Definition of Comparison Terms

• Hypoallergenic: By our definition this means that if you wore it as an earwire you shouldn't react - i.e. swell up. It is unlikely that you will react to a metal in the form of a necklace or bracelet - even if you would react to it as a piercing. Most people who are 'allergic' to metal react to nickel. I also didn't recommend anything that can be dirty as hypoallergenic. I'll use myself (Bernice) as a good example for this term. I can't wear any metals except titanium, gold and niobium as piercings. I can't even wear silver - as it corrodes and I react. I CAN wear every metal as a bracelet, necklace belt etc without any issues.
  
• Will Tarnish / Change Color Over Time: This property both describes if a material corrodes (rusts) and if a surface finish will change.
  
• Cleanliness: This property describes how clean a material is while handling - this covers both while wearing and while weaving the rings. It is important to note that ALL materials when worn for a period of time like necklace will gather dirt on the skin under them. This is not rub off. It is also important to note that some products from us are not washed before packaging and may have cutting lube on them. All of our saw cut rings are ultrasonically cleaned and they are as clean as they can get. For scales, machine cut rings and wire this means cutting lube can be left on the product and that can make your hands dirty while handling. All materials we sell can be washed in hot soapy water like doing dishes. You may choose to do this before using the product or after you have made the final piece. This property is mainly used to discuss the result - after any cutting lube is off of a product - how clean can it get?
  
• Cost per Ring: This is a simple comparative of the cost of each of the materials.
  
• Most Appropriately used as?: If you want to make a sterling silver and niobium hauberk I will not stand in your way! It will be amazing and I want to see pics! If you want to make a galvanized steel wedding dress however we need to chat… For the most part certain materials are best used for certain applications. This recommendation is really a guideline based on all of the qualities of the metals. For example enameled copper is soft and the color tones very even - this means it is best for jewelry but it would be very difficult to make it look like high end jewelry.
  
• Pairing Suggestions: Similar to wine - some materials go well together. This is similar to the "Most Appropriately used as?" property - it is also a subjective opinion based on all the properties of the metals. You may disagree and create a masterpiece, but for the most part this guide suggests what materials look and play well together. For example: If you want a bracelet in silver and color - pairing niobium with sterling make a beautiful piece of art. If you choose enameled copper and sterling you may find the colors are not quite suited for the high end silver look.
  
• Bendability/Workability: This property describes how hard the material is to bend and how much it springs back. Ratings are relative, the real workability of a ring will depend on the ring size used. For example in the same material, a large ring make from thin wire will be much easier to bend than a small ring made from thick wire. To word this another way a large AR ring is easier to bend than a low AR ring in the same material. You can also compare across materials too - a large AR hard to bend material may take the same effort as a low AR softer material. Stainless 16g 1/2" is as easy/hard to close as bright aluminum 16g 3/16". Please see the picture below to illustrate the relative bendability of materials if the rings are all the same size.
  PLEASE NOTE: Image will not show on small screens due to mobile compatibility - click to see image.
  
  
  
  
• Saw Cut-ability: This property basically comments on how easy it is to saw cut this material. Harder materials require special low speeds, some materials gum up a blade. This is not a complete discussion of this subject - just a general loose guide.
  
• TRL Alloy: This is the alloy used for the most part by TheRingLord. We may from time to time get a special deal on a similar alloy. In most cases this would be noted in the product description. We choose our alloys carefully as a balance of appropriate characteristics for maille and cost. What is an alloy? Definition - A homogeneous mixture or solid solution of two or more metals. Eg Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. Basically the alloy defines what is in the metal. The alloy controls the resistance to corrosion and the color. Together with the temper the alloy also affects the strength and workability of the material. The alloy defines the price of the material - using non-standard alloys is very expensive. Specific alloys have standard names. For example alloy C510 defines a specific bronze material. There are many types of bronze and each has slightly different properties.
  
• TRL Temper: This shows the temper used. What is Temper? No its not how mad we get making the rings :) Definition - To harden or strengthen by heating and cooling. The temper is extremely important. Have you heard "copper is too soft to make chain mail"? This is because most copper wire is used for electrical wiring and is a dead soft temper. You can take the same copper and temper it into wire that is excellent for chain mail. You can have copper chainmail that is as strong as titanium chainmail if the copper is a hard temper and the titanium is dead soft temper. In the wire industry the temper is defined by certain heat treating numbers. For the chainmailer it is enough to use the following terms (from softest to hardest): dead soft, 1/4 hard, 1/2 hard, full hard, spring temper. The harder the temper the stronger, springier and more brittle the wire. Soft tempers are weaker but will bend instead of breaking. Hard tempers are stronger but more difficult to work with and are subject to breaking. It is important to select tempers that maintain a balance between workability and strength. This temper is different for each metal. A 1/2 hard silver is much easier to bend than a 1/2 hard stainless would be.
  
• Weight Relative to Steel: Each metal has a different density and is therefore heavier or lighter for a given size ring. We chose to discuss this by comparing everything to the weight of steel.
  
• Magnetic?: Only iron alloys are magnetic - but some are not magnetic or only slightly magnetic. You can use this info to help you sort or identify rings if you accidentally mix them.
  
• Aspect Ratio for Armor Strength Maille: You can find a discussion of the term AR at this link. As we've stated how hard a ring is to bend (strength) depends on the material, the wire size and the inside diameter. See details under "Bendability/Workability". What we term "Armor Strength" is a subjective rating based on how well the rings when woven in to European 4-1 would hold up to being hit by a blunt weapon - think SCA heavy fighting. If you need another type of armor this is not what we're discussing here. For example stab proof armor might involve welding the rings and making it from thinner wire. We gave each material a thinnest gauge at which we we call it worthy of the being called "armor" and a largest aspect ratio at which the ring is strong enough to be called armor. For example ">=14g AR<5" means 14g and fatter wire in an aspect ratio no larger than 5.
  
• Cleaning: The comments under cleaning are intended to assist you in making the finished product as clean as possible. Some materials will tarnish and can be freshened up. Others may just have cutting lube on them as discussed under 'cleanliness'; You can tumble with clean dry walnut and it will clean the rings - this is like taking a cloth and wiping them.
  
• Shining: The comments under shining are intended to assist you in making the finished product as shiny as possible. Some materials can only get as shiny as the material starts. So if stainless steel rings are the color of a kitchen sink - getting them to a mirror finish is a super amount of work. The scope of this isn't covered here. General notes on getting them shinier are only listed. The most common method of shining a material is to tumble it with appropriate tumbling media. A popular choice is crushed walnut shell - this is sold as bird bedding at pet stores. Please note that some batches of rings in some materials can appear shinier than others - a tighter ring might look less shiny that a looser ring. If you need to make them the same, tumbling them is about your only option.