A mighty work!

A few weeks ago, I produced what I consider to be my journeyman project: A chainmail shirt. I had been working on it for about eight months, but the vast majority of the work was done between January and April. Altogether, I'd estimate it at about 40-50 man hours of labor.
The end result is naught but one thing: beauty.


This photo has a bit more glare than I'd like, but it gives a decent front overview of the shirt.



This back shot highlights what I consider to be the Pièce de résistance of the shirt: the scale mail shoulders. Each contains about two hundred scales, and is fastened to the shirt all along the edges to prevent them from flopping around.


Both the side laces and the belt serve the same dual function: firstly, they tighten the shirt around the body so as that less of the weight rests of the shoulders. Given the weight of chainmail, it makes for a tremendous difference in comfort depending on whether the belt is fasthened and the laces are tightened or not.
Secondly, it makes the shirt look more interesting and be something other than endless expanses of gray steel. My main inspiration for these additions were old-school motorycle jackets, and their plethora of fasteners and tighteners to keep wind out. I figured it should work for keeping weight off as well; and I was correct.



Well I couldn't very well not take a picture like this, could I?



After all that hard work, there's nothing quite like a refreshing bowl of cornflakes.