Knotwork Links Wire And Cloth Tech Page

Our chainmail is made from coils of the best quality wire we can purchase. Most of our creations are made out of three main metals: galvanized steel, copper, and brass. These materials are all very different from one another in color, flexibility, and in the way they age. Galvanized steel is the strongest of the three, and the most common in almost all chainmail creations. This steel ages to a polished almost black color with aggressive use, a matte gray with only occasional use, and stays relatively polished with no use. The mechanisms and effects of aging depend largely upon to quality of the zinc coating used to coat the steel. We have little control over this coating, as it is applied by the wire manufacturer, but we have experimented with numerous brands looking for the most age resistant and long lasting steel.

From left to right: Copper, Brass, Galvanized Steel

When describing chainmail and the wire used to create it, it is often very helpful to include the gauge of the wire used. But what does the wire gauge number mean? We classify our wire gauge based on the number of wire strands that can fit side by side in one full inch. We tricked ourselves. It just so happens that 16 ga wire is exactly 1/16", and so fits the above crossed out definition. We will work on a better definition of gauges and start adding caliper measurements of our wire soon. Sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused you.The higher the wire gauge number, the thinner the wire. KLC works wire from 22 gauge through 12 gauge, and most everything in between. Some of our pieces have multiple gauges interwoven into them, which can create almost any desired effect we want. A concise chart of wire gauges and their equivalents can be found here. Another very helpful page can be found as part of the MAIL site, here. The picture to the left shows 16 gauge galvanized steel. 

A bit confused by all that? So are we... but we will be switching over ALL of our gauges to a standard gauge soon. 

We also offer twisted links in some of our creations. These links are made by twisting two or more strands of wire together to form a tight single strand, with a different sort of look. These links seem to be less sturdy than their regular single wire counterparts, so they aren't suggested for heavy load bearing spots. We can custom make these links for you using any combination of the base metals: galvanized steel, copper, and brass. We can also make limited special orders using the colored wires shown below. The twisted links shown to the right: 18 gauge galvanized steel (left),16 gauge galvanized steel and copper (right).

We offer a rainbow of colored links above and beyond the basic metals. These links are enameled copper, and are just as strong as our normal copper links. the enamel coloring is durable, and doesn't chip off too easily. These links look excellent as a centerpiece of a necklace, bracelet, or any other piece of our jewelry, and would make an interesting edging on our armor. For larger orders we can custom order virtually any color you can think of. The colors shown to the right are what we have IN STOCK, available without special order. For all available colors, check out our suppliers wire page, WigJig. The WigJig page is changing even faster than we are, so the link leads you to their main page. When searching their pages for a prospective color, keep in mind the gauge of the wire: anything too small (generally less than 18) is too weak for general chainmail work.

Colored wire (left to right): black, red, magenta, blue-green, green.

Different Cloth Colors for our Juggling Spheres

These are the in stock cloth colors we have available for use in our juggling spheres. The cloth we use is usually a thicker cotton or canvas cloth. The in stock cloths are all cotton. The colors shown are not the only colors we can use, however. As with all of our products, we can custom design your order for you, and are more than willing to get new cloth to complete your order. Click on the picture to view a larger version. These colors are as close as we can get them to the real thing on our computer, but monitors do vary.

Cloth colors (top to bottom): Fire Red, Royal Purple, Midnight Black, and Navy blue.