I don’t quite understand why mail is In the leatherworking category when that was previously a blacksmith thing, and in real life done by black smiths? Especially when leather has the plurality of classes when not including the mail addition. I think it should become its own thing or join smithing
Sorry idk if this is about role play or professions more so I stuck it here.
because previously hunters and shaman were required to wear leather armour until they reached a certain point, so it made sense to put those two armor sets in the same profession. At the fork at about level 40, rogues and druids would continue to make leather armour, while mail armour became available to craft for hunters and shaman.
Blacksmithing can mostly only make very low level mail pieces for the same reason - it wasn’t intended to make mail armour at endgame, it was almost purely for the baby warriors & paladins to equip as they levelled until they hit 40 and unlocked plate armour access.
There’s also the reason that Blacksmithing has a plethora of weapon types it can craft as well in addition to plate armor. LW can a smaller amount of weapons. I won’t say it is 100% equal, but I"m ok not being able o craft mail gear on my BS.
I doubt IRL comparisons will matter, but most types of “mail” were metal over leather backing. In other words, metal-reinforced leather armor.
The only all-metal mail is the one everyone thinks of, “chain mail”.
Mail in wow involves skins of scaly beasts like dragons and turtles and giant snakes and the like. Clearly you need a LW to piece those together?
Most of the “mail” armor after level 40 in classic was made from skinning scaled/exoskeletal beasts and creating scale mail from turtle/scorpid/dragon scales/skin. Leather armor continued to be made of various types of leather (and other components).