Jack chains? WTF are jack chains? Good question, and don't feel bad if you hadn't heard of them before - I've been pretty armor-savvy for decades, and I hadn't heard of jack chains up until a couple of years ago (we can blame "oooh, look, nice shiny engraved armour!" museum displays if you like - I know I do.)

Anyway, what's a jack chain? This (not shiny) museum display may help:

Get it? Got it. Good.

Jack chains were an important part of the protective equipment of the fifteenth century infantry soldier who, typically, was not dressed in plate armor but wore a padded arming jacket (“jack”) to protect his upper body. The arming jack was quite effective in protecting the torso but left the arms vulnerable to slashing sword cuts. A severe dislike of slashing sword cuts led to the development of “jack chains”, which were simply multi-jointed steel strips sewn to the outside of the sleeves of the jacket from the shoulder to the wrist, and which often incorporated a dished plate to cover the outside of the elbow. Modern studies have indicated that jack chains prevented up to 80% of slashing sword cut arm injuries. These 14 gauge steel jack chains are an excellent companion for the GDFB arming jack - white, the GDFB arming jack - black, or the GDFB deluxe arming jack (which comes with ready-to-tie-arming points - just tie 'em on!)

length: 25 1/2" overall

shoulder cop: 6"

bars: 6"

elbow cop: 3 1/2"

rings: 1 1/4" inner diameter

steel type: 14 gauge mild

weight: ~1 lb 6.6 oz each

