet. Outside of Europe this practice was more common such as "theta" links from India. Very few examples of historic butted mail have been found and it is generally accepted that butted mail was never in wide use historically except in Japan where mail (kusari) was commonly made from butted links. Butted link mail was also used by the Moros of the Philippines in their mail and plate armours.
MODERN USES
PRACTICAL USES
Mail is used as protective clothing for butchers against meat-packing equipment. Workers may wear up to 8 pounds (3.6 kg) of mail under their white coats. Butchers also commonly wear a single mail glove to protect themselves from self-inflicted injury while cutting meat, as do many oyster shuckers.
Scuba divers sometimes use mail to protect them from sharkbite, as do animal control officers for protection against the animals they handle. In 1980 marine biologist Jeremiah Sullivan patented his design for Neptunic full coverage chain mail shark resistant suits which he had developed for close encounters with sharks. Shark expert and underwater filmmaker Valerie Taylor was among the first to develop and test shark suits in 1979 while diving with sharks.
Mail is widely used in industrial settings as shrapnel guards and splash guards in metal working operations.
Electrical applications for mail include RF leakage testing and being worn as a Faraday cage suit by tesla coil enthusiasts and high voltage electrical workers.
STAB-PROOF VESTS
Conventional textile-based ballistic vests are designed to stop soft-nosed bullets but offer little defense from knife attacks. Knife-resistant armour is designed to defend against knife attacks; some of these use layers of metal plates, mail and metallic wires.
HISTORICAL RE-ENACTMENT
Many historical reenactment groups, especially those whose focus is Antiquity or the Middle Ages, commonly use mail both as practical armour and for costuming. Mail is especially popular amongst those groups which use steel weapons. A modern hauberk made from 1.5 mm diameter wire with 10 mm inner diameter rings weighs roughly 10 kg and contains 15,000–45,000 rings.
One of the drawbacks of mail is the uneven weight distribution; the stress falls mainly on shoulders. Weight can be better distributed by wearing a belt over the mail, which provides another point of support.
Mail worn today for re-enactment and recreational use can be made in a variety of styles and materials. Most recreational mail today is made of butted links which are galvanised or stainless steel. This is historically inaccurate but is much less expensive to procure and especially to maintain than historically accurate reproductions. Mail can also be made of titanium, aluminium, bronze, or copper. Riveted mail offers significantly better protection ability as well as historical accuracy than mail constructed with butted links. Riveted mail can be more labour-intensive and expensive to manufacture. Japanese mail (kusari) is one of the few historically correct examples of mail being constructed with such butted links.
DECORATIVE USES
Mail remained in use as a decorative and possibly high-status symbol with military overtones long after its practical usefulness had passed. It was frequently used for the epaulettes of military uniforms. It is still used in this form by the British Territorial Army.
Mail has applications in sculpture and jewellery, especially when made out of precious metals or colourful anodized metals. Mail artwork includes headdresses, decorative wall hangings, ornaments, chess sets, macramé, and jewelry. For these non-traditional applications, hundreds of patterns (commonly referred to as "weaves") have been invented.
Large-linked mail is occasionally used as a fetish clothing material, with the large links intended to reveal – in part – the body beneath them.
IN FILM
In some films, knitted string spray-painted with a metallic paint is used instead of actual mail in order to cut down on cost (an example being Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which was filmed on a very small budget). Films more dedicated to costume accuracy often use ABS plastic rings, for the lower cost and weight. Such ABS mail coats were made for The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, in addition to many metal coats. The metal coats are used rarely because of their weight, except in close-up filming where the appearance of ABS rings is distinguishable. A large scale example of the ABS mail used in the Lord of the Rings can be seen in the entrance to the Royal Armouries museum in Leeds in the form of a large curtain bearing the logo of the museum. It was acquired from the makers of the film's armour, Weta Workshop, when the museum hosted an exhibition of WETA armour from their films. For the film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Tina Turner is said to have worn actual mail and she complained how heavy this was. Game of Thrones makes use of mail, notably during the "Red Wedding" scene.
WIKIPEDIA
Bohus on the set with a fistful of GoTough Sharkbites. The Sharkbite is an all-metal combination thumbscrew wrench and bottle opener for GoPro cameras. - Photo by Sean Anderson