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Description
Twenty-seven inch Viking round shield: a traditional tool made with modern techniques. The base of this shield is 3/4" pine planks, butted, pinned, and glued together for an exceedingly strong bond. Like archeological examples this shield is bevelled so it is thickest at the center and thins to about half its thickness at the edge. The haft runs perpendicular to the planks and is made of oak.

The face of the shield is 7 oz. full-grain vegetable-tanned leather, hand-tooled with a depiction of Jörmangandr, the Midgard Serpent of Norse Mythology. Hand-tooling is the method of cutting a design into a single piece of leather, then stamping and hammering down portions of the design to create a three dimensional feeling out of a single flat piece of leather. After tooling, this piece was dyed to give the serpent a blue background reminiscent of deep ocean water. This was done by carefully painting dye along all of the tooling lines before dyeing the larger areas with a sponge or dauber. After dyeing, the leather is treated with a collection of oils and waxes to preserve the work, water-proof it, and give it a rich luster. Then it is attached to the face of the shield using industrial strength bonding cement.

The metal center boss is domed to create a space behind the shield for the wielder's hand. Traditionally this would have been hand-hammered out of iron, starting with a flat piece of metal and hammering it into a depression in a hardwood stump until the desired shape was achieved. We do the same thing, using a round-faced hammer and a dishing stump... only we use 14 gauge steel instead of iron. Once finished, it was attached to the shield using hand-hammered solid metal rivets that connect the full thickness of the shield.

This shield includes a completely removable shoulder strap for ease of use and display.

The Jörmangandr artwork is not our original artwork, it was simply used for this project. It was found online with no source or original artist named. We would love to give credit to the original artist if possible.

Description
Twenty-seven inch Viking round shield: a traditional tool made with modern techniques. The base of this shield is 3/4" pine planks, butted, pinned, and glued together for an exceedingly strong bond. Like archeological examples this shield is bevelled so it is thickest at the center and thins to about half its thickness at the edge. The haft runs perpendicular to the planks and is made of oak.

The face of the shield is 7 oz. full-grain vegetable-tanned leather, hand-tooled with a depiction of Jörmangandr, the Midgard Serpent of Norse Mythology. Hand-tooling is the method of cutting a design into a single piece of leather, then stamping and hammering down portions of the design to create a three dimensional feeling out of a single flat piece of leather. After tooling, this piece was dyed to give the serpent a blue background reminiscent of deep ocean water. This was done by carefully painting dye along all of the tooling lines before dyeing the larger areas with a sponge or dauber. After dyeing, the leather is treated with a collection of oils and waxes to preserve the work, water-proof it, and give it a rich luster. Then it is attached to the face of the shield using industrial strength bonding cement.

The metal center boss is domed to create a space behind the shield for the wielder's hand. Traditionally this would have been hand-hammered out of iron, starting with a flat piece of metal and hammering it into a depression in a hardwood stump until the desired shape was achieved. We do the same thing, using a round-faced hammer and a dishing stump... only we use 14 gauge steel instead of iron. Once finished, it was attached to the shield using hand-hammered solid metal rivets that connect the full thickness of the shield.

This shield includes a completely removable shoulder strap for ease of use and display.

The Jörmangandr artwork is not our original artwork, it was simply used for this project. It was found online with no source or original artist named. We would love to give credit to the original artist if possible.