CHAINMAIL HELMET

At 1 emerald, this is the cheapest piece of chainmail an Armorer sells, offered once he reaches journeyman. Some armored mobs also wear one into a fight, so it is not exclusive to trading the way the Boots and Leggings are.

It never turns up in chest loot on this site's tracking, though, which puts it in a middle ground of its own: not a trade-only item, but not something you will find sitting in a dungeon either. Killing the right mob is the alternative worth remembering here.

As with the rest of the family, there is no recipe for it. A crafting grid full of iron or gold produces regular armor, never chainmail, no matter how the materials are arranged.

The Armorer sells it at journeyman for 1 emerald, the cheapest chainmail trade on his sheet. No other profession carries it, though certain mobs can drop one outside of trading entirely.

Chainmail Helmet sells for as little as 1 emerald, from the Armorer at the Journeyman tier, and 1 of the other 13 costs less. The price is fixed rather than rolled, so a second Armorer will quote you exactly the same.

The Armorer at its journeyman tier asks 1 emerald for a chainmail helmet. 8 of the 72 villagers that pay emeralds, emptied out:

a compass against 26 flint for the same 1 emerald, 26 times the carrying, and the shortest wait is the Butcher at 37.5 real seconds of shelf, gathering not counted.

A villager needs a few trades behind him before journeyman unlocks, so this is not available from a brand new Armorer. Trade through whatever he offers earlier to get him there. Buying the helmet pays him 10 experience, which helps if you are also after his other offers.

Curing a zombie villager who already holds the Armorer job resets his trades for another chance at this roll, a cheap way to try again given how little the item itself costs.

The slot allows 12 purchases before locking, and a restock takes 2 real minutes. A 20 minute Minecraft day covers two restocks, so one Armorer can supply 24 helmets in a full day of play.

At one emerald a piece, clearing the slot outright is cheap enough that most players never bother waiting on a restock at all.

Keep the Armorer's furnace stocked with a Lava Bucket so he stays employed while you level him, and check his sheet for Chainmail Chestplate while you are there.

If you would rather aim past chainmail altogether, a Shield and enough Diamond work toward Enchanted Diamond Leggings, Enchanted Diamond Boots and Enchanted Diamond Helmet, a full tier above what any chainmail piece offers.

A helmet protects less than a chestplate, which makes it the piece where the enchantment matters more than the metal. Respiration and Aqua Affinity turn any helmet into a diving helmet, and they work exactly as well on chainmail as on diamond.

That is worth knowing because chainmail has no recipe. You cannot make one out of anything, so the choice is a trade, a chest, or taking one off a mob that spawned in it. Buying the base piece and putting your own books on it is usually cheaper than waiting for a lucky drop.

The look is the other reason people keep one. Chainmail renders as grey rings rather than plate, so a helmet reads differently from every other set in the game.