Several of his articles mention chain mail gloves. I'm curious how those would protect you from chemicals, since chain mail is obviously quite porous. Or are they just meant to protect you from shrapnel when the container explodes in your hands?
(I also recalled my father demonstrating to me, at a young age, how a candle flame wouldn't penetrate screen-door mesh, presumably because the metal is conductive; and wondered if mail might perhaps give some fire protection similarly, by spreading the heat thin. That seems unlikely, though.)
Yes, the chain mail protects you from the experiment detonation products, such as fragments of blast shield or fume hood, lacerating your hands. Also recommended is an iron face-mask and heavy leather apron.
The candle effect you mention, is the principle behind Sir Humphry Day's safety lamp, as used by miners, which used a wire gauze screen to prevent flames igniting other flammable gases in the mine atmosphere. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davy_lamp for more information.
(I also recalled my father demonstrating to me, at a young age, how a candle flame wouldn't penetrate screen-door mesh, presumably because the metal is conductive; and wondered if mail might perhaps give some fire protection similarly, by spreading the heat thin. That seems unlikely, though.)