Wicker shield reconstruction

[Lucius Poblius]

If you just wait another 2 months I'll have a how-to ready. I'm planning to make some in the very near future (read: waiting for some materials at the moment)

Looking forward to reading about it. Can I ask where you're getting the wicker?

[jvrjenivs]

I get it via Karin Kok.

[jvrjenivs]

Okay, 2 month became a little bit more, as I've been very busy constructing a Roman wood-earth wall for the Nijmegen Roman festival last month, but today I started with the first trial. I've to say it's the first time I do a shield, and I just started, so I don't know the result yet, as this is something else as a basket wich hold his round form more easily.

Second thing I do is just leave a square hole in the middel and put a brass/iron umbo on the shield, but I hope to make another one with an umbo waeved into the whole piece.

Okay, the tools I use are the following:
-garden shears
-awl
-tape (2 cm width)

Okay, first you've to soak the willow. I've it laying in our bath for about a week.


Now you can start. If you want to do it nice, you need thicker one for the 'uprights' and thinner ones for the actual weaving. As I only have thinner one avaliable, I used them instead and use 2 of them as uprights and 4 for the uprights on the edges. I've put these together using tie-wraps.

To get the uprights evenly distributed (e.g. as far apart everywhere) I made a guide using the tape of 2 cm width, which will be the space between 2 uprights. Now start with one and weave the uprights together.



After you've done the whole width of the shield, you can add more. Now it's just weaving. After I did 10 cm of weaving I've bent the scutum over a mould, so it will get its round shape. Still have to see it it will hold its shape, through.

[jvrjenivs]

And another pic.

Note the parma I use to hold all whe uprights flat on the table.

[Magnus]

Very cool Jurjen! That's basically the same way I made my japanese sandals...

[jvrjenivs]

Okay, new photo's

You could see the mould I bent it over. When I take it off that mould, it stays bended nicely. When it's ready we will do some testing (and compare it with another wicker shield made by a proffesional maker). But I'm not sure when that'll be, as I've to make all wet again (wherefore I need the bad for a week, which my sisters don't like )


Enjoy! (Ow, and pictures were taken during a small display at the Museumpark Orientalis, Nijmegen, Netherlands)

[Titvs Statilivs Castvs]

Nice! How are you going to do the 'edging' of the shield? Wood?

[jvrjenivs]

The upper and lower edge will just be twaint.

See the rim of this basket:


The side-rims are as they are now, just folded over a bigger section of willow. Next time I will use better wood sections for these.

[Lucius Duccius Rufinus]

Im starting to think its looking like the Wicker shields that Parthian Infantry use in Total war! )

[Theodosius the Great]

Great photos, Jurjen

So, it appears you're making a wicker version of the scutum ?

http://www.franksupply.com/index.html

All types of wicker, and stuff, pretty decent pricing too. Natural materials for all sorts of stuff.

Wow, neat stuff.

I just called up the owner and he sells sheets of wicker here, cut to your specifications. This may sound simplistic of me, but couldn't I order a few sheets, bind them together and cut out a flat shield ? The owner says you can laminate the wicker to make it very flexible.

Any construction or historical problems with this approach ?

~Theo

[jvrjenivs]

You've to make a strong edge to your shield, to let it hold it shape. In the meantime I got one made by a proffesional willow worker. Here you can clearly see some strong wooden poles on the side. Also this one is made to thicker willow.



When I've finished the one I'm currently working on (due to the time you need to get the stuff wet, I didn't manage to finish it, yet), I'm going to make another one with wooden poles on the edges and maybe out of some thicker willow.

As the best is that the shield is made in the right shape with a decent border, I don't know if making them from sheets will work.

[Titvs Statilivs Castvs]

In the meantime I got one made by a proffesional willow worker.

How much did that cost? We've talked about starting to use these on events, but we haven't got any one in our group who can make them, so an idea about the cost of such a shield would be interesting.

[jvrjenivs]

Honestly, I don't know. I got this one via a some friends of mine, who ordered a number of these, so I think I got one on a discount. I think these were made by [url:3o3px9al]http://www.weiden-korb.de/[/url] and would cost you about Euro 80,-- (without umbo).

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

What is the weight like with these?
They were supposedly heavier than regular scuta.

[M. Demetrius]

(wherefore I need the bad for a week, which my sisters don't like )

Yep, I can relate to that female logic. You can make a simple plywood or other scrap wood frame, and line it with plastic sheeting to make a soaking tank. Put it wherever you can to keep it from being an obstacle to people walking around, and where it will be relatively easy to empty the water (lots of weight there) when you are finished with the soaking. Make sure the corners are strong, though, as there's quite a bit of weight pressing outward. A couple of hundred liters of water is hard to move around, so make sure you put it where you want it the first time...and a failed corner sending all that water out onto your floor will REALLY make the other residents unhappy.

In other words, a sturdy wooden box of appropriate size lined with plastic in this way replaces the bathtub. And keeps the sisters happy. That way, they'll be more inclined to braid your hair and paint your toenails and stuff, you know? :roll: :lol: