Chainmail Hacky Sack?

As spring starts to roll around you may be looking for ideas to get the kids out of the house. You probably have some cabin fever as well. Let me introduce the solution: The Chainmail Hacky Sack from Tangled Metal. It is the most durable hacky sack on the market. It is made from tarnish resistant stainless steel and filled with colorful recycled leather.

It is guaranteed for my entire life. Yes, I plan to be around a very long time. It is the one hacky sack you'll climb on a roof to retrieve. You'd probably even crawl into a storm drain to get it back!

I started making these over 15 years ago for juggling balls. Then one day someone came up and started hacking with it. (Hacking is the act of playing hacky sack. You basically kick it around. It is also called a foot bag or footy bag, who knew?) Ever since that day many years ago I have made them as both!

I now return you to your regularly scheduled program. Have a great day/night/weekend/weekday!

Incense Burner Revisited

The first incense burner sold so quickly I made another one as quickly as I could. This one has an olive green bottle. I will be adding more to my shop soon. This one can be found here:
Incense Burner Wine Bottle Covered In Chainmaille Olive Green

I hope you all have a great weekend.

Chainmail Wine Bottle Incense Burner

I started a new product line this week. Using recycled wine bottles I started making safe and beautiful Chainmail Wine Bottle Incenses Burners. The base model is pictured above but I plan to have some with beads and other embellishments soon including some Steampunk themed ones. When done they will appear in my Etsy shop in the Other Chainmail By Tangled Metal Section.

The first one I made sold a few minutes after I listed it. The base price is $25 and they will go up depending on what I add to them. I just wanted to share this new product with you.

A New Chainmaille Coif From Tangled Metal

I have been making a lot of chainmaille lately and neglecting my blog. The above image is a new galvanized steel trimmed in copper coif with split camail or mantle. It weighs in at around 6 1/2 pounds. That makes it weigh almost as much as the chainmaille from the old days.

Chainmaille has been a passion of mine for over 27 years. I have made a lot of chainmaille in those years and I plan to make a lot more in the future.

Coffee Thoughts On Chainmail

Before coffee every morning I think some pretty random thoughts. My mind has yet to focus on little more than the process of putting the coffee maker on and yet I come up with some pretty spiffy ideas.

Today while setting up the coffee maker I was thinking about a device I am making to cut rings more efficiently. Currently I use a jewelers saw.

It is like a coping saw, only with a much smaller blade. I can buy a machine that will cut my rings for about $500. It uses a circular saw blade connected to a motor to cut rings very fast. Of course, I don't have $5 extra in my pocket today, let alone $500.

I have been building a prototype machine in my head. I have gone through several designs and many failures without ever having to build the machine. I am very lucky in that way. I can do much of the trial and error in my mind without having to build it.

All the basic pieces for the machine are pretty simple and I have been picking them up here and there for a couple of weeks. So far my entire investment is about $25 or $30. I have almost everything I need to build my first working prototype. The most expensive piece is the blade. The blades cost anywhere from $8 to $15 each. The problem is most places have a $50 minimum order.

All and all I figure I will have less than $50 in the machine when I am done building it. It will save me a ton of time when cutting the rings I use to make chainmail. Today, while setting up the coffee pot, I figured out how to build my splash guard for the blade coolant system. Interesting how your mind can work when you have not completely woken up.

Etsy Finds Features My Chainmail

I went to the post office this morning to mail some packages. I just happened to look at  my stats on Etsy before I went. I had 42 views and 5 favorites. That isn't too bad for 11:00am. When I got home, I was still on the stats page so I hit reload. I had 189 views and 19 favorites. That was a huge jump for being away for only an hour.

My stats showed a lot of links from email so I go and look at my email and see that the Etsy Finds Newsletter is in my box. I open it up but I don't see anything until I click the "Click Here To See Complete Message" and low and behold one of my Chainmail Coif's is featured under the Halloween Section.

It is really cool to be featured in an Etsy newsletter. I was featured a while back in the Etsy Wedding newsletter for another one of my coif's. The amount of traffic to my store is very cool. I thought I would share my excitement with all of you. You can click on the picture at the beginning of this post to see the newsletter.

Whistle While You Work!

I have been adding many items to my shop. I am up to 181 listings as of the time I write this post. I am trying to get as many items up as I can to give everyone plenty of choices when the Holiday season rolls around. It won't be long. I have taken pictures of about 25 more items and will be getting those listed this week.

I enjoy making chainmail and Steampunk items. For me it is less like work and more like fun for the most part. It is a good thing to love what you do. Since I have been making chainmail for over 25 years it is often times difficult for me to create new items. I tend to make a lot of what I think is good as well as things that I think will sell.

My wonderful girlfriend, Rachel, brought to my attention that I should make things other than what I think would sell. She gave me some projects to do that will be up in the shop soon. I wanted to ask you what you would like to see me make in chainmail. Leave me a comment with your suggestions. Who know, if you come up with a great new product I might just send you one for the idea.

Christmas Is Coming!

Chainmail Covered Christmas Ornaments On Etsy

Christmas will be here before you know it. I decided to get a little bit of an early start and create some new items for my shop. I am trying to think outside the box and create items with chainmail that are Holiday specific. My first addition are the above chainmail covered Christmas ornaments. I plan to make a few more of these in different sizes as well.

I already have a few chainmail ornaments in mind and will be trying those out this week. I am going to attempt a chainmail wreath in the next few days, we'll see how that turns out. I am going to start working with anodized aluminum rings for chainmail. Actually I already started. I made a few pair of earrings in different colors and they turned out pretty cool so I plan to expand very soon. That should help make Christmas items easier.

Anyhow, I am going to start posting blogs more often here. I know I have been neglecting it lately. I have had a lot on my plate, as always. I am starting to take my own advice and managing my time better.

What are you doing for the Holidays? Got plans?

Meet the Knightly Teddy Bears

Knightly Teddy Bears on Etsy

I used to make these years ago and recently remembered that I did. I guess over the years you sometimes forget some of the things that you have created. I am actually missing a couple of old photo albums with all kinds of stuff that I used to create. Maybe I will find them, in the meantime I have to rely on my mind.

Knightly Teddy Bears on ArtFire

These fun loving bears are wearing custom made suits of chainmail armor. Each one is a little different and very cute. The chainmail is made from aluminum so as not to way down the bears.

These guys range from 6 1/2 inches to 7 1/2 inches. They come in five different colors. If you have a bear that needs a suit of armor let me know and I will give you a quote. I also make armor for other types of dolls and stuffed animals. I will be adding more types of chainmail suited animals soon.

With the holidays coming up these little teddy bears make a perfect gift for kids aged 5 years old to 105 years old. You don't need a holiday to give one of them as a gift. They will certainly brighten anyone's mood. That is it for today's blog post. Let me know what you think!

THE END

Too Hot For Chainmail

As I write this it is currently 108 with a heat index of 112. It is too hot for chainmail, just look at my apprentice in the pic above. But seriously, it is really hot, really, really hot. I do not like it Sam I am.


I moved to the Ozark Mountains because the average summertime temperature was listed as 95. Okay, that is not the reason but it was one reason. This has been the hottest summer on record for Northwest Arkansas. That follows one of the wettest springs on record. I have heard that there is record cold and snow predicted for the winter.


Hey Mother Nature, lighten up will ya? I was born and raised in Texas so hot isn't new to me. I remember the summer of 1980. It was 117 in the shade and there were 41 days when the temperature never dropped below 100. That was hot. It was a heat wave.


I was scheduled to do an outdoor show tomorrow. I opted to stay home and not get sick from setting up a tent and tables and all the chainmail. Just in case you had no idea, it is very difficult to sell jewelry and armor when you get a second degree burn from trying it on. 


Oh well, it is supposed to get over 100 for the next 5 days in a row. I will try not to go out much. I guess I will be working on making more jewelry and armor. It isn't all bad, at least my A/C unit is new and has been keeping up pretty well.


How is the weather where you are?

Tangled Metal Is Giving Away Chainmail!

Tangled Metal's world famous Chainmail Hacky Sack

I decided to do a little giveaway when I reach 250 "Likes" on the Tangled Metal Facebook Page. It isn't a contest because there are no requirements. Once I have 250 people liking the page I will select two people at random to receive a free gift. The winners will be able to choose from the chainmail hacky sack pictured above or a custom pair of chainmail earrings.

If this works out well, I will be doing a giveaway for every 250 fans I get on Facebook. But I need your help to spread the word. At the writing of this blog I am at 223. Please share this info with anyone you might think would like my work.

I have been making chainmail for over 25 years. I love making it. I love coming up with new designs and patterns. I also enjoy making things that I have made over and over again in my 25 years in the craft. Even though the earrings look alike, each one is a little different.

I put a little bit of myself into each and every piece that I create. Some of my designs took many years to perfect. I have stumbled upon new and interesting weaves and designs by accident more than a few times. Someone asked me recently which of the items I was most proud of from everything that I have ever made. I answered them the small scrap of chainmail made from coat hangers from the very first attempt at chainmail. That was over 25 years ago. I look back it it every now and then and think about the amount of time it took to make that small scrap.

Today it would tame me minutes compared to the days it took back then. Anyhow, the reason I wrote this blog was not to revisit the past but to look forward to the future. If you are not already a fan of the Tangled Metal Facebook Page, please take a moment and go "Like" it. If you are already a fan, pass the word on to all your friends. Who knows, you may just get some free chainmail.

Chainmail Is A Nerd's Best Friend

Chainmail Dice Bag by Tangled Metal on Etsy

It is true, I am a nerd. I am geeky. I love Sci-Fi and Fantasy. That is probably the why I started making chainmail in the first place. Only someone who has played Dungeons and Dragons could create the chainmail dice bag in the photo above. Sometimes the nerd in me takes over and there is very little I can do to stop it.

Chainmail Hacky Sack by Tangled Metal on ArtFire

It would seem that chainmail dice bags were not enough for me. I had to go and create a chainmail hacky sack. Now I will not take credit for being the first one to make one. I will however say that before I made my first one I had never seen anyone else make one. I had seen some juggling balls but they were quite a bit larger. About a year after I started selling these at Renaissance Fairs and shops, I started seeing them all the time.

Chainmail Coif With Mantle by Tangled Metal on Etsy

The above picture shows why I really got into making chainmail in the first place. I wanted to make armor for myself. I read The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy and the Hobbit when I was 12 or 13 years old. I wanted to be like the warriors in the books. I wanted to wear armor and wield a sword. I wanted to be like them. It is funny that I ended up the guy who makes the armor and not the guy who wears it.

Something Blue Chainmail Necklace by Tangled Metal on Etsy

As time went on I started making chainmail jewelry. There were many other chainmaillers out there making jewelry but I wanted to set myself apart from them. I started making things that I thought people would like to wear outside of just the Renaissance Fair. I wanted to create items that were everyday wear.

When I was on the Renaissance Fair circuit I would only have about six months with each new design before I started seeing them done by others. This gave me the opportunity to create new designs on a regular basis. I had to stay ahead of the game. And I did for many years.

I retired from the life of being on the road after the events of 9/11. Traveling just did not seem safe to many people and it was evident by the decline of patrons at the Renaissance Fairs. Though I sometimes miss being on the road I am happy to be in one location where I do not have to wear a costume or fake an accent. Being in one place has also made it much easier to create new items and designs.

Steampunk Pendant "Time Lord" by Tangled Metal on Etsy

As seen with this picture I have branched out from Medieval Times to the Victorian and Edwardian era. I guess the nerd in me will never die. Steampunk is my newest love. I take that back. I have always loved Steampunk but it hasn't always had a name. I do enjoy creating the pendants and brooches.

My father is going to retire from being a school teacher next year. He is going to teach me silver smithing. So, I guess I better get to selling some jewelry and armor so that I can afford to buy some silver. I am looking forward to learning a new trade that will help me with my current one.

The Chainmail Hand Flower Blooms At Tangled Metal

Chainmail Hand Flower with Teal Glass Beads from Tangled Metal

I have been making "Hand Flowers" in one form or fashion since the early 90's. Originally I made only metal ones. They were far from feminine and looked more like armor than jewelry. In fact, I called them hand guards back then. It wasn't until my month suggested that I do some with beads that I even considered making jewelry from my armor.

All of the ones I could find pictures of were pretty simple and had very few beads. Most had beads and chains. The closest one to what I make now only had 21 beads. It was made with beads and chains and looked more like a net on the top of the hand. I had been working with Oriental chainmail patterns for a while and decided to try that technique with beads.

There are two distinct Oriental patterns 4-in-1 and 6-in1. Both are much different from the European patterns because they originated from coins linked together by rings. When you lost a coin you replaces it with a ring. Later they realized that rings were just as protective as coins and weighed less. Or so the story goes. Back to hand flowers.

The oriental 6-in-1 looks like a flower and lends itself nicely to a triangular shape. With much trial and error I finally perfected the process. My hand flowers have 30 beads. Many have copied me over the years and I may not be the first to implement a 30 bead hand flower but I did come up with it on my own. The teal glass bead one above was featured in a treasury that put me on the front page of Etsy.

With the high price of silver and gold these days I work primarily in stainless steel. I do, however, love to work in sterling and gold. So, if you so desire it and do not mind paying the added cost, I can make one for you in a precious metal. I also love to work with stone and gemstone beads on my hand flowers. Let me know what you like and I can surely make it for you.

For more information and to view some of the other color hand flowers I create visit my Chainmail Bracelet Section of my Etsy Shop:

Chainmail Bracelet Section of Tangled Metal's Etsy Shop

Thanks for stopping by and reading my latest blog post. I am always open to suggestions for my next blog, questions and comments and general feedback. If you have something to say, leave me a comment.

Working On Descriptions For My Chainmail Jewelry

From my Chainmail Necklace Section On Etsy

It would seem that my descriptions have been far from descriptive in my Etsy Shop. It was recently pointed out to me that I should be more captivating with my descriptions. I should tell everyone why they should buy my items. So yesterday and today I have been working on rewriting all the descriptions in my shop.

I decided to start with the items that are not selling very well at the moment, the necklace section. In addition to rewriting descriptions, I am also giving the titles and keywords a makeover. It is almost as time consuming as the original listing process but I think it will be helpful to me.

Though Etsy is currently in beta testing for Google Product Search and I am not one of the lucky beta testers, I feel confidant that when my items finally do make it to the database that people will be able to more easily find the items I create.

If you have a moment or two please visit my Etsy Shop and let me know what you think about the new descriptions and titles. I really would like to hear your comments, suggestions or whatever you have to say. Leave me a comment or send an email to eric@TangledMetal.com

Art Show Tomorrow, Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Tangled Metal Showing Art at First Thursday Fayetteville, Arkansas

Tomorrow I will be showing my art and jewelry at a local art show in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Each first Thursday of the month from April until December they block off the streets on the square in Fayetteville.  Local and regional artists set up from 4:00pm until 8:00pm and show their wares.

I was there last month and I was accepted to come back again this month. It was a lot of fun even if I did not make much money last month. Hopefully this month will be better for me. Everything from fine art to, well, chainmail, can be found on the square.

Last year they only closed one of the streets off, but because of such a great turnout, this year they have closed off one of the adjacent streets. Maybe in the next couple of years the entire square will be blocked off and full of artists. The Fayetteville, Arkansas square plays host to the Farmer's Market every Saturday morning as well.

Next weekend I will be showing my art as part of Eureka Springs May Festival of the Arts. 13 lucky artists were chosen this year and I was one of them. Look for the my blog on the show early next week.If you find yourself in North West Arkansas tomorrow, stop by my booth and say hello. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to let me know.

101 Items Listed In My Etsy Shop!

Today I listed item number 101 to my Etsy Shop! That is a pretty huge accomplishment for me. Chainmail takes a lot of time to make. You have to close every single link, and some items have over 500 rings in them. It takes time and patience.

Wine Bottle Charms

These Wine Glass Charms were made from stainless steel jump rings and glass beads. I sell them in sets of six charms. These would be great for a wedding reception or a party. The jump rings are very small and take a long time to make anything with them. I have several other items in my shop made from these really small rings as well.

The Absinthe Machine by Tangled Metal

I also have several Steampunk items that I create that are one of a kind. These take a lot of time simply because I want each and every one to be unique."The Absinthe Machine" featured in the image to the left is created using recycled watch parts and glass beads. There will never be another one like it. I am not sure sometimes what inspires me, but in this case it was the green absinthe colored glass beads.

Aqua Water Clock by Tangled Metal

"Aqua Water Clock" is a pendant I created using recycled watch parts and a teal or aqua glass bead. The brass and steel really offset one another on this uniqu one of a kind brooch or pin. It would look great on a top hat. The brooches are quite fun to make and are really different than most people make.



As you can see I have been very busy. To celebrate my latest accomplishment, every  order placed in my Tangled Metal Etsy Shop in May will receive a free gift. It may be a pair of earrings to match what you bought or a key ring for your keys. It will be a surprise. The only thing I will say is that it will be handmade by yours truly.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog today. I really like comments and suggestions so feel free to leave your mark.

Vote For Tangled Metal

Click on image to be taken to the page

I awoke to a great honor in my inbox yesterday. I was chosen to be in Linda B's Top Etsy Finds Favorite contest. People vote on several contestants and whoever wins gets a personal interview featured on her blog. As of the writing of this blog my Blue Chainmail Necklace is in the front running.

The competition is strong but I think that I have a real shot at winning. That is with your help. Please go to Linda B's Blog and vote for my necklace. Then if you would, leave a comment for Linda B letting her know how awesome her blog is.

I Was Featured In A Front Page Treasury On Etsy!

Tangled Metal featured on Etsy Front Page Treasury

Early this morning I received a message on Etsy congratulating me for having an item featured on the front page of Etsy. I was pretty shocked. Very happily shocked. These hand picked Treasuries only stay on the front page for an hour but it gives everyone in the Treasury a lot of exposure.

I ended up with about 250 views to the hand flower and  couple of dozen "heats" to my shop. Having only have had a shop for a little over a month on Etsy and having nine sales and a front page Treasury listing one of my items gives me much hope for actually making a living doing my art. Which is a great thing since I was laid off from my day job on Thursday of this past week.

Tangled Metal Is Now On Art Fire

Tangled Metal on Art Fire

They say that if you want to sell an item you have to get the item in front of the person who wants to buy it. Because of that I have opened an Art Fire Shop. This is one of the alternatives to Etsy Shops. There are quite a few differences between the two.

Art Fire has one major difference that I do like, you do not have to sign up for an account to purchase an item. This is great for people that do not feel like creating an account on Etsy. I know this can be a drawback to some people. I do not want to offend anyone by not making my items easy to purchase.

Some people don't know that you do not have to set up a PayPal account to use their services either. This is something that is a pretty popular misconception. Though it is way more convenient in the long run to open an account, there is the option to just purchase with a credit card without opening an account. If you run a shop you may want to add that to your description as it might help a little.

Anyhow, if you have time, have time, have a look at my Art Fire Shop and let me know what you think. Also, I am still working on my website at http://www.TangledMetal.com and would really love some feedback on that as well. As always, thanks for stopping by.

Chainmail Wine Bottle Cozy

Chainmail Wine Bottle Cozy

Someone asked me once what could I make with chainmail that was not armor or jewelry. I thought about it for some time and came up with a lot of ideas. I created my first chainmail wine bottle cover or cozy sometime around 1999. I cannot for the life of me remember which Renaissance Fair I was at.

I remember pricing it somewhere around $45.00 and selling it within two hours of putting it out for sale in my booth. It took me a couple of hours on the very first one, but I eventually became fast enough to make one in about 30 minutes or so. I have made hundreds of these. I currently sell them for $62.00 because of inflation in material cost and increased shipping cost for the material.

If you are interested in purchasing one, you can find them on my Etsy shop: Chainmail Wine Bottle Cozy You'll find many other items in my shop that are neither armor nor jewelry. After over 25 years of making chainmail I have come up with more than a few cool items. I also do a lot of custom work if you are interested.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them here or send me an e-mail. Thanks for stopping by.