Scuba Diving

Question
Dear Mike,
   I recently made a bet with my friend and was wondering if a chainmail suit made for scuba diving could resist a baby and or full grown great white shark bite.

Answer
There is no definitive answer for this question although I've been asked several times before.  what you need to understand is that there are lots of ways for a big shark to damage a diver other than just piercing a divers skin with his teeth.

while the sharks teeth may not penetrate through the chain mail, a bite will give the shark a good grip on the chain mail and any diver parts underneath it.  The tips of a sharks teeth will lock into the little rings of the chain mail and provide a very good purchase on the chain mail suit.  Sharks frequently initiate a violent shaking maneuver after the bite in order to cut or rip out a piece of flesh.  This shaking can be violent enough to break bones and to dislocate joints.  Of course the bigger the shark the more violent the shaking may be.

So you can see that being pierced by the sharks teeth is only part of the problem.  The rest comes from the violent twisting and shaking that comes while the victim is still in the sharks mouth.  This can be equally as damaging as the teeth themselves.

Remember that a diver underwater is restrained from quick movement by the viscosity (thickness) of the water so the diver is not free to flop around like a rag doll in air when being shaken.  This gives much more damaging force to the shaking action of the shark since the rest of the diver's body is restrained while the shaking and ripping is being done.

Studies suggest that the taste of metal is very unpleasant for a shark and they quickly let go.  I wouldn't want to bet my arm on those studies but it does bring another dimension to the question of the safety of chain mail suits.

So, I'm not sure if this answer will win you any bets but it should give you a pretty good idea of the violence encountered in a shark attack.  You don't want to tangle with a Great White (or any other pelagic shark) regardless of whether you're wearing chain mail or not!!

Shark attacks are extremely rare and most come about as a result of misbehavior on the part of the diver.  But...since you asked the question, I addressed the issue.  I hope it helps.

Sincerely,
Mike Giles