What is the difference between chainmail and knitted mesh?

Chainmail is made from many individual metal rings, each linked through its neighbours — the armour construction. Knitted wire mesh is made from one continuous fine wire looped like knitting yarn, so there are no separate rings at all. Chainmail is heavier and pours like liquid; knitted mesh is lighter, more sheer, and stretches slightly like fabric.

What kind of mesh is a Whiting & Davis bag?

Classic Whiting & Davis bags use stamped-plate ring mesh: thousands of tiny metal plates, each joined to its neighbours by small wire links. From a distance it reads as a smooth metal fabric, but it is neither true chainmail nor knitted wire — it is its own construction, with a flatter surface and a distinctive fluid drape.

Is chainmail or knitted mesh stronger?

Both are strong for the same reason: load is shared across thousands of small connections instead of one seam. Chainmail rings are individually thicker, so it resists abrasion well; knitted mesh distributes stretch through its loops, so it flexes rather than fights. For a bag carrying everyday weight, either construction is more than strong enough.

Which type of metal mesh bag should I choose?

Neither is better — they feel different. Choose chainmail or ring mesh if you want weight, drape and a bright, opaque surface. Choose knitted wire if you want something almost weightless, semi-transparent, and quieter, with a hand-feel closer to knitted fabric than to armour. It comes down to how you want metal to behave.

chainmail vs knitted mesh

A plain-English guide from preon.store.

"Metal mesh bag" covers at least three different constructions, and they feel nothing alike in the hand. Chainmail links individual rings. Ring mesh — the Whiting & Davis kind — joins tiny stamped plates on wire. Knitted mesh loops one continuous wire like yarn. This guide explains how each is made and how they differ in drape, weight, sound and repair, so the names stop being interchangeable.

Chainmail — linked rings

Chainmail is the armour construction: individual metal rings, each passed through its neighbours and closed, thousands of times over. Because every ring is a separate piece, the structure has no grain — it pours in any direction, which is the liquid drape that made Paco Rabanne's 1960s metal dresses possible and that modern crystal mesh bags trade on. It is the heaviest of the three, it moves with a soft metallic rush, and its surface is fully opaque.

Ring mesh — plates on links

The classic American mesh purse looks like chainmail from a distance but is not. Whiting & Davis stamped-plate mesh is thousands of tiny flat plates, each hooked to its neighbours by small wire links — which is why those bags have a smooth, almost scaled surface that could be enamelled or printed with patterns. It drapes fluidly, sits between the other two in weight, and is the construction behind most vintage mesh purses you will find secondhand.

Knitted wire — one continuous thread

Knitted mesh takes a different route entirely. Instead of joining separate pieces, one continuous fine wire is looped through itself exactly as yarn is knitted, so the finished mesh is a single uninterrupted thread. The result behaves like fabric: it stretches slightly, crushes in the hand and springs back, and because the wire is fine and the loops are open, it is sheer — you see through it, and it weighs almost nothing. The full story of the technique is in our guide to knitted wire bags.

How they compare in use

Drape: chainmail and ring mesh pour; knitted mesh slouches and stretches, more jumper than liquid. Weight: chainmail is heaviest, knitted wire lightest by a wide margin. Sound: chainmail rushes, ring mesh whispers, knitted mesh is nearly silent. Transparency: the linked constructions are opaque; knitted mesh is deliberately sheer. Repair: a damaged chainmail ring can be opened and replaced individually; ring mesh plates can sometimes be re-linked by a specialist; knitted mesh, being one continuous wire, is repaired more like a knit — a loose loop is worked back in rather than a part swapped out.

Neither is better

It is tempting to rank them, but the honest answer is that these are three different hand-feels built from the same insight: many small connections let metal behave like cloth. Chainmail gives you weight and drama. Ring mesh gives you the smooth vintage surface. Knitted wire gives you lightness and transparency. Which one is right depends entirely on how you want the metal to behave, not on any hierarchy of craft — all three sit in a long wire-craft tradition.

Where preon.store fits in

We work in the knitted branch. Our one bag, Tonsiba (£95), is knitted from fine brass wire — a sheer metal fabric with twin riveted handles, 22 × 22 cm, made to order and dispatched within 14 days, with free UK delivery and worldwide shipping. For the wider picture, see what is a brass bag and the history of metal mesh bags, and the FAQ covers shipping and returns.

Last reviewed: 2026-07-29