Making, testing and repairing a Viking center-grip shield

Materials used:
- 7 mm (9/32'') pine boards
- Wood glue
- Linen cloth
- Shield boss: ww4.aitsafe.com...
- Linen cloth
- Rawhide from a dog chew (optional)
- Leather (optional)
- Nails or rivets
Archaeological sources for original shields:
members.ozemail...
More information about shields and their use:
www.hurstwic.or...
The sword used for the cutting test, The Caithness by Albion:
ww4.aitsafe.com...
********************************************************************************
My favorite online store for buying swords (worldwide shipping):
ww4.aitsafe.com...
Some recommended knife makers on Amazon:
www.amazon.com/...
Want to help fund future videos?
/ skallagrim
My Facebook page:
/ skallagrimyt

[@woodslore8537]

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.

[@Skallagrim]

Glad to know.

[@thuledragon6663]

that is really cute :) makes me want to tear.

[@einarblood-axe5172]

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.

[@chronovac]

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

[@arnjhon]

Well yes, and no. The rust is only the pigment. It's actually linseed oil that "prevents" the wood to rot.

[@jonasandersson7367]

Us lead ahum that eh prevents microbes and breaks all kinds of rules

[@Sephirotheeez]

Will it successfully block someone attempting to end you rightly?

[@ruolbu]

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.

[@Sephirotheeez]

My ears are not what they used to be. i am sorry

[@poopdump2]

Midorikawa Shun now you're just shoehorning it in there the statement "End Him Rightly" is losing its power

[@ruolbu]

JsinXx The natural course of every meme, don't fight it, these things are made to die.

[@MrPoopoonachos]

Midorikawa Shun AHHHHH!!! AN ORC!!!

[@keithlocke2205]

Hey Skal.....strength, and luck to you and your lady, man.

[@gosonegr]

I don't know about vikings, but traditionaly, most civilization used bee wax or pine resin to make wood waterproof

[@baileymccarthy4659]

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.

[@ShivaX51]

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.

[@M4Corn]

ShivaX51 you guys are not listening! See "traditionaly" and "most civilization". It ends your arguments rightly

[@TheGamersGuild1999]

+ShivaX51 not "boats" vikings had "ships"

[@louis67gg]

This shield is way more historically accurate than the other one ! Great concept!

[@Metalbirne]

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?

[@logartist]

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.

[@lordjs9726]

That's a really cool shield. Viking shields are probably my favorite type of shield.

[@DevilsAdvocateofnazareth]

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*

[@screaminghellion]

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

[@rideswithscissors]

Devils Advocate Rowdy Yates!

[@MetalMaestro]

Ensiferum's version!

[@Direwoof]

Devils Advocate What in the world are you talking about?

[@DevilsAdvocateofnazareth]

Something white, slimey called Marshmallowcream Hell, I'm 17! I know it from the Blues Brothers.

[@EugeneFNS]

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.

[@shmuckling]

You guys made a beautiful shield! You friends are awesome!

[@tapioperala3010]

Greta video, Skall! I'm thinking of making a viking round shield myself, and this really comes in hand!

[@shink7163]

Really enjoy seeing Viking themed videos! I love this kind of stuff and it is shockingly sparse on youtube. Keep up the great work!

[@ChristopherSajdak]

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.

[@jostpottner4708]

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.

[@Mtonazzi]

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.

[@arnjhon]

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.

[@bloodsweatandsteel.2749]

Nice work on the shield. Please keep up the good work. I've been enjoying your videos. So thank you for sharing.

[@ZemplinTemplar]

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.

[@JeremySpringfield]

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.

[@TheBoyFromNorfolk]

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.

[@JoeOG]

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.

[@antitankgunguy3192]

I really like that purpleheart grip. Purpleheart makes for a good heartwood for a longbow as well.

[@Xenophaige_reads]

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.

[@stephenfields6236]

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.

[@TheShadoWringer]

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

[@sartanko]

Viking from Sweden approves!

[@Jon1on]

Dan Slash -Viking -From Sweden Choose one. (kidding, ofc)

[@MrSamulai]

jonsuttelade I chooce... From They make nice games.

[@PinkB00mer]

MrSamulai Try rolling. It will save you.

[@siouxsettewerks]

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!

[@thesurivor0777]

skall, what if you nailed a metal rim onto the shield that left about 6 inches of un-protected shield out in all directions. it would give the advantages of the metal rim but an opponents sword can still get stuck in the outer edge

[@shaunydalton]

Homelikejet all i saw was : Nailed, Rim, 6 inches, un protected and stuck in

[@Candesce]

Homelikejet That's actually kind of a clever idea.

[@thesurivor0777]

***** thank you, i hope skall notices

[@Candesce]

Homelikejet It's a good enough idea that I'd be surprised if it hasn't previously been done.

[@thesurivor0777]

***** ive never seen anything like it

[@xXRobbie98Xx]

Do you think you could upload a full length video of the shield being made step by step?

[@TheMegaRin]

I am a Viking shield and this offends me.

[@IAMDEATHWISH]

***** I am a shield and this Viking offends me.

[@Kenicavus]

***** I am a Viking sword and this arouses me.

[@SKy_the_Thunder]

***** This is shield and I offend Vikings...

[@RasoKye]

Viking offend shield me please no El psy congroo.

[@darkwolf291]

***** I'm a Roman and I offend Vikings

[@spiderjerusalem4152]

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!

[@albinotatertot]

You have three nails in the bottom of the handle, but four nails on the top! Skal, what the hell! Besides the non symmetrical handle, it's an excellent shield. :3

[@brettknoss486]

You could clinch nails. Drive a nail all the way then hammer it arond and back into the wood.

[@brandonbates3617]

Holy hell, you deserve more subscribers! love your videos

[@DarkThunderism]

Shields are a very nice canvas. I'd draw Yggdrasil on it in black.

[@fernandoreichert2822]

skall can you make a video talking about spear techniques on 1x1 battles saying the weapons and armors that spears have advantage and desvantage in fight against spears

[@TheJamie1103]

Ever tried making a wicker shield if so please record it id like to see how to make a wicker shield espaccially in the coffin design

[@FredrikBergelv]

Hello skull I just want to start of by saying that I am a huge fan and really like you're videos. 7:35 you said that you want that you're opponent sword will stuck in you're shield. Because then you're can control you're opponents sword. But the vikings actually had a steel rond around the shield. The shield would hold much better. And think in a battle and you got like 10 cuts into you're shield. Then it would brake. But with a shield with a steel rond it wouldn't. And the vikings had a the steel rond. And at that time you only got one shield. // Swedish viking nerd

[@shottybeatssword]

Oh, and btw. If you want to make a really durable shield that kan take a ton of damage, you should get "Black Alder" wood, some of the toughest stuff there is.

[@andrewrosniac3500]

Hey Skall, I'm not quite certain if you've mentioned this before ir not, but how long would a sword or other weapon last? I ask this because I've seen depictions of bucklers looking like they are covered in metal, and I would assume that would be hell on a cutting edge, and I suppose larger wooden shields would have a similar effect but take a lot longer. Anyways keep up the good work and good luck to you on the move

[@isakaldazwulfazizsunus7564]

I'm wondering about the relevance of attacks on the side of the shield, as far as warfare is concerned. Your comment on single combat use of this shield is very interesting, and that's probably one way they used them during Holmganga or Einvigi, but I'm not sure they would attack the boards of the shield in battle formations, following the shield-wall. Getting stuck there seems like a pretty stupid idea and even with very good weapons, it's hard to cut through those shields.

[@ryanhouk3560]

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?

[@valorboyd1175]

+Ryan Houk That is how I would like to do my own, except I do not know how to do the iron rim

[@ryanhouk3560]

+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?

[@towolves2]

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?

[@MeneerAanvalsbeer]

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...

[@jeremyknop5378]

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.

[@Alopex1]

Absolutely fantastic shield, Skall. Really great work. A question however: given how thin it is - would arrows and javelins (as used in the period in question, 500-1100 AD) punch through it? I am aware that the angle of penetration makes a difference here, of course. I would find it really interesting if you could do some testing with javelins and arrows. Not a demand, just a humble request :-)

[@IttyBittyVox]

I don't normally comment before watching the whole video, and I'm only 13 seconds in, but DAMN Skalla, nice job!

[@CounterNerd]

I'm impressed, man. You could probably sell that for quite a good sum.

[@UGATEAM]

Nice build Skall,how much does the shield weight? i myself will upload a new "how to" on some viking shield builds, i just wait for the bosses to delivered. i can't wait to see more videos using the shields you have. I find shield sparring more interesting since in most history battles where fought with shields spears and axes!

[@Schmunzel57]

If you find some indications in archaeology papers was 12-6mm thickness ore something similar. That means that all the shields (what I have seen) are in the middle thicker then outwards. The rim was sometimes covert wit bronze ore Iron. But in most finds only the boss survived. It is not clear how often the metal cover was used because it was only around 0,2-0,4 mm Thick on the shields I have seen. The Nails were bend over twice (what woodworker call riveted) so that the tip stuck in the wood. I need some time to find that out. :-/ Also a problem is, that archaeologists often create there own words for tings already have a name by craftsman. :-( Other real riveted with a little metal plate on the beck so that you get a nails had size on both sides. And Nails not those modern cheap wire nails/pins.

[@maitrenain3251]

hey, i'm not sure of what i'm saying but i see many time this so, i give this info (and tell me if it's wrong). When they do their shield, vikings put plank in 2 side, because when they're hit in the "line" of the wood, it could break, so there was plank in one direction and plank in other direction to solidify the shield ^^ hope i don't say anything stupid, bye ^^

[@jeffl0385]

Have you ever considered trying to get on the show Vikings, at least as an extra?

[@100dfrost]

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.

[@RuerlKhan]

You should buy your linen in IKEA its actually fairly cheap there in my experience (at least that is the case here in Denmark) you don't need the best quality linen after all.

[@thejackinati2759]

Your good with that Linen Skall. Ever think of making your own tunic?

[@Halofan4001]

That bird is so fucking common in Vancouver god damn. The two goddamn notes are the satanic song of Canada

[@Candesce]

Ryan Shane I love that bird :)

[@airnt]

historical (viking)shields were often not one thickness, but would taper to the edge (16-6 mm taper for instance) as is evient from many grave finds as well as exstant examples. also linen covering is uncommon, most fragments and extant examples show painting on the wood. of course a hide covering IS historical. though it is hard to tell if it was leather or rawhide, as the rawhide would be hard to distinguish after 1000 years in a bog. but rawhide makes sense, as it is cheaper and better and hair on the shields is mentioned in the sagas.

[@ninjatt1]

you should have glued the twho wooden plates together for dubble thickness as well.

[@dueljumpers6957]

What is the main advantage of having a flat shield rather than a curving shield . was it simply the wood used in straight planks

[@MrAmazing21399]

Looking forward to seeing this in future sparring videos :) Great work!

[@Zedigan]

Hey Skall if you ever do another fantasy weapon scrutinized video, do you recon you could do one on fantasy shields? Namely The Bulwark of Azzinoth from world of Warcraft or various shields from skyrim?

[@pascalpetitjean8378]

Hey skall love the videos , I dont know if someone already answerd you about the water proofing of the sheild but here's a suggestion i don't know if they would have done this but maybe they might have used beeswax a historical methode to water proof tents clothes and leatehr so maybe wood and sheilds too

[@bbbkk137]

9:40 If you hold that shield like that and someone hits you from the side. How will the shield react? Will it break?

[@CasparAbelmann]

Prophet It will accelerate in the direction of the cut, the blade will be stuck and the shield will wobble. And then you cut that bastard's head off for damaging your shield!

[@bbbkk137]

You got me. I try to correct other people but now it's time for me.

[@podjawsomness4642]

håller på med en sköld själv. fanns som du säger i videon inga plankor tunna nog så köpte ett flätat staket av 3mm plank som jag plockade isär. limmar just nu plank för en 80cm sköld med två lager plank sedan linne på. så blir smalare än denna men mer styrka tror jag :) sköldbucklan har jag själv smidit ut.

[@MegaFarinato]

when youre adding that white glue thingy or whatever, isnt more better best to fill the gaps so it leaves a plain suface, making it a single "block"?

[@mlawist]

did you consider making the shield double layered with the wooden boards? (going crosswise) I think that would have made it thicker and drastically increased the structural strength. or do you think that would have been too heavy?

[@NorphGames]

It's so... Beautiful

[@Blueswailer]

That is a really nice looking shield, certainly more refined than the "destruction test"-shield you previously made. (I know you said you considered it while making the shield but) have you considered possibly in the future painting some kind of design on it ? I remember reading from somewhere that vikings and some other nations painted designs on their shields in thick paint to obscure the direction of the wood grain and make it harder for enemies to split the shield in combat. Apparently this was done quite a bit ? Can't cite sources at this moment because my memory is about as reliable as a North Korean missile test

[@BigIrish89]

i own ragnor lothbruks shield from season 2 of vikings looks similar only its red with a raven design on it..

[@whowantstoknowido]

I can see how plywood would be more resilient than planks. I have to wonder ,though if craftsmanship would make a difference. Not to denigrate your skills but if someone were to spend most of their life making shields perhaps they would have picked up some tips or tricks not available to someone who does it as a hobbiest?

[@Skallagrim]

whowantstoknowido Of course.

[@Usammityduzntafraidofanythin]

whowantstoknowido Making plywood is harder to do with an axe than planks. They didn't really have saws back then (and if they did, they were pretty expensive; iron cast I think with tempered tips), so it would have been pretty tricky to get thin strips or sheets out of a tree necessary for plywood gluing. The best they could do is get bark with a knife. You can't exactly shave sheets off a tree in the same way (unless it's soft wood, maybe? either way, they didn't discover that if it was possible, and it would probably not have been any more effective than planks).

[@KageRyuu6]

Usammity If you split along the grain you can get fairly thin sheets of wood, and by sweating the would you could easily straighten out any knots in the wood. Though of course carefully splitting along the grain and sweating the wood would take considerably longer than the plank method for a shield only marginally stronger. So planked shields probably weren't popular because of technological limitations, but rather ease and speed of manufacture.

[@samuelyeates5760]

Usammity Watch the movie Happy People. You can see a Siberian trapper make quite thin boards using just an axe and a some homemade wooden wedges.

[@nicolascrosset1664]

Hello. First, I want to tell you that your videos are great, keep up with the good job :-) I am considering building my own viking shield and I would like to have your opinion about something I saw in another video (from Dark Horse industry Arts). In that video, he puts rope between the wood and the rawhide, stitching the rawhide with the rope inside. It seems like it could make sense, in order to absorb part of the shock or something like that, but how historically accurate would that be?

[@dwightehowell6062]

Linen is stronger than cotton I'm told but it would have most likely been as thick as canvas however rawhide from a steer or bull is going to make it a heck of a lot tougher. They would have most likely used milk paint. Both Bob Villa and Martha Stewart have recipes you can find by googling milk paint. The might have coated it with linseed oil and the Romans actually used shield covers.

[@PsylomeAlpha]

Dwight E Howell the thing is that most weapons humans have designed over the years were rather good at cutting flesh (like rawhide and leather) but were actually rather poor at cutting fabric. I can't tell you how many times my life has been saved purely by a single slightly over-sized (and thus baggy and mobile) t-shirt.

[@dwightehowell6062]

Dried raw hide and leather are pretty much not the same thing when it comes to cutting it. Get a rawhide dog treat and try slicing that with a knife.

[@PsylomeAlpha]

Dwight E Howell a knife doesn't cut that deeply, but I can get through it with my swords no problem. already tested it. cloth on the other hand provides more resistance depending on the cloth.

[@MrRostit]

I don't know about the Vikings but Germanic tribes used beeswax or tallow to waterproof their equipment. Other peoples in antiquity did that too.

[@Freezaen]

Skall, what did you use for the boss? Did you have to order it?

[@Skallagrim]

Freezaen It's in the video description.

[@MathieusChainsawCarvings]

when raiding the wood would get drained with sal water. wonder what that would do to the shield

[@JonasTheBonas]

great video skall

[@Zolbat]

is rotating the shield a technique that makes sense? Would it deflect the sword?

[@iirainey]

I made a shield similar to this a few months ago. Do you think that these shields could withstand a charge without breaking?

[@a13x9]

Hey Skall! Seeing that shield reminded me of of the tv show Vikings, do you watch it? I think it would be fun if you made a video talking about it, the weapons, the armor, fighting styles and so on...

[@shaunydalton]

a13x80 quick answer Axes: bullshit Swords: fair Fighting style: good and bad Armour: crap Clothing: shoot the costume department...

[@adamforde8125]

Would one solid piece not be sturdier ? Instead of planks?

[@tai-lunchou660]

How heavy is that shield? Not sure if the vikings used casein-based mineral paints, which is quite water-resistant.

[@streetseed1324]

why are the viking putting a nice edge on the shield ? if you are smacking someone in the side of the head with it would you not leave it wood sharp ?

[@hannahshalvey9879]

I'm having an impossible time making/find a way to attach a strap to the back of my shield that is strong enough to hang it up. I bought a historically accurate belt buckle to adjust it but that's all I'm going off of. Any advice?

[@HurFordMeat]

That shiled looks very good dude. Not that I could diferentiate a bad shield from a good one, but it seems legit xD well done. Nice video too.

[@roflcopterkklol]

Iron bark would make an epic shield, pine is a really soft wood.

[@jacobs9083]

The Danes sometimes used pine intentionally because it meant their enemy's weapons would stick

[@sststr]

If circular power saws had existed a thousand years ago they would have used them with great delight. Don't feel bad for using one to facilitate your production.

[@arnjhon]

so Skall, what's the diameter of this shield? when I made my own shield I found out that the smallest diameter they have found is 75cm and the largest to be 100cm (1m) I chose mine to be 85cm :) which is quite large but then it offers great much of protection, I also found out that I can fit completely behind it, so if there should turn out to come a sky of arrows raigning down on me I would be quite protected :) although the arrows might punch a bit through the shield. I'm planning to put linen on the inside as well, I've heard that IKEA sells linen at a decent price, but I'm not all too sure :) still worth checking out :)

[@mikanlan]

Remember though, in a shield wall I wouldn't nor would the Danes or Saxons use long weapons such as swords(plus they are very expensive) they would have used a sax or a seax, long knife. Shields were meant to break. In a Holmgang a warrior would carry three shields because of how quickly they broke, linden however, which is what u made my shield out of is very flexible and a Saxon domed shield is very strong. Oh and don't want yo be picky but there weren't many two handed swords in the 9th century in Europe except maybe some Irish kingdoms might have used them as ornamental weapons. Loved the video though and that's a pretty good starting shield.

[@mikanlan]

My grammar though...

[@7dayspking]

+Nerd_Middle Earth Shields weren't designed to break...and would rarely break under standard circumstances. Receive damage? Certainly but break? Not really. Also the arming sword isn't as long as you seem to be suggesting it was....in actual combat they would have used spears mainly.

[@poohbear4821]

Scots had two handed swords - claymores

[@7dayspking]

Sammy Elliot In the Renaissance, yes.

[@SimicFishCrab]

it looks like you could put a knee to it and it would snap in half. Maybe you should have put two layers of pine planks and reverse the grain on the second layer to make it stronger.

[@shaunydalton]

SimicFishCrab personally i would of recommended a few more sheets of linen... or to keep the cost down and d what i did which was take the white fabric that you get from the back of a curtain, and that does the job with one sheet

[@PsylomeAlpha]

The S Man ugly scratchy bedsheets on clearance from walmart. buy a fuckton of them and you'll have yourself an armory's worth of fabric in no time.

[@koosh138]

I would have used either wooden nails or maybe a sort of riveting. The floorboard pieces could be an authentic representation of inserting wafers or so between each slat to glue the pieces together. Maybe stitching the rim on could have provided more of a way of binding and/or resisting the blade's momentum.

[@PsylomeAlpha]

koosh138 wooden nails? you mean dowels? also, he DID use a sort of riveting, it's just the difficult way to go about it by cutting a nail off with only a bit of it left and then hammering it flat. also, you can only do this with softer metal nails. the ones made with nickel and zinc and whatnot tend to crack before they mushroom.

[@koosh138]

You might call them dowels, I don't think so, but its like riveting but you hammer in one or two wooden nails and they wedge up against each other to create enough friction to hold fast, arguably as good as a metal nail would.

[@PsylomeAlpha]

koosh138 never seen that done in my life, but if you can make it work then more power to you.

[@koosh138]

Its usually done in longboats or some furnture

[@PsylomeAlpha]

koosh138 it does seem like something that would work better for larger or thicker pieces of wood, especially in a case where the wood would tend to swell like with a viking longboat. I just don't think it would work well for a shield of this thickness due to the relatively brittle nature of the wood.

[@Williamstanway]

Would love to see the todeschini the in action

[@gerythionargarys7848]

I can completely see them using something on both sides. Would make quite a bit of sense.

[@Erorikok98]

I'm no expert but i think one of the reson they didn't used metal on the edge of the shield was because it was expensive and a shield was used for one fight.

[@blackfin2389]

I have to wonder if this is considered one of the smaller shields what are the larger ones like and (I can't understand the metric system I'm M'erican so it frustrates me) what dimensions did they have?

[@MrFrowijn]

Skall. I heard often that shield were also used as a weapon. Could you maybe sometime in the future make a video about that?

[@shaunydalton]

MrFrowijn well its not exactly a difficult concept... hit them with the rim in a cutting motion or punch them with the boss i put my mate in hospital because he caught the edge of my shield and the rawhide practically shredded a few inches into his arm... the blood looks mint on my shield but thats the last time he sparred with me :D... you have to love full contact, i remember getting a black eye because i got straight hit across my face with a pommel... sounds reckless but we do take steps for our safety but of course accidents happen the only time i was ever reckless was when i was drunk i asked my mate to throw her knives at me and i had to block them.. i deflected all nine ahahahha

[@Tom-tv7qf]

MrFrowijn You can look up videos on youtube, but actualy only few of the moves can be used to be effective. The main thing about attacking with shield is that oppenent doesn't know/expect it. Very situational.

[@elgostine]

i woulda suggested extra layers front and back, ideally using thin leather although thats kinda expensive

[@joe090309]

Lol Purple Heart as far as I am aware is über expensive he's just like aww fuck it I have some extra Purple Heart lying around let's use that as a grip

[@erogrindelwald8836]

WHAT is the difference between center grip and strapped?