shield grips

[Jon]

At the moment i'm thinking of a leather covered round shield but wondering about where i could get a boss (thanks for the sites). should the handle be a sort of single grip where you hold a single handle in the middle of the shield behind the boss or a handle that has belt that goes round your forearm and then another for you to hold on to on both on different sides of the shield? Which would work best?

http://www.medieval-arms.co.uk/ma/action-detai ... hield.html
or
http://www.albion-swords.com/armor/merc ... shield.htm

Hope it makes sense
Thanks

[Peter Remling]

It depends on the size and how you want to use it. If you want a small shield you can punch with (a buckler) you'll be bettter off with a single center grip. If you want a larger shield than a grip and a forearm strap are better for weight and control considerations.

There are several sites that will sell/make shield bosses. They tend to be a little expensive so some of the people here form their own from sheet metal a hammer and a log with a depression carved in one end.

If you want one for costume purposes, you can take a Christmas tree stand (the old metal ones for live trees),remove the laegs and top support, hammer out the prongs in the center and drill several holes in the rim, paint and attach.

Some of the tree stands are made of thick enough steel to actually be used in contact but they are few and far between.

[Greg]

If you want a cheap boss to learn with, pick up a 6" chain link fence post cap.



http://chainlinkfittings.com/store/6-5- ... -link.html

Just got a few, with good results. I cut slits up the sides ever 1.5" around the circle and bent them outwards, drilled holes in them, and screwed it into the back of the buckler with the dome sticking out the other side. Pics soon.

[Eric C]

I'm hoping to start making some myself very soon. I have everything I need except the right gauge of steel to make the boss from. I have 18 ga, and then there's the .078 ga high carbon saw blade steel that I have stashed for my future attempts at pattern welding. The .078 is about the right thickness- if not too thick- but I'd love to have some 16 ga to work with. If I can get to it soon, I'll post pics.

[Jon]

Thanks guys, i think since i'm making a shield to hide from arrows behind, I'll need a bigger one so probably going for the one with a strap. I was thinking about covering it in leather using tacks then putting it in the oven to tighten the leather. If it will fit in the oven. And maybe even tacking on sheet metal round the edges to prevent a sword going in to the wood and then maybe splitting it.

[Peter Remling]

For the leather covering, there are two ways you can go about it. You can stretch garment weight leather over the facing. More layers will add more protection but it will add more weight.

You can also add a raw hide covering, which will shrink somewhat and get a good deal stiffer. A raw hide is uncured and will eventually start to stink as it decays.

A raw hide is not to be confused with rawhide. Rawhide has been clean and processed and is what they make dog chew toys out of. Then chew toys can be soaked in warm water, straighten and are sometimes use to cover the edges of your shield. They will shink and stiffen as they dry out also.

If you want to use the chew toy edgeing, instead of sticking the whole shield in a oven, use a hair dryer on high heat to dry out the leather. I would not use the hair dryer on garment leather as you will remove the oil from the leather and it will dull and eventually become brittle.

When I've used garment leather for shield covering, I also cover it with either clear enamal spray paint or clear polyurethene. This protects the leather and maintains the color much longer.