I have built a round 28" viking shield. It is made from 1/2" birch plywood and the edge has been rounded by a router. I have run a couple layers of black gaffers tape over the edge to protect it. Is that all I need to pass inspection?
My second question is: I am also building an oval shield to use in melee's and was wanting to know a size that would approiate for a viking personna.
I can find info on the rounds and teardrops but nothing on the vikings using an oval design.
Thanks,
Laz
Couple questions bout shields
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Konstantin the Red
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Ovals AFAIK aren't very Viking at all. More Celt and Roman, in the Classical era anyway. But nobody's going to stop you if you want to decouple armor or shield from persona for some specific purpose like bridge battles. Hey, if you're Middle Kingdom... those guys field enough kites and scutums to make a 500-man testudo. The guys in the middle could brew tea and distribute sandwiches, untroubled by slings or arrows. Yeah, tea and sandwiches are both out of period for medieval Europe.
A Viking round and an oval are really about equally good in melée -- what is important is the educated, training-toughened arm behind the shield and the defensive skills of the man attached to the arm. Ovals are roughly as long as kites.
Your edge is going to need more -- have you gotten a Marshal's advice? Get some Pep Boys automotive hose -- thickwalled stuff 1/2 to 3/4" thick and bracket it on all the way around -- leather is good, or drill a bordure of holes at least an inch and a half in from the edge and lace the hose on. It'll look better than sticking it on with strapping tape.
This is as much to protect your shield's health as it is for the opponent's rattan.
Leather bracket straps work, though they leave the rubber hose exposed. If you have more leather you can cover over all the hose with a broad strip which is then laced or thonged onto the shield. While eventually the wood will be battered into crumbs, the hose, thonging, and leather edging are reusable for many shield bodies.
A Viking round and an oval are really about equally good in melée -- what is important is the educated, training-toughened arm behind the shield and the defensive skills of the man attached to the arm. Ovals are roughly as long as kites.
Your edge is going to need more -- have you gotten a Marshal's advice? Get some Pep Boys automotive hose -- thickwalled stuff 1/2 to 3/4" thick and bracket it on all the way around -- leather is good, or drill a bordure of holes at least an inch and a half in from the edge and lace the hose on. It'll look better than sticking it on with strapping tape.
This is as much to protect your shield's health as it is for the opponent's rattan.
Leather bracket straps work, though they leave the rubber hose exposed. If you have more leather you can cover over all the hose with a broad strip which is then laced or thonged onto the shield. While eventually the wood will be battered into crumbs, the hose, thonging, and leather edging are reusable for many shield bodies.
"The Minstrel Boy to the war is gone..."
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Oswyn_de_Wulferton
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You will need something more than tape to hold it on, even if it is routered. Glued on canvas, some magical epoxy glue (aka. Sir Vitus's) or something else, in case it starts to splinter. This is to hold the edge together, and prevent it from protruding (such was the explanation I was given).
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shield edging
Ive been using the same 30" round for 3 - 4 years now and the only thing breaking down is the rawhide. Plywood is 1/2" baltic birch, can be a pain to find, but has held up better than the marine grade I used last time. Edged with 1/2" ID aluminum U channel from home depot. heavy duty air hose covered in rawhide. then the rawhide is riveted to the shield. Total weight is around 12-13 lbs
hope this helps,
Wredech
hope this helps,
Wredech
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Konstantin the Red
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Helpful indeed, Wredech -- you've used the armored + shock padded approach. Welcome and well come to the Archive.
About any reinforcement scheme does a great deal for wooden shield edges, from adding a bordure of another layer of ply to the back face of the shield to bolting metal edges of flat stock front and back to reinforce. But an essential seems to be padding against shocks of impact.
About any reinforcement scheme does a great deal for wooden shield edges, from adding a bordure of another layer of ply to the back face of the shield to bolting metal edges of flat stock front and back to reinforce. But an essential seems to be padding against shocks of impact.
"The Minstrel Boy to the war is gone..."