Making, testing and repairing a Viking center-grip shield
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- Опубликовано: 15 май 2015
- Materials used:
- 7 mm (9/32'') pine boards
- Wood glue
- Linen cloth
- Shield boss: ww4.aitsafe.com/go.htm?go=kult...
- Linen cloth
- Rawhide from a dog chew (optional)
- Leather (optional)
- Nails or rivets
Archaeological sources for original shields:
members.ozemail.com.au/~chrisa...
More information about shields and their use:
www.hurstwic.org/history/artic...
The sword used for the cutting test, The Caithness by Albion:
ww4.aitsafe.com/go.htm?go=kult...
********************************************************************************
My favorite online store for buying swords (worldwide shipping):
ww4.aitsafe.com/go.htm?go=kult...
Some recommended knife makers on Amazon:
www.amazon.com/s/?_encoding=UT...
Want to help fund future videos?
/ skallagrim
My Facebook page:
/ skallagrimyt 
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I've heard that in ancient times, they would mix the paint with rust as rust prevents rotting in wood, this is also why traditionally barns are red
Well yes, and no. The rust is only the pigment. It's actually linseed oil that "prevents" the wood to rot.
Us lead ahum that eh prevents microbes and breaks all kinds of rules
Showed this video and your last one about making a shield to my daughter. She wants to build one now with her dad. She ot really excited. So in all seriousness. Thanks Skall.
Glad to know.
that is really cute :) makes me want to tear.
That's all well and good but to be sure your time is well spent you must throw a pommel at it to be sure of its strength.
Nice shield,
for my shield I've melted beeswax and mixed with used vegetable oil then when it hardens I rubbed in the shield and used a hairdryer to melt the beeswax again in the shield so that the linen and the wood absorbs the wax and becomes waterproof.
Good tip. Just wonder how much more flammable it would make it?
@@2bingtim that would be a wall of fire
What ratio?
Wet Weather/Rain rises the weight of wood significantly. It seems logical that they would put something on the shield at both sides to prevent the shield from getting soaked with water too easily.
A question: What does you shield weigh?
"Purpleheart..." "...just lying around."
Yeah, I use my expensive wood that's just lying around too. :P
A friend sent me in the mail a slab of purple heart he had "just lying around" this is oddly synchronistic
I don't know about vikings, but traditionaly, most civilization used bee wax or pine resin to make wood waterproof
Likely the Vikings would have used marine varnish, a waterproofing liquid made of turpentine, tar, and various oils that has been made in Norway for thousands of years.
Bailey McCarthy Seems likely. It's not like waterproofing things is a foreign concept to seafaring people. They'd likely just take whatever they used for boats.
ShivaX51 you guys are not listening! See "traditionaly" and "most civilization". It ends your arguments rightly
+ShivaX51 not "boats" vikings had "ships"
Will it successfully block someone attempting to end you rightly?
Midorikawa Shun Have you not been listening? It will rotate in your hand so that any attemp to end you rightly will glance of and end the bloke behind you rightly.
My ears are not what they used to be.
i am sorry
Midorikawa Shun now you're just shoehorning it in there
the statement "End Him Rightly" is losing its power
JsinXx
The natural course of every meme, don't fight it, these things are made to die.
Midorikawa Shun AHHHHH!!! AN ORC!!!
I have never been very interested in shields, swords and the likes until recently. Your channel is very informative and I've enjoyed every video I've seen so far.
Hey Skal.....strength, and luck to you and your lady, man.
Skall, would you mind testing your crossbow against the shield, possibly the javelin or spears as well? I've heard a lot of different estimations of the effectiveness of shields against projectiles and would be curious to see how they do.
Eric Taysom
I actually want to use it for HEMA practice, so I have no intention of destroying it. Too much work put into it. :)
***** maybe make some similar targets, glue some linen to a board in the same way as you did for the shield, got any offcuts from making the shield?
***** Makes sense. Let us know how it works out for practice. Thanks for replying.
***** yes I understand, that is why I suggested using offcuts left over from building the shield, Also Skalls primary concern seems to be not destroying his shield, as he understandably values highly his time and effort in making it, not necessarily the materials used in its construction.
***** maby you could make a shield for the same wood but dont use the linen and dont need to make it as finished as this one to make it for target practice?
This shield is way more historically accurate than the other one ! Great concept!
Beautiful shield, skall, cant wait to see a full length practise exercise with it.
Thanks, Skallagrim. I have had a plywood shield blank in my cellar for years; now I may actually get round to finishing it and using it!
That's a really cool shield. Viking shields are probably my favorite type of shield.
Verrry Nice Shield !!! Good Work :))
Can't you guys make an viking or norman shield
hahahadracula
ääh that´s what they did. some of the norman shilds are drop shaped but the prosses is basicly always the same. some times the used curved planks but thats it.
hahahadracula
ääh that´s what they did. some of the norman shilds are drop shaped but the prosses is basicly always the same. some times the used curved planks but thats it.
Sharp Blades This is Thrand! Great video very much enjoyed it. Try covering it with
heavy raw hide back and front or try using more layers of linen this can
be linen like material as well like 2 to 3 back and front if shield boss is light!
ThegnThrand Eldgrim and Thrand, it would be awesome if you could take some plywood and cut some small squares, use cheap canvas, and test how much extra protection different layers of glue and fabric would do. It would be wary interesting. I would predict that extra layers would be crucial when it comes to stopping arrows from high pound bows. To few layers and the arrow might risk damaging the person behind the shield, with just enough layers the arrow would barely stick out on the other side.
Very nice job on the making of the shield and very informative video. I think your idea that they covered both sides of the shield with linen. They were very logical, as are you, and I am almost positive over the course of their history they would almost have to come to the same conclusions you did through your observations, I thoroughly enjoy all of your videos. I look forward to more in the future, Keep up the good work.
Greta video, Skall! I'm thinking of making a viking round shield myself, and this really comes in hand!
Great job on the build dude, the videos are brilliant to watch... Keep up the good work! :)
It never fails to amuse when seeing comments from people that expect a Viking "everyman" shield to withstand bomb blasts.
They would have been sturdy defensive items built from local materials which could be repaired or remade using whatever was around in whatever country they happened across...
Our shields are solid, made with 16mm Scandinavian redwood boards, linen, flat bar reinforced and edged with stitched porkhide... I still doubt they would have held up to much when someone was coming at you trying to kill you, as an Infantry Veteran I can tell you that your job is to do whatever you can to stop someone when they are threatening your life.
I always grew up with idea that shields had an arm strap and a handle, but I like this design a lot more. I feel like it adds a lot more mobility and you don't have to worry about your arm getting trapped.
spinafire Both kind of shields existed historically. As I understand it cultures that used strapped on shields also tended to use heavier shields, that would be too cumbersome to hold in hand for a long time. Greek shields for example had a bronze covering. I think cavalry shields also were usually strapped on, so the shield hand could direct the reins.
spinafire you should have a look at late period german hand pavise its a hybrid of a kite and a center grip - I use one in SCA heavy, I have found it to be the best shield for me (i'm 6ft 5")
Re-enactors in the UK use small carpet tacks to fix the rawhide rim on. Stretch the rawhide over the edges while it's still wet & floppy & tack it in place. The rawhide shrinks & dries really hard, holding the shield together & making the rim much stronger. Traditionally they'd usually sew the rim on, which I intend to try when I next make a shield.
Nice work. I made a flat oval Gallic shield several years ago and actually stitched the rim on with sinew thread and painted a design on from the Arc de Orange. It was 1/2" plywood though and is quite heavy.
Regarding Viking shields, I have seen several reconstructions that use additional reinforcing cross-pieces in addition to the grip, perpendicular to the planks. Since in your previous destruction, the grip was the weak point, it would make sense to add those additional strips to maintain rigidity. Not sure if they are historically accurate, but lots of other reenactors seem to use them. Good videos.
Really enjoy seeing Viking themed videos! I love this kind of stuff and it is shockingly sparse on youtube. Keep up the great work!
As someone who studied the material strength and construction of wood laminates I can say that any kind of cloth glued on both sides of a wooden plank makes it structurally much much stronger than all the materials by themselves.
In fact a piece of balsa wood laminated between two carbon fiber or kevlar fabric sheets becomes a viable construction material.
Linen has a relatively strong tensile strength, but something like hemp fibers (fibers from marijuana plant) are by far the strongest natural fibers you could possibly use.
You guys made a beautiful shield! You friends are awesome!
Nice work on the shield. Please keep up the good work. I've been enjoying your videos. So thank you for sharing.
I like the green, it looks fantastic! great job!
Skallagrim, your videos are much liked and appreciated.I think the backing on the planks, what held them together, would have been a couple of boards crosswise, and the handle was held in place by placing it between those cross boards. This would have stiffened the shield up quite a bit more than your method with the glue.
Then slap a hide on the front, should be good to go.I believe anytime the opponent would attempt a slash attack, they would attempt to trap a sword with the edge of a shield and yank it down and away, or up and towards, pulling the opponent off balance, and creating an opening for a strike.
(you have to use the grain of the wood so you would only be able to effectively trap a sword on the two edges of the shield that go with the grain.)They used to tie their swords to their wrist. I believe this was specifically so they could let go of a trapped sword and grab the opponents shield, either forcing the opponent off balance, to the ground, or whatever. I think if you jam up your opponents shield, you can leverage it from him. If you could rotate his shield, your opponent would have to let go. Then you could easily recover your sword during a back step, or simply jam your stuck sword into the opponent, or engage in some other fashion.(I can come up with very few reasons why you would tie your sword to your wrist unless it has something to do with the kind of tactics I am talking about)The majority of Vikings did not have swords, so a shield would most likely be facing the axe and spear more often. I think they combined wrist action and the shield to deflect powerful blows at angles which mostly redirect the force away from themselves. Sort of the same principle of Tai Chi. Think "trying to jump on a spinning merry-go-round"
You could also let go of a sword that is tied to you in order to put both hands on your shield to prevent it being wrested from your grasp.I didn't think it felt right to "punch" with the edge of the shield like they do on television.I wish we lived close, I would enjoy training with you. Much respect.
The thing to remember is that Viking shields were made to deflect blows, not absorb them, that's why they were light weight. Also, I still think the covering, paint and decorations were to hide the wood grain. A strike with the grain will split the shield, a hit against the grain will hold better. GREAT channel, happy to subscribe!
Linen is an amazing material indeed. I'm getting various stuff tailored out of linen for the Summer heat.
Buying fabric can indeed be horrendously expensive, but it depends on the location. I traveled today an hour to my cloth merchant, but it's worth it because he only charges 10 Euros per meter instead of 50+ at the store nearby me.
Hi skall. Next time when you are glueing the wood make sure to put 2 beams on top (with paper beneath it so the wood won't break off when the glue has gone hard) and then tighten it with the clamps. That will make sure the wood (or shield) whatever you build so it won't bend and or curve. Love your video skall!
I'm tempted to send you some pine or spruce resin.. I often collect and refine those types of resin from trees in the woods, very authentic to use as ancient glue, but harder to work with than wood glue. It's glassy until well heated, and flammable if you go too far (like extreme hot glue, let's say). You might enjoy it though.. It can also be added if you brew mead, as it helps to keep the brew very yeasty, and not vinegary. Pretty nice shield build btw!
I am not a goofball.
ok maybe I am
i have to show my mom and tell her that i am now famous on the internet
Justin Bechtelcongrats, your internet reputation is goofball friend of a goofball youtuber.
Alex Waren
im a goofy goober
Justin Bechtel Maple!
Dacino Hoihe syrup
Move 'em on, head 'em up
Head 'em up, move 'em on
Move 'em on, head 'em up
*Rawhide*
Cut 'em out, ride 'em in
Ride 'em in, cut 'em out
Cut 'em out, ride 'em in
*Rawhide*
Devils Advocate Keep Movin' movin' movin'
Though they're disapprovin'
Keep them doggies movin'
RawHide!
Through rain and wind and weather
Hell bent for leather
Wishin' my gal was by my side
Devils Advocate Rowdy Yates!
Ensiferum's version!
Devils Advocate What in the world are you talking about?
Something white, slimey called Marshmallowcream Hell, I'm 17! I know it from the Blues Brothers.
Nice work with your shield :)
Regarding thickness, i´ve read that historical Celtic shields that have been found had even several degrees of thickness, depending on the position on the shield, being the central ones thicker (about 12mm) and the external ones thinner (7-8mm). I hope it helps for future projects ;)
I hear you on the price of linen, so I end up using canvas on mine, but rather than 1 layer on each side, I used 7 on the outer side, and 2mm leather on the rims, and used two layers of thinned planks that had a total of 12mm thickness (give or take, since thinning them wasn't a perfect work from my part)
In my own tests (sadly, no camera for filming and back then my phone was a Nokia 1220), an axe wouldn't bit more than 3cm on it (sadly, my swords are made for reenactment combat, so they're sharpless and the edges are on the thicker end and rounded as per regulations). Knives, saxes and the axes, hitting it from the front didn't got to the wood; glancing strikes only cut up to the 4th layer of canvas.
I've heard shields were mostly "disposable" back then but I have yet to find a reliable source for that myself; but I'm quite impressed for the indestructability of it.
Nowadays I mostly reenact as a knight templar (since we allready have an overpopulation of vikingrs), and opted to not even bother with the leather rim on my heather shield (specially since I couldn't find evidences of leather rims on these kind of shields on that period) and just rolled the escess of canvas around the edges as I glued each layer (again, 7), and I couldn't really notice a real difference on performance compared on my old round shield. Anyway, so far in the years as a templar in such events, most strikes against the shield end up being deflected by the curve shape of it rather than land on the rims, which could explain why they didn't added the leather there.
I've been thinking about making a shield 🛡️ now I'm definitely inspired Thanks for the video 🙂
That is one good looking shield and I personally like the paint scheme you went with, a lot of people overdo the patterns and symbols on their shields.
Nice shield. Good job !
***** I think another good reason not to use nails for the hide around the shield is so that while practicing cutting in the shield, you don't risk hitting a nail and damaging your edge.
Looking forward to seeing this in future sparring videos :)
Great work!
Great video. Nice camera quality
thank you it helped me very much im about to make a viking shield myself so thank you for the tips
The last time I wanted to work with linen, I was shocked about the price as well, until I found out, that IKEA sells it quite cheaply - at least in Germany. Maybe check that out next time.
The vikings actually rounded the edges of the shield, the they covered the whole shield in linen (both front and back) then covered the whole shield in raw hide (again both front and back) the they covered the rounded edge with raw hide. They actually sowed it on through the whole shield, making it a strong seem.
A historical shield would've had another grip and/or more cross-members across the back of the shield. You're correct, it adds a lot of strength and putting more on the shield would add even more.
This is Thrand! Great video very much enjoyed it. Try covering it with heavy raw hide back and front or try using more layers of linen this can be linen like material as well like 2 to 3 back and front id shield boss is light!
its worth putting a second layer of linen/canvas (or even old bed sheets) on the front of the shield. Ive noticed a few extra layers has a significant increase of strength against thrusts to the face of the shield.
Awesome job, very good instructional with good info behind it! Also, I love that you go through the effort of actually putting a step by step description below, including links to where to get certain materials, dimensions, etc. I watched your plywood video first and made one that way, exactly as you said, and it turned out so well that I'm going to make the plank one now.
However, I do have a question though: Can you describe or list exactly what kind of dogbone you are using to get the rawhide for the edge? I bought a $9 pack of 3 large rawhide bones, but after soaking and unwrapping them, they turned out to just be 2 smaller SQUARES of rawhide, rather than long strips. They were about washcloth sized and would never be able to completely encircle the shield unless I cut each one into many strips, which would take forever, be costly, and look ugly in the end. I saw in your plywood shield video, you unwrapped the dog bone and it was a long strip. I'm having trouble finding that type of bone. I calculated that for a 32" diameter shield I need about 100" of rawhide.
Keep up the great work and thanks for these great instructionals!
Athena School of Arms recently did a cutting demonstration. They included a cloth cover. It's surprising how much less damage the sword could inflict with a single layer of cloth draped over the target. Very interesting demonstration about how much protection even thin weaves add.
Holy hell, you deserve more subscribers!
love your videos
Nice to see Skall rubbered up and applying a sticky substance to his wood...
Ooo thats a Nice & neat looking shield , but might I suggest you hide the plank lines from the enemy so they wouldn't know if they are striking along the grain or not.
I don't even remember how I found your channel, but I fuckin' love it.
You now need a proper sword to match your shield . I did it the other way…. A Viking Sword first, then built a round shield. I used thicker & wider poplar boards and used an electric hand plane to make them gradually thinner out to the 1/8” edge . Makes a very lively feeling shield. All the weight is concentrated around the center boss.
I made a smaller viking shield (24 inches in diameter) out of 3/4 inch maple planks. it is pretty heavy but in my view indestructible.
Oh, the glorious 60fps!
I think they simply used some form of pine oil as a finish for wooden and metal materials and tools. With a bit of preparation, you can extract quite a bit of pine oil from fairly small amounts of pine wood. If this sort of oil is easy enough to acquire with simple technology and is good enough for treating farm tools and weapons to protect them against the elements, then it certainly can be used on shields as well.
Waterproofing could be done using either the milk based glue that was used to stick the planks together, and possibly the linen to the shield where this is found. Also if the glue was made from boiled down hooves and hide it has to get to a fairly high temperature to make it fluid though it would still be tacky when wet.
Another theory is that the front of the shield was completely covered with rawhide.
Just some thoughts.
Hey Skall, just saying, the shield would look badass in a half black, half darkish-red paint job, kind of like the pirate banner you have in the background of this video. Nice video.
great video skall
I'm actually in the process of making a viking shield for fight practice, so this video really came in at a good time.
And yeah, linen is obscenely expensive, I'm just using some thick cotton instead, lol
Did it pass the pommel test?
red toasti We ran out of pommels to throw unfortunately
Epsio0 Thank god you fixed that spelling mistake, it was driving me crazy
heh heh my bad, should've proof read it
Dont cut it off unscrew it, thats way faster
Status X faster I don't know but it surely can be used more times.
Very nice work
How well do you think a crossbow bolt or an arrow hold up? Would you be willing to try? Nice video by the way much appreciated.
He said that he wanted to use it for practice, so I doubt he would destroy it any time soo.
Steven Myrick A longbow could easily penetrate that, it could even penetrate 7mm of armour steel :P (the average thickness for plate armour in England was 7mm)
Steven Myrick My 55 pound recurve bow can penetrate a 3/8 piece of plywood. What I've heard of viking bows was they have a 100 pound pullback. 2x the power would probably go through that shield and most of the way through the guy holding it.
VintageLJ Dude a longbow would usually not penetrate 2mm of properly worked plate armor,I doubt that it could even scratch 7mm thick steel.
VintageLJ I believe you must be joking. The breastplate alone would weigh more than fifteen pounds.
Hey Skall,first i just wanted to tell you that i like your videos,keep doing what you are doing,and please make more cutting videos.And second can you make another swords collection video,that would be awesome.
Hey Skall, what happened to your search for realistic synthetic flesh?
Marley Bradbury You could say it was... cut down. *YEAHHHHHHHHHHHH*
+Gabu - San no. just no. *that was just awful*.
Anyone else seeing that thumbnails for some videos are not showing even after a 12 hours of being uploaded?
Rollo Red Same thing here.
Rollo Red
That's bizarre... When I uploaded it yesterday and set it for scheduled publishing the thumbnail showed up fine, but now it's gone.
***** Good job youtube!
***** It's not just your problem, it happens to many other videos, so it's something with RUclips. Maybe they're implementing some other changes (like the font change earlier this week).
Now I can see your thumbnail just fine, even though an hour earlier I couldn't.
And poor Lindybeige still hasn't got one nine hours after uploading...
***** I am just right now seeing a other video in my subscriptions feed that has no thumbnail, its youtubes fault
Skallagrim.
Is there an authentic viking sword that you would recomend?
I've seen the Hanwei viking swords online, but cant find any local stores willing to order them in with out me purchasing the item first.
Thanks.
great DIY and vid!
Mine isn't the most realistic I suppose. I ordered it online and it works surprisingly well. I tested by tomahawk on it and there were no marks of the shield at all. It was supposed to be a viking shield but it wasn't a center grip. It was the kind that has a strap attaching to your arm. It failed so I am planning on just replacing the old grips with the center grip. It also has a steel rim.
I remember reading on the Hurstwic website that Vikings would make an effort not to submerge their shields in water, because they will get heavier when damp.
I think that if it was made for real, aggressive use, planing the planks so as to not have their junction showing would be a must, as as is, it reveals the grain orientation, and maybe thusly, the axis where the shield is the most likely to split...
Maybe trying a cut along the grain on an offcut, prepared as if it were a shield could inform us on how it fares when struck along the grain!
Also, maybe gluing the fabric so as to have the bias along the grain could help in that "not splitting" department, as I tend to think that if the fabric and the grain coincide in orientation, the edge only cuts enough to begin acting as a wedge, then the grain splits, ripping fibers of the fabric one by one, sequentially, as one would do if ripping it voluntarily (but maybe the glued fabric is stiff enough to allow many of the fibres to simultaneously counteract the tendency to split, even if oriented along the grain)
Also, the Trelleborg shield had sort of a radial distal taper, being 8mm at the center boss hole's edge, and only 5 mm at the edge, I believe it might help in managing to keep the weight down, and the shield more lively and maneuverable!
It would'nt be to hard to achieve after having cut the shield round, with handplanes, a scrub plane to remove the bulk, and a basic n°4 or 4 1/2 plane to have it level and equal and regular...
I wonder if, together with the leather or textile backing, allowing a weapon strike to bite more easily, more deeply, ensuring a higher likelihood of the weapon binding, and that not being a weakness, but maybe a plus, allowing for even more chance of disarming the opponent...
Couldn't find if the decrease in thickness is done equally from both side, or only on either the obverse or reverse, as basically I only derive my understanding of germanic languages on my understanding of english and a taste for linguistics...
If I manage to find a reliable source that I can understand, and that's clear about it, I might try and get my hands on some fir planking, and have a go at replicating it!
nytrelleborg.slagelse.dk/media/5873377/NyTrelleborgProspekt.pdf
I sometime see it's diameter given at 80 cm, but in this pdf I believe to be from the inventors of the find, it says 89 cm!
(it also shows a modicum of handle decoration, that might also give some haptic advantage, as in feeling only by touch it's orientation, so as to not have to think about it for a seasonned fighter... (or that might be strictly decorative)
I would highly appreciate if you could make a short video in english about that particular shield, as I suspect you understand danish quite well, and believe it's one of the best preserved finds, along the gokstad one regarding viking age shields!
very nice shield there
Badass shield, wish I had that motivation
Viking from Sweden approves!
Dan Slash
-Viking
-From Sweden
Choose one.
(kidding, ofc)
jonsuttelade I chooce... From
They make nice games.
MrSamulai Try rolling.
It will save you.
For waterproofing, Vikings would have had linseed, (flax, or Lin, is what makes linen and the seeds make an oil), it's pretty effective if you apply it right and keep it well oiled.
Very nice job! If you plan to make next shield, I recommend making it with planks no thinner than 10mm and with linen (or some other fibrous) rope nailed arount it. And also try some axes on it. ;) As we know, they were most common weapons (besides spears) in early medieval period.
In Poland during our tournaments we sometimes recieve such blows from daneaxes that the shields are being pierced through despite being 8-12,5mm thick. :O
Edvardius
7 mm thickness is well within the range of historical Viking shields, so I wanted to give that a try.
Edvardius You said fiber. I like what fiber does to me. B ]
Nicely done
This is the first time I've seen real advantages to a shield in one-on-one combat. Usually you think of shield used for group combat in shield walls and protecting yourself from projectiles.
In one-on-one you would think it would be clumsy and only offering a large blind spot especially if someone strikes at your head (you cover your head from the blow and thous cannot see the next strike).
But a weapon getting caught in the shield would be a huge advantage. It is not unlike using a cape to wrap around your opponents sword in fencing.
I would also assume that a shield could also be used to mask your movements to some degree.
uncleball78 yes! ThegnThrand and his friend eldgrimr (pronounced thain thrand and eldgrim respectively) have done multiple videos on viking era shield techniques, many of which include "shove your shield in front of your enemy's face to conceal an attack"
I personally want to see you make the best shield you can with modern stuff and equipment
Resin is good for making things waterproof and often used when making any type of floating vessel. It's possible that vikings did the same with their shields
If you were interested in trying more appropriate glues (not that i'm saying there's anything wrong with using normal wood glue), you can fairly affordably get a container of knox or great lakes gelatin (great lakes is more affordable here in the states plus it's higher quality). The gelatin we use now for food is exactly the same thing people have been using forever as animal glue. You just mix it up so it gels then put it over heat and the gel will melt. I've actually found it tends to hold better than wood glue plus it shrinks the way rawhide does to give you a tight fit. Also, when the glue cools down and gets gelly, it holds well enough that you don't have to clamp it as tight till the moisture dries the rest of the way out.
I'm getting ready to build my own, and I'll have slight historical leeway in what I've designed.
My question for you, is if I replace the cloth face with boiled leather, obviously it would make it stronger, but would it cause it to be too heavy to use? Note I might also rim it with iron, but I'm not sure yet.
Also, I noticed in your design, the only crossbeam you have is the handle. I was going to add two more on either side of the handle to keep it sturdy. Is that overkill?
+Ryan Houk That is how I would like to do my own, except I do not know how to do the iron rim
+Valor Boyd buy a thin flat bar, and hammer them down around the rim? I figure any how. Haven't done it yet.
... What would be the lightest wood with still being able to protect you?
What did you use to color/dye the rawhide? I'm currently making a viking shield and debating with myself whether to go for rawhide or leather for the edging... the main thing holding me back from rawhide is the ugly bright off white appearance, but this looks quite nice!
What do you think about how kite shields were made? In Viking shields the handle must be the main thing holding the planks together, but in kite shields that are strapped to the arm, I have never seen any kind of cross bar to hold the planks together...
As far as I was aware I thought they only covered their shields in rawhide as linen would have been too expensive to use on something expendable as a sheild. As likely for waterproofing they'd have used beeswax. I know many of their chests were coated in it to help repel water and keep the wood from swelling which could cause it to warp and crack. Curious though what kind of paint did you use? And did you use polyurathane or something different as a sealant? I'm making one myself at the moment and have some acrylic paint and poly laying around but not sure if that would be suitable to use on a combat sheild or not.
Very interesting. It could clearly be stronger but weight has always been an issue and, depending on their technique, it may not have needed to be stronger. If you are deflecting blows as opposed to absorbing an impact it doesn't need to be stronger.
Very interesting. I had always kind of thought shields would be heavy & thick but after thinking about it, it makes sense to have a lighter shield.
Awesome vid bro!! i really liked the other video on the shield testing too! how do you think these would hold up to a spear?
Do you think you could upload a full length video of the shield being made step by step?
Nice job.
hey Skall, I was just wondering how much does the shield weights?
Thanks for the videos xD
You could make a latvian or semigall shield , ist similar but , have leather in the front and have little differences in the protections. I make that one and i have a very good opinion about of these shield. Good work :)
I've heard some people say that using linen for shield facing (instead of rawhide) is not historical and I've heard others say it is. But here's my two cents: Rawhide has rigid, hardness and general toughness properties that linen simply doesn't. If you'd ever handled rawhide cow skin, you'd know that linen is a completely different material in all its properties. That, compared to the fact that original shields of many eras had multiple layers of rawhide front and back, and that the wooden cores were made of soft, light, thin wood leads me to believe that rawhide was the main part of a shield and the wooden core was simply there to take advantage of its rigid properties, to add a sort of "backbone". Comparing rawhide to linen on shields I've made, rawhide is much more practical and does a its job infinitely better than linen, leading me to believe that linen wasn't used as often if at all.
That is a nice looking shield right now ! The plain green is pretty nice with the leather rim. This will be a useful video to me, because I'm planning to build a coffee table designed like this type of shield. Although, I wonder if the iron / steel rim we see sometimes is historically accurate, and if it would have any advantages in battle over the leather or rawhide rims.
GT-Alex There is a mention of a iron-rimmed shield in the Grettis Saga, where a sword gets stuck in the rim. So that might be a advantage, however the only archeological find i'm aware of is just ~3 inches long, so it might also just be a clamp to repair a cut/split.
As with most viking age things very little hard evidence and a lot of interpretation and reconstruction (aka. guessing)
GT-Alex I would chose rawhide, because if you have the iron/steel rim and you hit it, it will be crushed and stay so. Rawhide on the other hand will "bounce" back. So you kinda won't see the damaga and there is extra "bouncy" space(:D) for next hit to absorb.
Valid point here, you never know what could get thrown during rolepalying games (food, thorn dice, unscrewed pommel...)
DerDracoX ah, so it's like the background lore in a dark souls game.
It is a good looking shield. My understanding is that some shields had a period version of 'plywood', I have seen "targes" that are layered but they seem smaller and a lot heavier. Where did you get the boss?
Hey Skallagrim, where did you get the shield boss?
I think I might be able to make some of these with my dad.
Skall, great video & a very nice shield. Do you suppose, in that era they would add another layer to the linen at any time for greater strength without increasing weight? Got to go to work now, hope you & "The Rat" find an affordable home soon. Thank-you, Dante.
Having just made a "budget" shield out of plywood, i now feel like i should make a new one following your shopping list.
Plywood is fine and all, and it's great because it's relatively cheap and readily available, so you can learn a lot of things about how to work with wood from it.. .
But it just doesnt look and feel very historically accurate, not compared what your new shield ended up looking like.
Oh well, at least i'll have a project to look forward to in the summer months. ;)
Great video otherwise, and i hope we will get some sparring videos with the new shield, as well as some thought about how they might have been used.
i personaly just liked the style and colur of the one you destroyed but i can defentely see that this one is a little beter
Skall, i think they would have used atleast 3 layers of linen and glue both front and back. whatch Eldgrim and Thrands video tutorial on shiled making. You could take some playwood and cut some squares, use cheap canvas, and test how much of a difference extra layers would do. it would be wery interesting.