With all of the time that it takes to make chainmail, of course we would want to preserve it for as long as possible and keep it from rusting. In medieval times, the main method to maintain steel chainmail was to keep it well-oiled and stored in a dedicated bag. In modern times we have the option of using corrosion-resistant metals for our chainmail. This saves us a lot of work in maintaining the armor over time.
One popular choice of material for corrosion resistance is galvanized steel. This is basically just steel with a protective layer of zinc on it’s surface. You can usually identify it by the somewhat splotchy appearance. While it might seem like a good option because it gives you the strength of steel with the added benefit of rust-resistance, is it a good idea to use galvanized wire for making chainmail? It’s actually not the best choice. Because chainmail is made up of rings that constantly shift and scrape across each other, that zinc coating can eventually wear off, leaving the steel exposed and susceptible to rust.
So if galvanized steel isn’t the best material for making rust-resistant chainmail, then what is? In this article I’ll elaborate on why galvanized steel wire is less than ideal for making chainmail, and go over some better options for corrosion resistance.
Health Concerns When Using Galvanized Steel
One of the biggest reasons why I don’t recommend galvanized steel wire for chainmail is because of the health concerns. As far as I can tell from my research online, the main health risks of zinc come in the form of dust and fumes. In case you aren’t aware, galvanized steel should never be heated because it will release zinc fumes that are highly toxic. If you’re just making butted mail then you should have no reason to heat up the wire, but this rules out making riveted mail with galvanized steel wire.
Even just making butted mail with galvanized steel can be dangerous. To make the rings you have to bend the wire into a tight coil, then cut out them out one by one. If you use a saw to cut them then you’ll release quite a bit of zinc dust. Even cutting them with wire snips will probably create dust and flakes as you cut through the zinc coating. The zinc coating will also gradually scrape off as you wear the chainmail, and that will leave zinc dust on what ever garment you wear underneath it.
I can’t say for certain that making chainmail from galvanized wire will produce enough zinc dust to be harmful to you, but I don’t recommend that anyone take the chance. The benefit of the rust-resistance is not worth the health risks in my opinion.
How Long The Coating Will Last
The main benefit of using galvanized steel for chainmail is so that it won’t rust, but that quality can be short-lived. Because the rings of chainmail are constantly moving and scraping across each other, that friction will wear down the zinc coating over time and use. If you make your chainmail project and then never use it, then it might last for decades without rust. This might be an option for some people who just want to hang it up on a wall, but if you intend to wear your chainmail somewhat regularly, then don’t expect the galvanized finish to last forever.
The lifespan of the galvanization will depend on how hard you use your chainmail. If you’re someone who wears it often and performs a lot of activity in it, maybe even combat, then the coating will wear off fairly quickly. As soon as just a little bit of the metal is exposed, then moisture from sweat and humidity can cause rust to develop.
What it boils down to is that the more you use your chainmail, the faster a galvanized finish will wear off. This makes it much less practical of a choice than other options.
Some Better Alternatives
So if galvanized steel isn’t a very good material to use, then what other options are there for making chainmail that won’t rust? There are 3 other common materials that I know of that will offer even better corrosion resistance than galvanized steel. This is because these metals have different chemical properties than normal steel that make them resistant to rust or corrosion. Those materials are Stainless Steel, Aluminum, and Titanium.
Stainless Steel
The first and most practical option, in my opinion is stainless steel. Stainless steel is stronger than most plain steel wires that you can buy, including galvanized steel. As it’s name implies, it resists any kind of corrosion exceptionally well. This is because it contains a percentage of chromium, nickel, and sometimes other elements. These other elements cause it to form a thin film on it’s surface that is passive. In other words that film doesn’t react with much, and it protects the rest of the steel underneath from reacting with anything.
This property of stainless steel makes it so that it doesn’t need a protective coating. The material itself will form a thin film on it’s surface that protects it from rusting. Even if it gets scratched, that film will reform and continue to preserve it.
So why doesn’t everyone just make their chainmail out of stainless steel? The main reason is probably cost. It’s more expensive than plain steel wire and galvanized wire. Because large chainmail projects like shirts can require several hundred feet of wire to complete, the additional cost can add up.
Another reason that people don’t like stainless steel is because it’s harder to work with. It requires more force to bend and cut, which can also add up over the long run and make it much more difficult to complete a project. Sometimes you even need better tools to be able to work with it. This is especially true if you’re making riveted mail.
Aluminum
Aluminum has a similar property to stainless steel in that it also forms a protective coating on it’s surface that prevents the rest of the material from corroding. There are certain things that can cause it to corrode more, namely chlorides and sulfides. The only time I can imagine that chainmail would come into contact with either of those is if it’s exposed to large amounts of sweat, which contains sodium chloride, which is salt. It would probably take a lot of sweat to cause any major corrosion though.
The main drawback of aluminum is it’s softness. It’s much softer than any kind of steel, so it doesn’t make sense to use it for combat of any kind. For costume purposes though it’s ideal, because it’s much lighter than steel. It’s also a favorite of LARPers because it can be worn for long periods of time without becoming too uncomfortable. So if you don’t plan to do any serious combat in your chainmail, you might want to consider using aluminum.
Titanium
One often overlooked, but occasionally used material is titanium. Titanium combines the best of both worlds in terms of strength and weight. It’s lighter than steel, but just as strong. This strength to weight ratio is the highest of any metal, as far as people have discovered. For the purposes of making chainmail, this means that you can have a shirt of mail that is as strong as steel with nearly half of the weight.
Titanium is also very corrosion resistant for the same reasons as the two previous examples. It forms a protective film when in the presence of oxygen. The only time when it’s vulnerable to corroding is when there’s little or no oxygen around it. Chainmail will almost always be in an oxygen rich environment, even if you wear it underwater, so for all intents and purposes it is extremely corrosion resistant.
Of course the main drawback is it’s cost. If you thought that stainless steel was expensive, be prepared to pay even more for titanium. Unfortunately the best materials often come at a premium price. If you can afford it though, then it will make for some exceptional chainmail.