Unbalanced Scutum

[ambrosius]

I have recently bought a scutum which was made for me. I will edeg it and paint it but when I stand and hold it, the top continually rocks back towards me. The hand grip doesnt seem centred putting a lot of pressure on my wrist to firmly hold it level in front of me - is this common?

I think it's just the natural feature of a curved scutum. As Hib says,
the more it's curved, the more its centre of gravity will tip it back
towards you at the top, since the grip is way-out in front of that.
A perfectly flat shield (of whatever shape) is going to give you
perfect (almost) balance for your wrist , and you'll be able to hold it
out in front of you much more easily. Which, of course, is not
something you would want to do often, as it opens you up to attack
around the side. But it would allow you to punch with the boss more
easily if attacking. But as seems to be everyone's experience, you
can still give a quick punch with the boss (only if you don't like your
job anyway :lol: ) with your curved scutum without putting any
seriously prolonged strain on your wrist, if you pull it back close to
your body straight away. As has been said, that's where it's going to
be for 99.99% of the time, anyway, since its your first layer of
'armour', and only to be considered as a weapon for punching with
very occasionally and only for a second or so at a time.

The beauty of the curved scutum (depending on the curvature) is
that it does protect you through almost 180 degrees - so long as you
are holding it braced against shoulder and knee, and not holding it
too far out in front of you. I guess the boss - like the shield in total -
is really better considered as protection (for your hand, in the case
of ther boss) rather than as a potential weapon for punching with.
Now the brass edging, that's a differentt matter. 8) As Hib says,
you can raise your arm and let the scutum tip backwards at the top
so that the lower edge of the shield rises to the horizontal, and then
you can punch with that (a la Gladiator). A punch like this has the
advantage that you are keeping the enemy further away from you
when you do it and also you can hit them with a more powerful strike
(your wrist is in-line with your arm, and your muscles and joints will
work better and more comfortably delivering a strike with the brass
edging than with the boss of a vertical shield). Plus the brass edging
is a lot thinner than the boss, so you will do a lot more damage to
the enemy's face this way, than with the boss. But it's only to be used
for a quick stabbing motion, before dropping the shield to cover
yourself again, and should be judged so that you aren't opening
yourself up to a possible counter-strike. But with the extra reach that
you get from the length of the shield, coupled with the fact that you
will still be protected from everything but a spear thrust coming up at
you from a very low angle, you should be able to get away with a
quick, well-judged punch with the brass edging on the bottom of the
scutum. Just don't use it against short guys with long spears. :wink:

Ambrosius/Mike

[Hibernicus]

By gladiator style I mean to rotate the scutum 90degrees, hold it horizontally and punch with the lower edge. .. or held horizontally, punch straight out with the umbo

I disagree quite strongly with the idea of punching straight out, scutum vertical, and hitting an opponent with the umbo. That method can be defeated with the pinky finger of doom unles the shield is very light or small

[Aurelianus]

To get e better balance you can put back the handle (get more distance from the umbo). And probably you should change the vertical position of the handle too!
My scutum is well balanced now.

[Matt Lukes]

And it should be considered that perhaps, just as a well-balanced sword actually naturally points slightly up to face an opponent, and a good fighter aircraft is actually inherently somewhat unstable in level flight, a shield held overhand tilting toward the holder is preferrable because that's a naturally defensive position. Tilt forward is bad, and perfect balance isn't as desirable as automatic back tilt...

[RUBICON]

Wow thankyou!

All these suggestion shave made a difference!

Thankyou

[AntonivsMarivsCongianocvs]

Some unbalance is normal (it’s a big curved piece of wood you’re trying to balance with one hand) however; it the unbalance is really a problem… try this…

You could try this... balance the shield horizontally on a thin piece of wood, such as a 1x3, keep moving it back and forth until the shield balances on the wood.

Then compare the center of balance point to where the handle actually is. You ‘should’ find that the shield balances an inch or so just above or just below where the handle is. Mark it with tape, remove the handle, and than move the handle up or down and re-secure it.

That’s easier said than done but that ‘should’ work for you.

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

It would be preferable for the scutum to lean into your shoulder, rather than trying to take your ankles out all the time. but that is my interpretation anyway. Othersmay dissagree.

I also like the method Hibernicuss mentions, you can do damage to an opponent in several areas with the bottom edge, ie toes, feet, shins, knees,nose, teeth, throat, or whatever other targets of opportunity arise, while keeping smelly barbarians at a reasonable distance from your nose... twisted:

[Hibernicus]

Placing the grip slightly off center is something we've been doing since forever. It helps is you use a strap through the handle to road march with a scutum.

You may also want to consider a different hand grip shape. Shape the handle to fit your hand. The shape can help the scutum lean back.

I am a huge fan of packing the interior of the umbo with sheep hide or loads of felted wool for a snug grip.

[ambrosius]

By gladiator style I mean to rotate the scutum 90degrees, hold it horizontally and punch with the lower edge. .. or held horizontally, punch straight out with the umbo.

Yup, that's what we both said. 8)

I disagree quite strongly with the idea of punching straight out, scutum vertical, and hitting an opponent with the umbo. That method can be defeated with the pinky finger of doom unles the shield is very light or small

Me too. Another negative point about punching with the boss of a vertical
shield is that you are blind-spotting yourself, since you have to raise
the shield in order to get the boss to the level of the enemy's face. So
not only are you exposing yourself :o round the sides, and from the
waist down, but you cannot see what the enemy's doing. But letting the scutum tip back to the horizontal, and punching with the lower edge, still allows you to see over the top of it to see what your target's up to. 8)

Ambrosius/Mike

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

I have had my worries about that too. Also, while I may not be real legionary material, the whole punching with the umbro would soon wear oneself down, and battles were known to drag on for hours. The jab with the bottom edge would do more damage while not leaving yourself open to too many other possibilities, and it is also less energy sapping. At least to me anyway.
And I have learned the hard way about padding the hand hole, Hibs. hock: Thought I was totally on the scrap heap for a while. Just hope this sheep's skin is dense enough! :roll: I am also doing that to my new Republican scutum!

[RUBICON]

Thanks again all. I have recently been away and have just touched base since.

Im going out to practice now!