The human body and sharp objects don’t get along very well, especially when they are being wielded with ill-intent. Since antiquity there have been various forms of armor designed to protect the wearer, but thankfully these days random sword fights don’t often break out on the street. Still, [SCREEN TESTED] wanted to test the viability of 3D printed chain mail — if not for actual combat, at least for re-enactment purposes.
He uses tough PLA to crank out a bed worth of what looks like [ZeroAlligator]’s PipeLink Chainmail Fabric, which just so happens to be the trending result on Bambu’s MakerWorld currently. The video shows several types of mail on the printer, but the test dummy only gets the one H-type pattern, which is a pity — there’s a whole realm of tests waiting to be done on different mail patterns and filament types.
In any case, the mail holds up fairly well to puncture from scissors and screwdrivers — with a heavy sweater or proper gambeson (a quilted cloth underlayer commonly worn with armor) on underneath, it looks like it could actually protect you. To slashing blows, PLA holds up astoundingly well, barely marked even by slashes from an actual sword. As for projectiles, well, everyone knows that to an arrow, chain mail is made of holes, and this PLA-based armor is no different (as you can see at 8:30 in the video below).
If you want to be really safe when the world goes Mad Max, you’d probably want actual chain mail, perhaps from stainless steel. On the other hand, if someone tries to mug you on the way home from a con, cosplay armor might actually keep you safer than one might first suspect. It’s not great armor, but it’s a great result for homemade plastic armor.
Of course you’d still be better off with Stepahnie Kwolek’s great invention, Kevlar.
I am told that the UK police force have stab-proof and bullet-proof vests available, but each type is ineffective against the opposite type of attack, and they are too bulky to be worn together.
there are combo vests available and they arent massive. The PGD Ultra has 7mm shield sections and offers stab and spike protection while providing threat level IIIA ballistic protection. They only weigh 2.12-4.27kg depending on size
I think in the UK its more a matter of stab vests being lighter more compact cheaper, and generally more often enough protection given the significantly lower number of firearms in criminal hands. Its cheaper to only give bullet resistant vests to special police teams deployed when there is a known firearm threat involved.
The way the guy treats the sword, it’s likely pretty blunt. Also his slash technique is non-existent. You need to actually cut with the last couple of inches. Not hammer the target with the edge, CUT. Imagine cutting a ball hanging by a string with a knife. You’d move the knife to the string and then slide the edge along, increasing the time the string spends with the edge under pressure.
Due to his poor technique, we have learned nothing.
A large portion european weaponry relied more on the axe like blunt chopping effect than razor sharp slicing. Mail isnt particularly susceptible to slicing damage. Your string analogy doesnt fit well. Metal does not cut the way twine does. You generally arent going to saw through chain with a smooth blade no matter how sharp it is.
Right. There is a reason polearms were popular.
I am not trying to say you can slice chainmail. The edge would likely get blunt pretty quickly if you tried, for one. But we did not get see how easy is it to cut the plastic mail. All we’ve seen is that you can pierce it, which of course you can. Hence we do not know if its e.g. better to add more textile layers to the gambeson or to put plastic mail on top.
Which is kinda wasted opportunity. Don’t you think?
“A large portion european weaponry relied more on the axe like blunt chopping effect than razor sharp slicing”
That’s just incorrect, a (weirdly persistent) myth. We know from archeological record that the weapons they used were sharp. Sharp enough to slice through flesh and bone at angles that would deflect blunt blades (like a shallow angle cut on the skull).
When your only tool is a hammer
all the world looks like a skull.
There was a progression.
Crushing to slashing to stabbing to shooting.
Armor was mostly obsolete at ‘advanced stabbing’ stage, speed mattered more.
England has relatively recently banned stabbing weapons.
Soon slashing too, already started with ‘machetes’.
They will see war hammer gangs (of grannies) again.
I see a 6 oz (FREEDOM!) limit for hammers carried in English public, before 2035.
Going to need a hammer license to demo a wall.
‘Nobody needs a splitting axe, much less a maul.’
‘They’re designed to split skulls, right in name!’
I see a great opportunity in your future where you print your own chain mail and then attack it with proper medieval techniques. Remember to take notes and record it. For science.
So, first of all, I do not own a proper sharp sword. It’s roughly $600 if you know a smith and I am not interested enough.
I am quite rusty, but I did spend couple years in the reenactment scene, learning to handle longswords and polearms.
This guy evidently did not.
Anyway, back to electronics for me.
Also, watch this guy instead. Its way more fun: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UC3O6B_K9Us
One man’s “learning to handle” is another man’s “learning to pretend”. Not talking about you, I’m talking about someone else.
Ok, I’m going to be that guy… this is kinda outside our usual danger zones for HaD, so in case anyone thinks this is a bright idea…
I’m a HEMA instructor, so somewhat qualified to speak on this.
This is not proper PPE for fencing, even with blunt weapons. Remember that blunt weapons can and do break, leaving a jagged sharp point, which is where the most serious injuries happen.
Use a proper newton-rated fencing jacket and chest protector, gorget, and mask.
Is it suitable for re-enactment? I’ve no idea, I’m not qualified to speak on that.
Is it helpful if you’re getting hit with a nylon training weapon? Probably not; might absorb some force, but you’ll be better off with a padded jacket and a proper chest protector and gorget.
Is it helpful if you’re being hit with a blunt training steel? No. Will it make you feel safe? Maybe – and that’s dangerous.
Will it help you against a sharp? No more than a leather chest protector, and likely less, especially if the user knows you’ve got this crap on and knows what they’re doing.
“Fencing jacket” implies rules. In the actual H I’d go for legs, arms, and neck. With an impact weapon for backup.
“I touch what is before me and am amply satisfied with the result.”
– Sir Richard Burton, author of Book of the Sword.
My man took a spear through his cheek in Africa way before antibiotics. Unless you can bring Star Fleet in, I’m taking his guidance.
“I’m a HEMA instructor, so somewhat qualified to speak on this.”
Uh, yeah, no. If you haven’t been in a real fight against an adult, you are not. See the elephant.
To me it feels like the Gambeson may have played a big role in how this played out. It would have been interesting if he would have penetrated that alone with the scissors or Screwdriver. By itself, I doubt the mail provides any real protection against a screwdriver.
Given the links didn’t break or really let the improvised weapons through I don’t think the gambeson really changes how well it works very much if at all – this isn’t a big super padded gambeson that really is pretty decent armour in own right and will really absorb and spread out the impact massively over time compared to the regular clothing/bare skin under the ‘mail’.
Would the stl file for this then be… E-mail?
I’ll see myself out.
I tried 3D printing mail but all I got were bills and junk
‘Tis but a scratch!
not sure what the “ancient problem” is?
once again i’m gonna bad mouth PLA. this sort of hobbyist approach to chain mail is perfect for the annual ren faire which means that it’s gonna sit in a closet for 363 days before being taken back out when you’re getting ready for the big day…at which point you’ll discover it’s turned into brittle garbage that falls apart in your hands :)
The ancient problem is getting stabbed; we’ve been doing it to each other since the first hominid picked up a pointy stick, after all. That was explicit in an earlier draft of the first paragraph, but it looks like it got edited out without a corresponding title change.
Looks like a possible basis for a 3D printed conveyor belt to me.
A conveyor is a tank thread upside down. This mail cant be moved properly as it is.
At first I thought that the mail was printed in metal. I’m sure that the plastic won’t survive to a propper mace bashing.
Its an old model, I’ve printed it myself years ago.
Of interest?
https://techxplore.com/news/2025-11-newly-machine-solid-3d.html
https://techxplore.com/news/2025-11-newly-machine-solid-3d.html