The Armour Archive

I am not up to speed on the intricacies of the heater shield, but I have noticed the trend of center-bossed heaters popping up lately in SCA combat. What was the historic use of the Center - Bossed heater ?
is it particular to a time / region, etc ?

You'll find artwork showing them into the 15thC.

Thanks. I was searching the wrong way, once I got my search-fu squared away, I found a plethora of info. Feel free to post away more info the better !!!

How are you guys measuring where to situate the boss top-to-bottom ? Dead center ? 1/3 way down ?
Any issues putting a boss on the curvature of the shield face ?

make a Y to center of the sheild, compass out the hole. cut and attach. sometimes smooshing the boss helps with the curve.

I tried to get mine at the actual center of balance. Hang the shield by one corner and draw a vertical line (a plumb bob helps) down from there, then hang from the other corner and do the same; where the lines cross is the center of balance. Many people like the boss a little above the center of balance, but I find the bottom-weighted style doesn't work well for me.

I sent this to you via PM, but since you asked here on the forum I will reply here as well:

On shields I make for myself I center the boss at the natural balance point. So, what I do is take a block of wood and drive a nail through it. Then flip it over so the nail is sticking up. I then place the shield (curved side down, or, back of the shield against the nail) and move it around until it balances as perfectly as I can get it. Then I mark that spot, and from that spot I draw out the circle for the boss and cut.

I find this way, while a bit more involved gives me a better balance when holding my shield. Of course I like my shields to be balanced on the center, others want the grip to be above center so the shield "pulls" downward. To accomplish that, I do the same as above. Only after the mark, I measure 1"-3" up (depending on how much off center the person wants it) and remark, using THAT mark as my center.


On putting a boss on a curved surface, I take a rubber mallet and pound the flange of the boss on each side down a bit to more match the curvature. It won't be perfect, but if you get it close, once you tighten down the rivets/bolts on the boss, it will match up pretty well.

I also tend to put a bead of clear silicone down under the boss to help reduce rattle and vibration.

thanks fellas

I think I made my first center grip heater while in the mid .. beginning of 03 right before training up for crown. since then ive gone to mostly 16 by 24 center ovals. ( I was actively working on a much more agressive blocking style) one of the things ive found with centergrips is the closer you are to dead center of balance the more easy it is to move your corners IE if your hand is centered perfectly you now make your hand a pivot point. this can be a good and bad thing depending on your style. if you fight with your shield in close a lot then it wont effect you much.. if you actively bring your shield away from your body a lot or just have a stance that caters to that then you will find your shield being folded over a lot more.

Mine, balanced just 1 inch above center....