PREPARING FOR THE APOCALYPSE: Getcher Roman Lorica Segmentata right here. My friends and I made these — hand-riveted — back when I was in high school. I wish I still had mine.

Also, “Battle Ready” chain mail. “This armor will protect the body from swords, knives, daggers, impacts, and projectiles. It is real and ready for combat.”

UPDATE: A reader emails: “I’d like to point out that the chainmail you linked to today is vastly overrated in protective capability. Those galvanized steel rings are butted, not riveted, so they’ll come apart under force. Additionally, any serious high-velocity projectile will just turn little wire rings like this into shrapnel. If you want chainmail with any sort of real protective capacity you’ll need low aspect ratio spring stainless rings or riveted rings, but no chainmail is bulletproof.”

Yes, traditional chainmail was riveted, which is what made it so labor-intensive. I remember talking to an armorer at a renaissance faire who told me he put about 1000 hours into a mail shirt.