wicker training shields

[Chuck Russell]

has anyone made one? how did you make it? ideas? helpful hints? please? thanks

[Graham Sumner]

Chuck Russell wrote:

has anyone made one?

Yes, the Ermine Street Guard have made several wicker shields. Covered with leather they are very heavy! Might be worthwhile trying to contact them for advice.

Frontinus mentions that Spartacus and his troops had shields made of ossiers covered with hides. Stratagems, I. vii 6. Interesting to remember that the Legions are supposed to have borrowed gladiator training skills.

Graham.

[FAVENTIANVS]

How should the Umbo be made?

[ursinius]

Connolly depicts the regular umbo attached to the wicker. But that desnt seems to be the way We at the Gemina Project tried this but you keep losing them in every serious pracice fighting, we still seek a way to improve it...

Sebastiaan

[FAVENTIANVS]

What about a molded leather one?

[Peroni]

I have used some oval clipaeus wicker shields that belong to the Colchester Roman Society. Their umbo's are integral and woven into the construction of the shield.

They can be a little rough on the knuckles though, as I found out during combat training displays!

They could have been made a little deeper for the hand recess, but I guess wicker has it's limitations.

Have a look for a local basket weaver and ask for advice or even a price! I beleive Cezary (Cacaius) has wicker items for sale in the marketplace section(?) Perhaps he could help.

Regards,

[Marcus Mummius]

I beleive Cezary (Cacaius) has wicker items for sale in the marketplace section(?) Perhaps he could help.

Sadly he has aborted 'project wicker shield'...

[CYL]

OK, I'm new here so bear with me if these questions have been asked and answered before.

I'm trying to make a wicker training shield for a project as part of my masters degree, but I can't find any good information on them anywhere (other than their made of wicker), and I have quite a couple of questions about their construction.

Firstly, is the wicker Willow wood? In which case, is the entire shield made of willow, or just the main body, with the rim made of something else?

In which case, how does it weigh twice the weight of legionary scutum, which is made of layers of wood with a rawhide covering and a bronze rim?

Any help much appreciated,

Cheers.

[marsvigilia]

A lot of wicker becomes very brittle when dry. Because of this these shields might not stand up well to abuse during training sessions. I think (I may be wrong) grape vine is good at maintaining some give even when dry. The Romans might have used grape vine as centaurians are already known to have been fond of vine staves.

Just a thought based on very limited information.

[Tarbicus]

In which case, how does it weigh twice the weight of legionary scutum, which is made of layers of wood with a rawhide covering and a bronze rim?

I'd doubt it was the same thickness as the traditional scutum, the point being to build muscles in the appropriate areas. I guess the thicker you make the wicker shield the heavier it will be. So if you intend for it to be heavier for training and muscle building then you simply make it thicker.

[ursinius]

Why not make the frame and the vertical rods of metal? adds weight and strength to the thing...

metal wickerwork might be something? strange metal kind of wickerwork thingies were excavated by von Groller at the castra of carnuntum. mike Bishop thinks however that they were corroded hamata parts...

[marsvigilia]

Since these were training shields ones imagine they would be used in contact with other trainees. Metal parts might be more likely to cause injury.

Why not make the frame and the vertical rods of metal? adds weight and strength to the thing...

[ursinius]

Seems a bit modern thinking to me,

these shields were perhaps only used for mock up attacks on the wooden "palus" as mentioned by Vegetius.

And otherwise, we 're talking roman army practise....

I think that recruits were well taught to deflect attacks by shields (by using their own shield) so that further diminishes the risk to injury...

And there's always padding to use by the them?

I think it deserves a try.

[Marcus Mummius]

Our group would like to make a couple of willow training shields. Does anyone have some instructions on how to make these?

Kind regards,

[jvrjenivs]

link from old RAT

I haven't start making them, because I first started some other projects, but I'll be triing to make some in the near future.