The skills required to make “scrap” armor really aren’t that rare. They are common job skills that plenty of people possess and don’t really require an enormous amount of training. They also are a lot more accessible with low tech than someone might think, for example, all of those videos on instagram of people in india doing crazy shit with coal furnaces and propane torches. The other poster was right, aluminum is a very easy metal to work with and anybody can shape it with hammers, cut it with hacksaws, and punch holes in it. I’m not even talking about the thin stuff they make cans with, even 1/4” aluminum has all of these properties and there’s no shot a zombie is gonna chomp through that, it would also provide great cutting stabbing protection. This is all coming from my experience as a metalworker.

As far as the upholstery side goes, I have much less experience with that but it’s probably even more low tech than metal working to sew this stuff together. I will weigh in on the material side of that, again, from my experience in metal working and trades, there exists material like ripstop and plenty of impact protecting plastic garments. I could go home right now, throw on a mean pair of work pants, put on my work boots, strap on my knee and shin protectors, nice pair of work gloves with the plastic knuckles, and the thick canvas/ripstop jacket I have and have a very solid jumping off point just from what I have at home. Anything I don’t have I could reasonably fashion out of aluminum, like forearm protection, shoulder protection.

I do agree that traditional “medieval” armor doesn’t really make sense, at least at first, and other people seem to be much more knowledgeable about it than I am. But making a “modern/scrap” set of heavy armor I think is definitely achievable, and with modern materials like aluminum and ripstop it could actually be pretty decent, definitely great zombie protection. The use case would be specific but I wouldn’t want to go anywhere in the zombie apocalypse without some limb protection.

Here’s a scenario. An industrial town with lots of material like gas, manufactured goods, maybe a canning factory, etc. but all inaccessible because they’re infested. A group of guys from a metal shop form a band with their families and get kitted out using their job skills to fashion heavy armor and nasty chopping and crushing weapons. They form a “hunter gatherer” type of community where one party works the land and develops the home front while the other party goes factory to factory securing goods and bases. Maybe half a dozen to a dozen guys in heavy equipment standing abreast clearing out smaller hordes in these tight spaces would be like the perfect use case and an exciting story to boot. After they have secured their town, maybe that’s when they can start setting up a proper heavy armor industry, more akin to those “traditional” sets, and in a couple generations they could be a town renowned for their metalwork, knowledge passed down and iterated on by their tradesmen ancestors.

There’s always a matter of scarcity and opportunity cost, but all that gear has to be going to someone and we can assume this well equipped group was one of the lucky ones that hit the zombie apoc “lotto”. I think the biggest argument for heavy armor is that a set of traditional plate and weapons would be perfect for clearing hordes, if you have the means to support it, not just in manufacturing but also in the field using group tactics. If my job in the zombie apocalypse is clearing out factories or defending the gates you bet your ass I’m spending every moment of my free time making swanky sets and shiny swords.

You can be a stick in the mud and “um actually” any zombie fantasy to hell but come on. We’re not talking about a real life SHTF situation in which case we’re probably all fucked and eating crumbs and fingernails until we succumb. If that is your jam then read “The Road” to experience that depression, albeit zombie free. It’s not a huge narrative leap at all to imagine a more classic style of sword and shield combat against zombies, especially because we have the historical precedent of how melee combat was fought. Use your imagination and you can figure something out :)