u/Aggressive-Can-1133

Subtitle: To shield, or not to shield… Is that even a question? (Also, wear a helmet…)

One evening some time ago I got bored and, like any perfectly normal person (at least by my definition), I turned off the TV and decided to make myself a shield.

My first shield, I should add.

Since I didn't feel like waiting until the next day to look for more proper materials, I decided to build it using whatever I already had at home.

I chose the illustration in the second picture as inspiration for its shape. After doing some research, I found that a shield of this general form most likely did exist, but today we know it only from vase paintings, so virtually nothing is known about its actual construction (https://www.salimbeti.com/micenei/shields3.htm). I took that as an invitation to experiment.

The core is made from an MDF offcut I already had. The edges were reinforced with strips of old fabric glued around the perimeter. On the front, I added one layer of chicken wire, three layers of burlap and a layer cut from an old black T-shirt, all bonded together with wood glue. Around the edge I glued a 10 mm rope, with the fabric layers wrapped over it.

Before adding the final fabric layer, I shaped the lions, ships and suns from ordinary twine and glued them onto the surface. Covering them with the T-shirt created the raised decoration. A little yellow fabric paint completed the design.

The metal edging came from an old stainless steel baking tray - I didn't have any bronze or brass at hand. It is rather thin, but light and durable, although shaping it turned out to be far more work than I had expected.

While making the steel rim, I learned why leather was generally the preferred edging material for shields, even though metal was also used historically. Steel is much harder to work with using simple hand tools. If you ever had to repair such a shield during a campaign, you would quickly understand the appeal of leather. It was a very useful practical lesson.

The bosses are made from the same sheet steel, hammered into shape, each backed by a solid wooden block. On the back I fitted a one-handed central grip inspired by examples from the Egyptian New Kingdom (but with an attachment system totally made up by me). Behind the grip is a simple foam pad wrapped in an old black sock for comfort.
I also put in a leather strap for easier carrying, but with this handle design, this can get uncomfortable faster than expected – something that I did not factor in...

In the end I managed to build a functional shield for less than €15 worth of materials.

Ironically, the most expensive components were the brass rivets.

Since this was my very first shield, there are naturally a few mistakes here and there. Overall, though, I'm quite pleased with how it turned out, and I learned a great deal during the process.

So far the shield has been tested against maces and blades and has handled both without much difficulty. I still haven't tested it against arrows, although I suspect it would do reasonably well, at least if we are not talking about a 160-pound war bow, but something more typical.

A very important discovery, however, came during testing.

With this type of one-handed central vertical grip, if a blow lands on the half of the shield closest to your body, the shield will stop the strike—but the impact will also make it rotate, causing the metal rim to swing back toward you. If you are blocking a strike aimed at your head, your head may still get hit—this time by your own shield. The blow is much weaker, of course, but still unpleasant, and in a real fight it would certainly be distracting.

For me, at least, this explains why shields and helmets were such a common combination throughout history.

Has anyone here experienced something similar with this type of shield grip?

Some specifications:

• Height: 56 cm (22 in)
• Width: 50 cm (19.7 in) widest part, 36.5 cm (14.4 in) narrowest part
• MDF core thickness: 9 mm (0.35 in)
• Overall edge thickness: 1.7 cm (0.67 in)
• Weight: 3.508 kg (7.73 lbs)

It's not very historical, but history-inspired, I guess.
Any thoughts, opinions or advice for future projects are welcome!

A couple of weeks ago I posted about a fun experiment of mine: making sling ammo out of sugar (caramel, to be more precise).

It sparked quite a bit of interest, and several people asked to see how I made it.

So here it is: a short video showing the process, including the exact recipe I use... and a bit of advice on how to keep your ammo safe from predators commonly found around the home.

Enjoy! And if you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment — I'll be happy to answer.

Hello everyone! For my first post here I want to share a sling ammo experiment of mine.

Most of us know the traditional materials for shaped sling ammo - stone, clay and lead. Many are familiar with more modern versions like cement, tennis balls etc. But have any of you ever thought about - sugar?

To be honest, neither did I, for a long time.

But - about a year ago, I was discussing sling ammo in a Facebook group about slings. I had shared a picture of some stone and clay glandes I had made and painted, and one person commented "They look like they are made out of sugar". You don't know me, but for me that offhand, joking remark did something like this: "Sugar? Now there is an idea..."

So, off I went to get a packet of sugar...

You can see the result before you: Shaped glandes of caramelized sugar. This worked out much better than I thought it would. I believed it would be funny. I was not laughing (mad slinger cackling doesn't count...right?) when I saw the results.

It turns out caramel is nearly as dense as clay. So a 60 gram caramel glande is roughly the same size as a 60 gram clay glande, as you can see in the second picture. They are hard and I expected them to be brittle, but testing (slinging them against a birch tree) showed them to be surprisingly durable. Most survived repeated impacts against the tree and even bouncing across a stone-covered path. One even survived six hits before I eventually lost it in a stream. Only one broke after a direct impact on a rock.

But there was also an unforeseen side effect. They are completely eco-friendly. Water dissolves them. Some lucky ants will have a feast.

Also - when I made the first batch, my daughter pestered me until I let her eat one. No ill side effects, just one over-sugared 7 year old!

So - a very successful sling ammo experiment. If you are looking for cheap, eco friendly ammo and don't have access to clay - keep these in mind. Especially if you're looking to keep the local wildlife happy. They'll be grateful for sure - just keep away from bears!

Back in 2017, my wife (now moved to the “ex-” category), who happens to be an archaeologist and a big fantasy fiction fan and I were having a conversation about bows and arrows. In the middle of it, she told me that the most difficult part about making arrows is the arrowhead. I replied, offhandedly, that that’s easy. She gave me that look that said “You just don’t have it in you”.

My immediate gut reaction was: "Hold my beer!"

That seemingly insignificant disagreement is what started my now decade long obsession with historical crafts, experimental archaeology, and trying to answer “How did they do it?” with my own two hands.
I’ve crafted lots of things since then, but arrowheads have remained at the forefront of this quest and you can see the results for yourselves:

• On the far left are my flintknapping attempts with (obviously) flint and glass. Beside them are some ground slate points, as well as one ground from some other type of rock (two days of work, that one was), and a bone arrowhead.
• On the right – my metal points. I’m kind of obsessed with making them without forging, or at least without hot forging. I’ve got spoon arrowheads, hammered nails, elaborate contraptions made of steel heads and aluminum tubing, even some combinations of utility knife steel, wood and old discarded cartridges. Oh, and some made on a lathe from big old screws. The tips of the points are usually hardened by heating, quenching and tempering, so they are fully useable.

So this is how a small gesture, not even a word, sent me on a decade-long journey of cut fingers, metal dust and glass flakes everywhere and the deep satisfaction with every new point that comes from a good mental “I told you so!”. I hope you enjoy my arrowheads, and if you guys have any ideas or suggestions for shapes or materials that I haven’t tried yet, don’t hesitate to give me a hint!

Hello everyone! For my first post here, I'd like to present another first — the first hand-carved wooden spoon I made.

It is 18 cm (7 in) long, with a mostly straight handle, carved from applewood entirely with a straight carving knife and a hook knife, then sanded and sealed with a linseed oil and beeswax mixture. (I admit I'm not skilled enough yet to finish it cleanly without sandpaper.)

There is a bit of backstory behind this spoon. I made it as a gift for my daughter from a branch of her favourite tree — a young apple tree in her grandparents' garden that she loved helping take care of. Unfortunately, the tree developed a disease and slowly started dying, so it had to be cut down. I wanted to make sure a small part of it remained with her as a keepsake. (I'm making another spoon for her grandmother as well.)

It was my first spoon, but I got a bit overconfident in my skills and ignored some good safety advice. “This is not a concern to me,” I thought.

Now I have the scar to remind me otherwise.

So here it is. I know it's far from perfect, but I'm still pretty proud of it. It feels like a good first attempt, and it definitely made me want to carve a few more.

What do you all think?