-- Posted by shiftyswitchblade on 10:51 pm on April 3, 2002 does any of you have an idea on how to make body armor? kinda on a budget and would like it to stop a knive. thanks -- Posted by Badassmf on 11:33 pm on April 3, 2002 just make a shirt out of polycarbanite its cheap and it is the same shit they make bullet proof glass out of -- Posted by TheAnarchist on 1:38 pm on April 4, 2002 Im interested in this...how would you make a shirt out of polycarbanite er whatever...would you pour it on or what..not to sound stupid but would if work just like on BLANKMAN that movie with the bullet proof cape and stuff -- Posted by shiftyswitchblade on 2:57 pm on April 4, 2002 were would you buy that stuff and have you done it -- Posted by Darkie on 4:58 pm on April 4, 2002 I have made this and it works great for paintball, fighting, and knife armor. Buy a life vest, like for boats. And get some strong nylon cloth, like what the use for back packs. Using a solder iron or real hot hot glue gun burn the nylon, around the edges onto the vest. It is very effective and absorbs some of the blow too. -- Posted by Badassmf on 5:48 pm on April 4, 2002 buy it at hardware stores in sheets at least 1/4" thick and to answer if it works my dad tryed cutting this shit on a tablesaw it stopped a carbide blade and blew a fuse so it will stop a knife just cut chunks out of it and attach the shit to a undershirt -- Posted by Incesticide on 8:20 pm on April 4, 2002 Since your on a budget this propably isnt something you would prefer, but i was at this site and they were selling ringmail (that ringed metal type suits). The shirt made of ringmail was $40 and so was the pants. I would have to find the site but you could probably find it in a internet search engine.   This shit would easily stop a blade and would probably dent it. a knife would be usless aginst you. But the shit is pretty heavy :( (Edited by Incesticide at 8:23 pm on April 4, 2002) -- Posted by Incesticide on 8:22 pm on April 4, 2002 and a normal shirt will fit over the ringmail so it wont look so obvious that you got it on (Edited by Incesticide at 8:25 pm on April 4, 2002) -- Posted by Badassmf on 8:44 pm on April 4, 2002 its called chainmail and is worthless if they stab u with a knife with a ice pick point -- Posted by johnny 99 on 12:17 am on April 5, 2002 Actually, ring mail is a very good solution for you. and it's very easy to make . It just takes a shitload of free time! I have a chainmail jacket that I made several years ago for the SCA out of coathanger wire that will stop a broadhead arrow at close range from both my 60 lb bow, and my 150 lb crossbow.  Although it still hurts like a bitch to get stabbed with it on. And no it's not effective against an ice pick. Also badassmf the reason the plastic stopped the saw blade is because it melts and creates drag. A knife is a little bit different story, even police body armor is not completely immune to a knife. -- Posted by Badassmf on 5:15 pm on April 5, 2002 point taken but a 1/2" thick sheet of this will stop a 45. at close range so i think it will stop a knife -- Posted by paladinpress on 9:31 pm on April 5, 2002 Old music stand is what we would use for ampgaurd, -- Posted by BoOnDoCk SaInT on 10:34 pm on April 5, 2002 badassmf.... a knife, and a gun are two different weapons with seperate physics to each one. Its hard to explain as im no physics teacher, but while a vest may stop a bullet at close range, a knife will just peirce right through it. Get a sandbag, punch it, the sand absorbs your hit. Get a knife and stab it... and you will see what i mean. -- Posted by Badassmf on 10:42 pm on April 5, 2002 let me explain a average 45. at close range has about 2000 ft lbs of energy behind it if the plastic stops that then a knife will never pierce it -- Posted by Darkie on 1:01 am on April 6, 2002 I have never heard of armor that can stop a bullet bt not a knife. I have heard of ice picks defeating them, but that is NOT because the pick pierced the plastic, but because it sperated the strands or fibers enough to fit through. -- Posted by mrjingles on 9:23 am on April 6, 2002 i heard this from somewhere i dunno where but any way i heard like johnny 99 sed that police armour and bullet proof vests arnt 100% knife proof, there designed to stop bullets not knifes and like someone sed different physics and shit... -- Posted by logan on 10:10 am on April 6, 2002 Quote: from Darkie on 1:01 am on April 6, 2002 I have never heard of armor that can stop a bullet bt not a knife. I have heard of ice picks defeating them, but that is NOT because the pick pierced the plastic, but because it sperated the strands or fibers enough to fit through. ~ sorry friend, but stoping a bullet, and stoping a knife are two different things, the grain in kevlar, is designed to soften the blow from a bullet. when the bullet hits, it spreds out, when a knife hits, the blade can easly perce most any normal material, even kevlar. The way police stop bullets, and knifes, is a kevlar vest, with a lead and other metal alloy. like BoOnDoCk SaInT said, their two different things. it's not about how much power, or speed, or whatever. take it from a fired, corupped cop, that is exstremly experinced in pyrotechnics.                        ~Peace~ -- Posted by headcase on 12:33 pm on April 6, 2002 The best defence in a knife fight is a gun :). But if you can't get a gun buy something bigger than a knife, like a sword. Can't get that then a baseball bat, cricket bat, or even a big stick. Or a board with a nail in it. If someone can't reach you they can't hurt you. -- Posted by johnny 99 on 12:38 pm on April 6, 2002 First of al, I would like to apologize. I never meant to imply that the plastic would not work as knife armor, It will probably work quite well.  As to a 1/2 inch sheet stopping a 45, It would depend on what kind of ammunition you use. a round that is designed to agressively expand to provide stopping power would probably not penetrate. However any type of AP round FMJ, steelcore, etc. will quite handily pass right through. Yes, "bullet proof glass" is usually plastic. But it is in layers with a backing sanwitched in between that holds the layers together and dissipates the energy of the round. As for the Physics of a knife vs. pistol round. Consider that a 45 slug is almost 1/2 inch in diameter. and depends on speed to generate it's energy at the point of impact. Anything that reduces that speed, reduces the amount of energy delivered. Which is how soft body armor works. A knife on the other hand depends on a very small area ( the actual point or edge) of the blade in contact with the target to amplify the transmitted force in a wedging action. Now I weigh 220 lbs, If I just lean all my weight on the knife with the point shoved into the target, I am applying 220 lbs of force to an area not much larger than this period .  This energy transfer is not dependant on speed as the bullet is, so that gradually slowing an dissipating the energy becomes much less effective. There are of course many other factors that influence both the knife and bullets penetration, However this is the general idea.                                                                               P.S. I'll post how to make the chainmail a bit later. THANKS!   -- Posted by johnny 99 on 5:38 am on April 7, 2002 OK, here is a site that tells you ow to make chain mail. http://homepage.mac.nemrac/guide.html If you want the super cheep version, ie. free. Then just beg,borrow,or steal every metal coat hanger that you can lay hands on. hand wind them on 1/2 inch stick. 3/8 would be stronger but it's a bitch to wind. you can cut athe links with sidecutters. The rest is the same. An added advantage to the hand method is that by the time your done, you should be able to rip the bumper off a 53 buick with your bare hands!!! -- Posted by chroniccrescent on 6:31 am on April 7, 2002 Does anyone know a site for getting real Kevlar Vests instead of this kiddie chainmail shit? -- Posted by impulse on 1:42 am on April 8, 2002 Chainmail was made during medieval times, even then its main weakness was a dirk, a one-sided blade meant for stabbing. They were actually specially made to do this. Chainmail is just a series of rings(not exactly a ring, that would be ringmail, but its a small metal circular piece) attached together to make a piece of clothing, a heavy piece at that. You're wearing a big mass of metal, wearing this as pants, a shirt, etc.. its going to weigh you down.. That could be kind of annoying.. Might even be an exercise though, lol.. Anyway, chainmail wouldn't be very effective to stabbing 'cuz whatever it is can get through the rings, but it wouldn't go very far in as the knife slowly widens out. It would give you a small piercing, highly doubtfully to kill you. Icepicks.. I'm thinking they wouldn't smoothly go in either but they'd work better than a knife, but who the hell carries around an icepick over a knife anyway? As for gunshots, I don't think it would work very well as it would probably push the metal rings into your body. It probably would overall help, but not as much as a kelvar vest or anything. Your real enemy in chainmail.. I would imagine.. would be a blunt object. Whether it be just because the metal isn't going to help you at all or the fact that it can slam jagged metal broken pieces of rings into your torso, its going to hurt like hell. If you see someone with a bat, you're screwed, and the extra weight isn't going to help you run away. Of course you could always whip out that conviently placed 9mm on your ankle or whatever. =) But then why wear chainmail at all? -- Posted by impulse on 1:45 am on April 8, 2002 What I would suggest is that you follow the design of some kind of shinguard. They're pretty much the only type of modern day armor, and they do design themselves to withstand blunt damage, metal cleats(howeveri ts spelled), etc.. I have a pair that have a basic padding, then a plastic layer about half an inch above the padding. The force exerted on the plastic is focused on the normal soft padding equally, so you don't feel much. This is probably extremely effective against a knife 'cuz it would just scrape the plastic and leave you unharmed, but if they whip out that gun I don't think it would help you much. Still, most people aren't willing to face 20 years to life or whatever their policy is on that shit. This uprisen plastic would 1) be much much lighter and 2) wouldn't be too bulky, its probably your best bet if you can make something like it. -- Posted by headcase on 4:03 pm on April 8, 2002 That wouldn't work for obvious reasons.     http://www.bombshock.com