Just received my new shipment of rings today. A pound of (18 gauge, 1/4" interior diameter) aluminum rings completely fills my small tackle box that I have set aside for chainmail.
You can see a picture here. A full box of rings will last me about a month, if I remember right, and the total cost with shipping is probably about $35. I say probably because I also bought the pliers you can kinda see on the right, as well as a couple sample packets of rings.
The pliers... I'm not too sure about. I like the idea that they don't have teeth, like my old standard pliers do. Aluminum is so soft, the teeth on the pliers tear up the metal as I'm bending them closed. Not a lot of force is needed to bend the wire, but it's still enough. They also have springs built in, which should make things a little bit easier. With the right grip, springs aren't necessary, but it's nice. On the other hand, the new pliers are about half the size of the old ones, and I have big hands. I'm hoping that's not a problem.
The sample packets are very cool, and I recommend them to anybody interested. One that I picked up has all kinds of metal types and ring/wire sizes. The other has a collection of anodized aluminum rings, with different sizes and kinds of rings, but, more importantly, all the colors available from the site. I have issues really getting a sense of the colors from the pictures on The Ring Lord's site, and this pack has confirmed that I'm gonna have to find some way to weave a design into my mail.
