Shield Review
Oct 2, 2009 3:10:17 GMT
Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2009 3:10:17 GMT
Pine wood steel rimmed and leather bound round shield
From Lord Braden's Amoury
By Phillip Cha from SF Bay area in California
Stats
Size: 23 inch diameter
Weight: 7.5 lb
Construction: Pine Planks with Steel Rim
Shield Face
The Shield is finished with a dark brown stain. The stain is very evenly placed and looks nice. The bands are oak with studs nailed in. The big square studs are nickle plated, but the nickle plating isn't too good so it wears off pretty quick. The round studds don't have that finish and came with a nice finish from natural oxidation. The only minor complaint I have is that the bands for a cross design should ideally be at a diagonal so that both bands give support to the planks. As it is now, the one going across adds strength, but the one going vertically does pretty much nothing. The leather band was added on request so I can use this shield without the steel rim destroying SCA rattan swords or WMA steel blunts. The leather is very nice and thick and of VERY good quality and it is held in place at the face with what looks like hand made nails to give it a nice touch.
Shield Back
The back of the shield has the same nice finish as the front, along with the nice nails used to hold the leather to the back. The arm padding has the same high quality leather and the straps are attached in an X patter with an adjustable arm strap. The leather support straps once again suffers from the same issue as the oak bands...but as the leather doesn't offer a great deal of support, it's much less an issue for the back. The strapping maybe too close to the rim for some users, but I find I like it quite a bit and find it easy to control the shield.
Overall
The shield is light and quick and quite fun. It will hold up to SCA rattan or proper steel blunts like the hanwei practical swords, but I would not use this shield againt heavier weapons like maces or axes if you use such in a stage fight. The price is quite reasonable as this shield had a buy it now price under $100 bucks...and for a nice simple fun shield for not too much money, this shield is quite nice.
Pro
Light
Well constructed
Handmade nail (or at least one that look as such)
Good materials used through out
Inexpensive
Easy to control
Con
Cheap nickle plating of the square studs
The bands aren't ideal structurally...however it should be noted that if you want a cross design on the face vs an X then this isn't a con.
Where to buy one?
Well he has an e-bay store below. He makes his shields so this is where you get em and nowhere else.
stores.shop.ebay.com/Lord-Bradens-Armory__W0QQ_armrsZ1
From Lord Braden's Amoury
By Phillip Cha from SF Bay area in California
Stats
Size: 23 inch diameter
Weight: 7.5 lb
Construction: Pine Planks with Steel Rim
Shield Face
The Shield is finished with a dark brown stain. The stain is very evenly placed and looks nice. The bands are oak with studs nailed in. The big square studs are nickle plated, but the nickle plating isn't too good so it wears off pretty quick. The round studds don't have that finish and came with a nice finish from natural oxidation. The only minor complaint I have is that the bands for a cross design should ideally be at a diagonal so that both bands give support to the planks. As it is now, the one going across adds strength, but the one going vertically does pretty much nothing. The leather band was added on request so I can use this shield without the steel rim destroying SCA rattan swords or WMA steel blunts. The leather is very nice and thick and of VERY good quality and it is held in place at the face with what looks like hand made nails to give it a nice touch.
Shield Back
The back of the shield has the same nice finish as the front, along with the nice nails used to hold the leather to the back. The arm padding has the same high quality leather and the straps are attached in an X patter with an adjustable arm strap. The leather support straps once again suffers from the same issue as the oak bands...but as the leather doesn't offer a great deal of support, it's much less an issue for the back. The strapping maybe too close to the rim for some users, but I find I like it quite a bit and find it easy to control the shield.
Overall
The shield is light and quick and quite fun. It will hold up to SCA rattan or proper steel blunts like the hanwei practical swords, but I would not use this shield againt heavier weapons like maces or axes if you use such in a stage fight. The price is quite reasonable as this shield had a buy it now price under $100 bucks...and for a nice simple fun shield for not too much money, this shield is quite nice.
Pro
Light
Well constructed
Handmade nail (or at least one that look as such)
Good materials used through out
Inexpensive
Easy to control
Con
Cheap nickle plating of the square studs
The bands aren't ideal structurally...however it should be noted that if you want a cross design on the face vs an X then this isn't a con.
Where to buy one?
Well he has an e-bay store below. He makes his shields so this is where you get em and nowhere else.
stores.shop.ebay.com/Lord-Bradens-Armory__W0QQ_armrsZ1