UPDATE 5/8/12 It appears that the consensus is that 18 gauge butted chainmail is now illegal. In case I an wrong, there is both a proposal with forbids 18 gauge butted chainmail, and variant which allows it. Also, I specified the minimum wire diameters for what counts as "12 gauge", "14 gauge", or "16 gauge" chainmail when relevant. The specified diameter is midway between the nominal value of the gauge, and the nominal value of the next smallest gauge.
18 gauge is a slight exception. It should be .044" by that algorithm, but is specified as .043. The .043 value was selected as it is the minimum spec for 18 gauge mild steel sheet metal. Or rather, it is the min spec rounded down to the next thousandth of an inch.
I removed the "single dowel rod test" to for chainmail, because, although it would make weapon checking easier, it would significantly change chainmail diameter checks, outlawing most 12 gauge suits and legalizing very loose 18 gauge butted suits.
The point of this rewrite is to clean up the language, while leaving the rules more or less as they are. Some noncontroversial rule changes are included, such as allowing 14 gauge or heavier metal helmets, but the overall goal is clarify, rather than change, the rules.
My current rewrite proposal is as follows:
5.1.14 - Rigid body armor including helmets must not have projections which protrude more than 1/2 inch from the armor itself. Projections include spikes, horns, and other forms of rigid decoration. Neither aventails nor brims, nasals, and crests which do not terminate in points or spikes are considered to be projections.
5.1.15 All armor must have safely smooth and rounded edges for safety. All exposed corners must be rounded so as not to be sharp.
5.1.16 - Armor must not be able to catch any appendages such as fingers, within reasonable combat circumstances
5.1.17 - Armor must be inspected and passed by checkers or heralds at each event it is worn at.
5.2 - Metal Armor:
5.2.1 - Metal armor may be made of alloys primarily consisting of iron, copper, or titanium (such as steel, bronze, and brass). No other metals (such as aluminum) are allowed as armor.
5.2.2 - The minimum thickness of metal armor is 18 gauge, or a minimum thickness of .043". The intent of this rule is to forbid 19 gauge or thinner metal armor, not to search for armor which may be less in .043" thick at points due to metal working.
5.2.3 - The minimum wire thickness for riveted, punched, welded, or otherwise "non-butted" chain mail is 18 gauge in Standard Wire Gauge (SWG) measuring system, or a minimum diameter of .043". The minimum wire thickness for butted chain mail is 16 gauge SWG, or a minimum diameter of .060".
5.2.4 - Rigid metal hand, knee or elbow armor is forbidden (ring or chainmail is permitted).
5.2.5 Metal helmets may not have non-period grills attached to them.
5.2.6 The maximum nominal inner ring diameter for standard 4-in-1 weave chainmail shall be: 1/2" (12.7 mm) for 12 gauge (.100" or greater wire diameter) mail, 3/8" (9.5 mm) for 14 gauge (.076" or greater wire diameter) mail and riveted, punched, welded, or otherwise "non-butted" 16 or 18 gauge mail, and 5/16" (8 mm) for butted 16 gauge mail.
(rule #'s 5.2.7 - 5.2.10 removed due to re-numbering and rule condensing)
Variant proposal legalizing 18 gauge butted mail:
5.1.14 - Rigid body armor including helmets must not have projections which protrude more than 1/2 inch from the armor itself. Projections include spikes, horns, and other forms of rigid decoration. Neither aventails nor brims, nasals, and crests which do not terminate in points or spikes are considered to be projections.
5.1.15 All armor must have safely smooth and rounded edges for safety. All exposed corners must be rounded so as not to be sharp.
5.1.16 - Armor must not be able to catch any appendages such as fingers, within reasonable combat circumstances
5.1.17 - Armor must be inspected and passed by checkers or heralds at each event it is worn at.
5.2 - Metal Armor:
5.2.1 - Metal armor may be made of alloys primarily consisting of iron, copper, or titanium (such as steel, bronze, and brass). No other metals (such as aluminum) are allowed as armor.
5.2.2 - The minimum thickness of metal armor is 18 gauge, or a minimum thickness of .043". The intent of this rule is to forbid 19 gauge or thinner metal armor, not to search for armor which may be less in .043" thick at points due to metal working.
5.2.3 - The minimum wire thickness for chain mail is 18 gauge in Standard Wire Gauge (SWG) measuring system, or a minimum diameter of .043".
5.2.4 - Rigid metal hand, knee or elbow armor is forbidden (ring or chainmail is permitted).
5.2.5 Metal helmets may not have non-period grills attached to them.
5.2.6 The maximum nominal inner ring diameter for standard 4-in-1 weave chainmail shall be: 1/2" (12.7 mm) for 12 gauge (.100" or greater wire diameter) mail, 3/8" (9.5 mm) for 14 (.076" or greater wire diameter) gauge mail and riveted, punched, welded, or otherwise "non-butted" 16 or 18 gauge mail, 5/16" (8 mm) for butted 16 (.060" or greater wire diameter) gauge mail, and 1/4" (6.35 mm) for butted 18 gauge mail.
(rule #'s 5.2.7 - 5.2.10 removed due to re-numbering and rule condensing)
Rule 5.2.6 mirrors the table, in the current ruleset. It allows 8 mm 16 gauge butted chain, which is a hair bigger than 5/16": 8 mm is .3150" while 5/16" is .3125". The metric equivalents are added to make purchasing chainmail over the internet somewhat easier. Ice Falcon armory and most places that sell cheap butted mail generally show ring diameters in metric, although TheRingLord's sizes are in fractional inches.
Ideally, I'd like to have a system in the MOA to convert nominal ID to actual ID's. I believe nominal ID of a ring is the diameter of the mandrel rod the ring was made on. TheRingLord does list the actual ID's of his rings, however, his rings seem to be closer to nominal i.d. than is typical. As an example, his 5/16" 16 gauge galvanized ring is .325", or 4% over nominal. Typical "8 mm" 16 gauge galvanized rings are 8.7 mm, or about 9% over nominal. I believe the intention of the rules is to allow a person with no special knowledge to determine if a given set of chainmail is legal or not based on its nominal/advertised specifications.
Regarding the legality of 18 gauge butted mail, it is my assertion that it is currently legal per rule 5.2.7. The table in rule 5.2.7 does contradict rule 5.2.3 & 5.2.5 regarding 18 gauge butted mail; however, I believe the table would take precedence.On to less controversial topics, I switched back to measuring primarily is gauges. .043" is the thinnest any 18 gauge sheet metal should be, and low enough to allow "narrow" 18 gauge wire, while still forbidding anything thinner.
Links to previous threads on this rewrite:"Rewrite 2.0" ThreadHazno's Original Thread<edit corrected any obvious typo 4/16/12>
