Archers Celtic Buckler Shield

[vector]

Not been on here much but have been very busy with leather. Including the tanning of a large...massive...cow hide I got hold of. Not sure what Im going to do with that

Anyway here is a buckler I made up for a parade a month or so back.

The design was inspired by the Tandy Celtic Targe project and I modified a few things. The buckler itself is made from a beer keg bottom

I also made the knife (butchers blade from op shop and handle. The handle includes an attempt at embedding copper wire into the wood.

Anyway for its purpose here the leather carving.

I was extremely pleased to get the hairline markings inside the griffins to remain red and highlight after applying the black overall.

Edited April 8, 2010 by vector

[MADMAX22]

That looks pretty cool. Did you have any closer up shots of it by chance? I like the color pattern you have going on with it.

[wildrose]

Great job! Love the coloring. I'd like to see a closeup too.

[vector]

Your request is granted.

The one thing that really irked me was there was two things that went bad at the end

First, when I placed the leather on the metal It was a little tricky I think mainly because of the centre cut out. This lead to the leather being rotated a deg or so out. ie the rivets holding the handle did not line up with the centre of the knot work. then when I applied the last layer of black rub it made the rivet "bumps" stand out even more

The second was the final trim. The edges of the metal were folded over forming a lip that the leather would sit against. After the glue had set I trimmed the leather into the edge. I suspect the knife was not sharp enough as it grabbed the leather in a few places.

The celtic cross was ground then polished into the dome with a dremel.

[wildrose]

I can see what you mean, in the close up shot, but it is still a really great piece. Carry it with pride, for certain!

[Daggrim]

Nice job on the shield. Too bad about the edges of the leather, but I think it adds a bit of a used look to it. The wear and patina of age and use make a piece look more authentic. Maybe on the next one you could just lap the metal over the leather. Would they have used rawhide edges?

Dag