Yes, I had gathered from some of your posts that you were deeply into SF Cons. They were something I used to greatly enjoy, though I don't get to them often these years. (No money, don't drive anymore, and can't be away from home for more than a few days.) I've been to several Worldcons though, as well as a lot of other cons. Mostly I was there for the filk and the writing workshops, but used to do masquerades in my reenactment gear: SCA, NVG, Viking Society and the like.) Since I liked hand-making my kit, including mail, it was reasonably authentic-looking.
I was an active live-steel fighter, so the armour had to be good. Used to make mail with two pairs of pliers, from heavy-gauge wire. Once a piece of mail was past the stage of needing to be on a frame, one could carry it about like knitting, only heavier. The bus conductor on our local route was another reenactor, and a cofounder of the NVG. When I was catching the last bus home from work of a night it was usually quite empty, so he and I could often be found in the back of the bus, happily knitting mail together through the hourlong trip, getting bewildered looks from the few other passengers.
I used to hand-make gambesons and heavy tunics to wear under mail, so LOTS of experience at hand-sewing leather!
