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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dannyalcatraz" data-source="post: 2898118" data-attributes="member: 19675">There was a National Geographic some years ago that detailed an expedition to do some research on types of pirana...they pointed out that at least one day ended with hooks that had been bitten to pieces. I haven't seen any evidence of the ringmail either, but as for the studded stuff, I was once told by a curator that there are scattered scraps (like hand sized) of things they believe to be studded leather.  Their belief was based upon, among other things, that they couldn't think of another purpose for soft leather to be studded with steel.  They could be wrong, of course.If there was such a thing as ringmail, it was probably similar in characteristics to studded leather- in other words, soft leather with rings of metal, limited in protective value...and thus, just as subject to deterioration.Like the discussion of mercurial swords, such armors would probably be rare anyway...most people who could afford such craftsmanship (nice soft leathers + lots of rivets or rings + time to attach the rivets or rings = expensive to buy) would opt for armors that are more protective.The main advantages to such armors, if they really existed, would be that once bought, they'd be cheap to maintain (if you know a modicum of sewing, etc.) and would be relatively quiet, flexible and compact.  You could, with the proper design, wear such armor under certain clothes without it being uncomfortable.Rob Halford wore a set of studded leathers in concert in Brazil that weighed somewhere around 25lbs, and it didn't slow him down- the only downside he noted was that the hot stage lights actually had their heat transferred to his skin directly by the studs, causing hundreds of tiny burns.</blockquote>

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