Help?-Replicating Ballistic Nylon and Doron plates?

DoubleCanister

New Member
I am looking into making a fragmentation vest (non-functional of course) based off of the M1955 Fragmentation vest
M1955.jpg

usmc-fragmentation-vest-m-1955-w-collar-vietnam-era_1_26068ea68c77ec3ce04970fd12c7b8e4.jpg

The main components are Ballistic Nylon and Doron plates. Doron plates were essentially fiberglass on steroids so regular fiberglass would probably suffice, but does anyone happen to know any material that can replicate the weight and consistency of ballistic nylon (not its function of course)?

Thank you
 
Ballistic Nylon is pretty easy to find on Ebay. You can also search Cordura. I believe Cordura is a brand name but you can find tons of it. They are both just woven nylon fabrics. What you need to figure out is the Denier number you want. Denier is basically the weight of the fabric. the higher the number the heavier it is. think of the difference between a sleeping bag and a backpack. Both woven nylon but one is 20 denier while the other is 500 denier. Standard Ballistic Nylon is 1050 Denier. most everyday backpacks use 500 - 600 D. should cost between 8-15 bucks a yard
 
Regarding the plates, unless they're removable you really don't need to go to any great lengths to recreate them. You really don't need to have them made from fiberglass, all they really need to be are the same dimensions and weight so anything that meets the criteria ought to work.
 
Thank you all for your suggestions!

Ballistic Nylon is pretty easy to find on Ebay. You can also search Cordura. I believe Cordura is a brand name but you can find tons of it. They are both just woven nylon fabrics. What you need to figure out is the Denier number you want. Denier is basically the weight of the fabric. the higher the number the heavier it is. think of the difference between a sleeping bag and a backpack. Both woven nylon but one is 20 denier while the other is 500 denier. Standard Ballistic Nylon is 1050 Denier. most everyday backpacks use 500 - 600 D. should cost between 8-15 bucks a yard

Thank you for the info! I think I will try to do more research to find what weight was used in the vest.
 
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