Viking shield

[troy]

This is'nt bushcraft orientated but Eric's told me there may be a few on here interested.
It's a 30 inch shield of 12mm ply with rawhide edge and lace - carvings are various pictures I've picked up along the way.

It's is made for some one specific and if any can read runes your probably guess who that could be.

 

[Scout]

Thats a very nice shield Troy.
Fantastic carving's.

Nathan

 

[bushwacker bob]

Impressive work mate. There is a forum member on here who could make good use of that sometimes.

 

[Enzo]

:wow1: Very Nice it look like alot of had work went into that :wow1:

 

[Wayland]

Nice work, I'm not sure I've got the runes transliterated correctly though.

They look like an early form.

 

[troy]

Cheers for everybodys comments, it's one of those skills that looks differcult but is'nt, just alot of practise and learning a few techniques.

The font I used Wayland for the rune's is called 'Runic', I got it ages ago for something else. As for the form of rune's it is, I'm afraid I have no idea althought I know from recent searches that there is a difference in them - I guess I used this one as it was easier to carve.

This was the first carving I have done for 6 months, and I do like to keep my skills up by practising on something now and again so if someone like bushwacker wants anything done, just ask - swapping or trading is far more interesting to me.

 

[Cobweb]

Lovely work, I'm sooo jealous of al the talent here on the forums.


TL: OATHSWORTH
TR: WHALEROAD
BL: THHEWOLFSEA
BR: WHITERAMN

Verbatim.
Translation of the elder futhark by me.



Is it right?

 

[troy]

Ye the translation is near enough - the last three are titles of books written about the oathsworn by Robert Low (initials made by branches in trees) - http://robert-low.com/.

 

[Robby]

Wow, that looks fantastic, some amazing craftsmenship on there

translations would be Oathsworn, The Whale Road, The Wolf Sea and The White Raven.
They refer to a trilogy of books by an author called Robert Lowe. And I'm sure I recognise the emblem on the sail....

http://www.glasgowvikings.co.uk/

The oath.

“We swear to be brothers to each other, bone blood and steel. On gungnir, Odin’s spear we swear, may he curse us to the Nine Realms and beyond if we break this faith, one to another.”

 

[SkogKniv]

Great work! Would make our ancestors proud!

 

[drewdunnrespect]

wow is the only word to discribe that

 

[jddubber]

wow is the only word to discribe that

yeah that just about sums up what i was thinkin, id love to have those kinda skills

 

[belabear]

fantastic work!

can´t keep my eyes from it!!

a big wow!

cheers

belabear

 

[w00dsmoke]

Troy, I really love your work, I've had a good look at your website and awesome is the only description.

How do you fancy a tutorial on basic leather carving? :You_Rock_ No pressure!

 

[Aussiepom]

12mm? That's one thick shield. They would normally have been about 1/2 that. The work you've put into it is great though.

Is it purely for presentation, or will it see some use? Kind of like an expensive knife - it would be a shame to keep one hidden in a draw rather than use it for what it's maker intended.

 

[troy]

Cheers for everybodies comments - If I can do it then most 6 month year old's could also, probably!!

In reality I,m about as artistic as a newt, most scenes I carve are from line drawings/photo's or painting that others have done already, I just turn them into 2D or 3D depending how you look at it.

As for a tutorial, I do have a book cover I,m supposed to be doing of various animals - no background scenes but it would give you an idea of how it's done using the least amount of tools - I'll keep you posted.

1/2 12mm - bit late telling me know!!!. No, I tried 6 mm and it just did not seem enough - the guy its for is a reanacter, he has said it will hang on his wall but you know these modern vikings, two pints of whisky and off they go grabing any thing and raising mayhem!!

 

[Robby]

12mm is a fairly heavy shield. Archaeologically speaking the shields did tend to be lighter. In some cases they were tapered in thickness from the Boss (the metal centre piece out to the rim. We decided to experiment with it, I'm one of The Glasgow vikings and interestingly we found that thinner shields stood up to more punishment than heavier ones. We found that the lighter ones absorbed the power of a blow by flexing whereas the heavier ones try to resist the blow and take more damage.

 

[Aussiepom]

Hi Robby,

Spot on with my experiences. Not to mention that the thinner shields are easier to make, cheaper and easier to handle - so there's more chance of you managing to get the shield between you and the oncoming lump of metal.

A definite case of less really is more.

 

[Robby]

Incidentally if you read The Whale Road, you can find out why I'm one of the few short-haired vikings. With that comment I'd like to point out I'm not on commision from Bob Lowe. Just like to see how many of you are curious enough to find out.