Postby Brian Hunt » Fri Jun 10, 2005 8:23 pm
This can be a complicated answer. What type of sheild? A historically accurate one? or just one for sparring? A Viking or Anglos Saxon center held one? A curved heater? A kite? A scottish targe? A Italian metal Target? A German duelling shield?
Making your own shield will alway's be cheaper than buying, provided you have the tools you need, and the skills neccessary to properly build one. A general sparring shield to just bash around with will be quick and easy to make. All you need for these is some plywood, some edging (a large rawhide bone soaked in water and unrolled works nice, but wear gloves - you can get a nasty infection if you are cut with rawhide), or less historical and more SCA, rubber hose, or even foam if you are sparring with paddeds.
A historically correct shield with the proper historic materials will be a bit harder to construct, and will cost much more - just because a large number of them were leather lined, plus if you get really authentic, things like lime wood (the most common wood used for Viking shields) can be hard to find.
I hope this helps, if you want more specific help, please let us know the type of shield you want to make.
Brian Hunt
GFS
