Grant Erwin wrote:

Got a 15YO painstakingly making himself a big old bunch of chain mail
this summer, he just uses wire cutters. I've watched him, and he
spends maybe 1% of his time on cutting. I don't think it's worth your
time to fuss with exactly the right tool -- it's the crimping and
assembling the rings that takes all the time. Find a tool to speed
you up there and you have something.

I used tin snips to cut my coils. The problem is it leaves a pointed cut
edge. With a thin cutoff disc you get nice flat cuts that close up really
well.

-will