05-04-2021, 06:07 PM
(04-27-2021, 05:56 PM)Zephyrides Wrote: Beautiful! And you don't see green so often with Greek reenactors, so thats a nice touch.
My shield will be my next project so seeing your step by step is very helpful, and gave me some ideas!
How thick did you end up making this shield? Sorry if you explain above, I didn't see when I read through (selectively), however.
Thanks!
Thanks! I hope it was helpful.
It's thicker near the rim. From what I've read, they were thicker where the dome meets the rim. So on this one it's around 3/4 inch thick there, and as it moves away from the rim to the top of the dome it ends up under 1/2 inch, probably 3/8 inch.
On my first shield I didn't take off enough material, so it was an inch thick near the rim, and 1/2 inch at the dome. That shield was too heavy (kinda what Cheryl was talking about in regard to new research showing the shields were probably lighter than we previously thought). My next 2 shields follow the pattern attached (see pic), but I just made a point of being careful in removing as much material as I could without compromising its strength.
My first shield (owl) was 16.5 pounds. Not heavy in that it was difficult to carry, but heavy in that its weight is incorrect based on current research. But in either case, a lighter shield is more fun to carry for reenacting than a heavy one.... My second shield (crab) is 14 pounds, which is much better. This one is under 12 pounds (13 with the apron) which is, for me, the perfect balance of weight versus strength. If it were lighter, like around 10 pounds, I'd be worried that it might not be resilient enough.
If you check out the other shield threads I posted I think the 2 biggest improvements are 1) decreasing the weight through planning ahead and sanding/wood removal, and 2) making the porpax more comfortable. Making the opening for your arm a little larger than you think is a good idea since you can always pad it. But if it's too tight it'll always be uncomfortable, regardless of how light the aspis is. I think setting a target weight of 13 pounds or under for your aspis is a good goal. Trust me, the aspis is the easy piece of kit, your amazing spolas was the difficult part. So I think you're going to have fun making it.
Marcus
