Sir Ulrich's shield

[Sir James A]

Steel or Iron, either way, we're not going to get the same metal they did, so either or. One of mine has steel trim.

[Sir Ulrich]

Yeah thats the issue, I wish we still had good iron or wrought iron to work with. Everythings steel which has a silverish color. Wrought iron as in my coif actually tarnishes to a blackened color. But meh I could always take vinager and darken the steel to look like iron. I even accidentally spilled some vinegar on my coustille sword and parts of it turned black, maybe I could antique it that way.

[Sir Ulrich]

Well it came, I am quite impressed by it it's also thinner and lighter than my other shields which is good so it wont weigh me down on it. Sure it looks magenta in the pics but in person it's actually red, they also did a good job with the painting heraldry. Only issue I got on the back is the gauge actually rubs against my arm, but that shouldnt be an issue with my hauberk or gambeson on.

[Sir William]

Wow, that came out very nicely!  When you say the guige rubs against your arm, in what fashion?  It should go around the neck and shoulder- the way it works is it allows you to bring your shield forth, or hang it back without having to make any unnecessary movements like taking it off to re-hang it. 

[Sir Ulrich]

Well it mostly has to do with me wearing a short sleeve shirt so the leather is a bit abrasive to my skin. It is all adjustable so it should be fine, just a bit of an issue for those of us with long hair , but in armor it shouldnt be a problem cause my hair would be tied back.

[Sir James A]

Post a pic of the back. The guige shouldn't be on your arm at all, it should be on the chest/shoulder. I'll post a pic of mine later tonight.

[Sir William]

Well, it depends on where the guige terminates; I think I know what Ulrich is experiencing- you'll see when I bring my shield out for practice next week.  Remember, I wanted to re-seat a part of the strap because it would rub on the shield arm?  You might not, it was some time ago.

[Sir James A]

Well, it depends on where the guige terminates; I think I know what Ulrich is experiencing- you'll see when I bring my shield out for practice next week.  Remember, I wanted to re-seat a part of the strap because it would rub on the shield arm?  You might not, it was some time ago.

Yep I remember, bring it over when we're done with rehearsals we'll take a look

[Sir William]

Ok, will do!

[Sir Ulrich]

Heres the back, it actually works for me I might just have to wear more clothing so the bare leather doesnt go against my arm. Thankfully it's adjustable which is better for me cause in case I get bigger I wont need another shield. I am debating on getting another shield from them for combat use thats unrimmed and smaller.

[Sir William]

I wonder why they persist in strapping the guige like that?  Do you see, in the pic, lower left hand where the guige terminates above the lower arm strap?  You'll always get a rub there...it should terminate lower, left of the down point.  If you look at pics of Sir James' or Sir Nathan's shield projects, you'll see the guige lays diagonally over the back of the shield- when you put it on, it goes from the shoulder down to the opposite side hip, that's how it should lie.

Still, that is a nice shield- and you'll want to get another if you plan on fighting with it because you wouldn't want to smash up such a pretty shield.  Even though that's what it really is for. 

[Sir James A]

I wonder why they persist in strapping the guige like that?  Do you see, in the pic, lower left hand where the guige terminates above the lower arm strap?  You'll always get a rub there...it should terminate lower, left of the down point.  If you look at pics of Sir James' or Sir Nathan's shield projects, you'll see the guige lays diagonally over the back of the shield- when you put it on, it goes from the shoulder down to the opposite side hip, that's how it should lie.

Still, that is a nice shield- and you'll want to get another if you plan on fighting with it because you wouldn't want to smash up such a pretty shield.  Even though that's what it really is for. 

My guess is they strap it that way since they use the existing mount points for the arm straps and grip.

Here's a few quick pictures of my shield on with the guige, and of how the strap sits. I'm right handed: http://james-anderson-iii.com/projects/pages/templar-shield/

Since I'm right handed, I have it hang "offset" so that it's behind my left arm, but not my right. Sorry for the really bad pictures, had to take them of myself. Hopefully it's good enough to show that the guige strap shouldn't be on your arm at all. You can try adjusting it. Also, looking at the picture it looks like yours is strapped for the 'smooth' side of the leather outwards; mine is opposite of that, the rough side of the leather faces outwards, and the smooth part on the inside. I did that so it won't have a rougher surface to be rubbing against mail/surcoat/etc.

Hard to have too many shields.

[Sir Ulrich]

Yeah I know they always attach the strap to the guard as well. Wont be much of an issue with my hauberk on but to handle it with a short sleeve shirt on it does rub and get quite irritating to my arm. Some of the dye even rubbed off onto my arm but meh I like the shield a lot. It's not as heavy as my other ones.

[Sir James A]

Yeah I know they always attach the strap to the guard as well. Wont be much of an issue with my hauberk on but to handle it with a short sleeve shirt on it does rub and get quite irritating to my arm. Some of the dye even rubbed off onto my arm but meh I like the shield a lot. It's not as heavy as my other ones.

I was thinking of the rubbing if you wore it over just your gambeson or a surcoat, mail wouldn't be a problem. If it does rub like that, all you have to do is take out the couple rivets, flip the strap inside out, and rivet it back together. You wouldn't need to buy a new strap or make new holes, very simple to adjust.

Check Sir William's thread on sealing leather. Should take care of the dye issue. That's definitely a very nice shield.