I have the utmost respect for the craftsman capable of making things with their own hands. Manual work, something that has become obsolete and unprofitable, yet there is some Beauty in it unparalleled in modern production. Beauty found as much in the final product as in the process of creating. Blacksmiths, woodworkers, badgers, basket weavers, …, all the dying crafts. Sometimes it seems to me that we have forgotten more than we know.

There are channels on YouTube, where you can see videos with the masters of the crafts, doing their magic, for the sake of preserving the Knowledge and skill. I was so fascinated with some of them, that I spent hours just watching how people work. Just watching could make you believe that it is nothing special, and that anyone can do it. Not so! Nothing is as easy as it may seem.  Then again, nothing is so hard that you should not try it. Only by trying you could find out what it is like. Just when you have tried to do what craftsmen are doing, you can fully appreciate their skill and knowledge.

I have managed to do just some of the things that I found Interesting. But my hunger for the new; or in this case rather old knowledge is still insatiable. There is always a matter of finance, or time or space needed to practice something new.

Some years ago, I have been all wrapped up into doing chainmail. It is something that doesn’t require a crazy amount of money or many tools to start with. A pair of pliers, some cutters, screwdriver and a wire, and you are in business. Making coils, cutting it into jump rings, and connecting them into patterns can be a time consuming though. But the results are worth the effort.

Here is a sheet of chainmaile made in a hexagonal pattern. Rings are pretty small, and you can see that they are cut rather coarsely.

But when you take it in a hand it feels like some kind of hard fabric. The picture below shows the same sheet, rolled into a roll. It’s just that pliable.

The following picture shows a chainmaile shirt, European 6 in 1 pattern. It is so dense and heavy, jet it follows the contours of the body.

That is the largest piece of work that I did, and I don’t think that I would start something as large as this ever again. On the other hand it was an interesting project, and I learned a lot.

If anyone want’s to try working chainmaile, there are a lot of smaller pieces that could be interesting too. Ropes, chains and jewelry are ideal for the start. For example, this is a bracelet made in Persian pattern.

And this is one made in half Persian pattern. It is not one of my best of work, but is the only one left, since I have given away all the one looking better. It is one of my favorite patterns.

Last but not least, is this one. It is made in such a fashion that it forms a ball, only it is chainmaille and can’t keep the form all by itself. Inside is a small balloon to keep it “inflated” into the shape of the ball.