Editing Chain mail (section)

==Modern uses==

===Practical uses===
[[File:Neptunic shark suit 1.jpg|thumb|upright|Neptunic shark suit]]
Mail is used as protective clothing for butchers against meat-packing equipment. Workers may wear up to {{Convert|8.8|lb|kg|order=flip|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} of mail under their white coats.<ref>{{cite magazine
 |url         = https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/fast-food-nation-part-two-meat-and-potatoes-72936/
 |title       = Fast-Food Nation: Meat and Potatoes
 |access-date  = 2020-11-19
 |last        = Schlosser
 |first       = Eric
 |author-link  = Eric Schlosser
 |date        = September 3, 1998
 |magazine        = Rolling Stone
 |issue       = 794
}}</ref> Butchers also commonly wear a single mail glove to protect themselves from self-inflicted injury while cutting meat, as do many oyster shuckers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cocklesandmussels.com/oyster-shucking-gloves/|title = Oyster Shucking Gloves: The Pros Wear them &#91;and you should too&#93;|date = 26 December 2017}}</ref>

Scuba divers sometimes use mail to protect them from sharkbite, as do animal control officers for protection against the animals they handle. In 1980, marine biologist Jeremiah Sullivan patented his design for Neptunic full coverage chain mail shark resistant suits which he had developed for close encounters with [[sharks]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/chainmail-metal-spikes-and-unbreakable-material-can-we-design-a-shark-proof-wetsuit-27310741/|title = Chainmail, Metal Spikes and Unbreakable Material: Can We Design a 'Shark-Proof' Wetsuit?}}</ref>
Shark expert and underwater filmmaker [[Valerie Taylor (diver)|Valerie Taylor]] was among the first to develop and test [[shark suit]]s in 1979 while diving with sharks.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Stainless steel chainmail diving suit worn by Valerie Taylor|url=http://collections.anmm.gov.au/objects/137378/stainless-steel-chainmail-diving-suit-worn-by-valerie-taylor;jsessionid=BCB542BB1F6CB3CF67338B6781D8E65D|access-date=2020-10-29|website=collections.anmm.gov.au|language=en}}</ref>

Mail is widely used in industrial settings as shrapnel guards and splash guards in metal working operations.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}

Electrical applications for mail include RF leakage testing and being worn as a [[Faraday cage]] suit by tesla coil enthusiasts and high voltage electrical workers.<ref>{{cite AV media|people=Douglas, David (director)|publisher=Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum|title=Straight Up: Helicopters in Action|date=2002}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Blake|first=Terry|title=Dr Zeus - Testing of HV Suit w Twin Musical Tesla Coils|url=http://www.dr-zeus.com/|work=Daily Planet Segment 2008|publisher=Discovery Channel|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110829073945/http://www.dr-zeus.com/|archive-date=2011-08-29|access-date=2011-08-20}}</ref>

====Stab-proof vests====
{{main|Stab vest}}

Conventional textile-based ballistic vests are designed to stop soft-nosed bullets but offer little defense from knife attacks. Knife-resistant armour is designed to defend against knife attacks; some of these use layers of metal plates, mail and metallic wires.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=FMgpdulJsGgC&pg=PA368 Illustrated Directory of Special Forces, Ray Bonds, David Miller, Zenith Imprint, 2003 p. 368] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160506124655/https://books.google.com/books?id=FMgpdulJsGgC&pg=PA368&dq=chainmail+stab+proof+vest&hl=en&ei=5l2hTay4PIqWtwfj1qCeAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CE4Q6AEwAzgU |date=2016-05-06 }}</ref>

===Historical re-enactment===
[[File:Roman soldier 175 aC in northern province.jpg|thumb|upright|Roman soldier 175 A.D. from a northern province (re-enactment).]]
Many [[historical reenactment]] groups, especially those whose focus is [[Ancient history|Antiquity]] or the [[Middle Ages]], commonly use mail both as practical armour and for costuming. Mail is especially popular amongst those groups which use steel weapons.

One of the drawbacks of mail is the uneven weight distribution; the stress falls mainly on shoulders. Weight can be better distributed by wearing a belt over the mail, which provides another point of support.<ref>{{Cite web|last=magpie|title=Wearing Chainmail|url=http://birdsbeforethestorm.net/2015/08/wearing-chainmail/|access-date=2020-09-29|website=Birds Before the Storm|date=29 August 2015 |language=en-US}}</ref>

Mail worn today for re-enactment and recreational use can be made in a variety of styles and materials. Most recreational mail today is made of butted links which are galvanised or stainless steel. This is historically inaccurate but is much less expensive to procure and especially to maintain than historically accurate reproductions. Mail can also be made of titanium, aluminium, bronze, or copper. Riveted mail offers significantly better protection ability as well as historical accuracy than mail constructed with butted links. Japanese mail (''kusari'') is one of the few historically correct examples of mail being constructed with such ''butted links''.<ref name=b1/>

===Decorative uses===
[[File:Major's shoulder chains.JPG|thumb|Major's shoulder chains]]
[[File:ChainMaille Dragon's Back Bracelet or Roundmaille Weave.jpg|upright|thumb|A modern example of the use of ''mail'', a bracelet using the ''Dragonback Weave'']]
Mail remained in use as a decorative and possibly high-status symbol with military overtones long after its practical usefulness had passed. It was frequently used for the [[epaulette]]s of military uniforms. It is still used in this form by some regiments of the [[British Army]].

Mail has applications in sculpture and jewellery, especially when made out of precious metals or colourful [[anodizing|anodized]] metals. Mail artwork includes headdresses, decorative wall hangings, ornaments, chess sets, macramé, and jewelry. For these non-traditional applications, hundreds of patterns (commonly referred to as "weaves") have been invented.<ref>[http://rescyou.deviantart.com/gallery/ DeviantArt.com]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090619085702/http://rescyou.deviantart.com/gallery/ |date=2009-06-19 }}</ref>

Large-linked mail is occasionally used as BDSM clothing material, with the large links intended for fetishistic purposes.