Silverward Hand Forged Steel Round Shield | 20 Inch Dished Face | Etched Knotwork Border with Riveted Centre Boss | Norse Display Gift | RK-1522

An all steel round shield, dished from a single disc so the face curves gently outward, with a rolled rim, a wide etched border of interlaced knotwork and beast heads, and a domed boss riveted through a flanged base plate at the centre. Behind the boss is a leather covered grip and a padded arm strap on riveted mounts. There is no wood in it anywhere. It is heavier than a planked shield of the same size and considerably harder to damage, and it is the kind of piece that reads as jewellery from across a room and as armour when you pick it up.

Shields like this are not a fantasy. Italian armourers of the sixteenth century made bright steel round shields called rotellas, etched and gilded across the whole face, and the surviving examples in the great armouries are covered in exactly this sort of banded ornament. They were parade and duelling equipment for people with money, and they sat alongside plainer versions that were genuinely fought with. Ours borrows that idea and puts Norse interlace where an Italian would have put acanthus. Dished, rolled, etched and assembled in our Memphis workshop. The brick wall and the loose leather strap on the ledge in the photograph are studio scenery and props.

Specifications

Why a dished shield beats a flat one

Take a flat steel disc and press the middle of it. It gives easily, because to move the centre you only have to bend the metal. Now dish the same disc into a shallow bowl and press it again. It resists far harder, because to push the centre in you now have to stretch the steel, and steel stretches very reluctantly. That is the whole reason armourers dish everything they can. A shallow curve buys stiffness for free, without adding a single ounce of metal.

The curve does a second job. A blow arriving at any point other than dead centre meets an angled surface, so a share of the force turns into a glance rather than an impact. The steeper the local curve, the more of the blow is shed. That is why a dished shield feels far more solid in the hand than its weight suggests, and it is why the boss at the centre is domed hardest of all, since the centre is the one place where the face is square on to whatever hits it.

The rolled rim finishes the argument. Rolling the edge over on itself turns a thin sharp perimeter into a tube, and a tube is enormously stiffer than a flat lip. It stops the shield folding at the edge, removes the raw edge that would cut a hand or a strap, and adds a small amount of weight right where it helps the shield swing.

The steel, the etch and the honest limits

The disc is mild steel at 16 gauge, about 1.6 mm, heavier than the 18 gauge we use for wearable display armour because a shield gets handled hard and because the extra thickness holds the dish. The face is polished and then etched, which means the pattern is bitten into the surface with acid through a resist, so it is a real cut into the metal that you can feel with a fingernail rather than a printed or laser marked graphic.

Be clear about use. This is built for display, parade, film, stage and light contact. It is not certified for full contact steel combat and heavy list and buhurt leagues have their own rules on shield materials, edges and dimensions. A steel shield in a hard fight is also a hazard to other people, since a rolled steel rim concentrates force in a way a wooden edge does not, and most groups regulate that for good reason.

Engraving, runes and your own design

Use the rune converter on this page to turn a name, a date or a short phrase into Elder Futhark and we will cut it into the steel or the leather. If you would rather have a Viking pattern than a rune line, choose your own design in the engraving option above the add to cart button and tell us where it goes. Where a piece already carries an engraved design, your chosen engraving replaces it rather than sitting alongside it. On this shield there is a clean polished band between the etched border and the boss that takes a rune line beautifully, and we can also cut into the boss dome itself. See the engraving page for how deep the cut reads on a polished face.

Mounting and display

This wants to be seen, so hang it where light rakes across the face, because a low angle is what makes an etched pattern show. Use a plate hanger sized to the diameter or two flat hooks under the rim rather than a single nail through the arm strap, which will bow the leather over time. Keep it off a damp outside wall, since a shield sitting cold against condensation will hold moisture behind the strap mounts where you cannot see it.

If you carry it, set the arm strap so your forearm sits snug and the grip falls naturally into your fist, with the boss centred over your knuckles. A shield that is loose on the arm is a shield that rings your elbow every time it moves.

Care

Bare polished steel with an etched surface will rust if it is ignored, and the etched valleys hold moisture slightly more willingly than the polished ground does. Wipe the whole face after handling, because fingerprints on a mirror polish are acidic and will print themselves permanently within days in a humid room. Keep a light film of mineral oil or a microcrystalline wax over the face, and pay attention behind the boss and around the rivet heads. Feed the leather grip and strap twice a year. Store it hanging rather than face down. Everything on steel care applies to this piece.

Forged in Memphis

The disc was cut, dished, rolled, polished, etched and fitted here in Memphis, Tennessee, and the boss was raised on our own stakes. Nothing here is a drop shipped importer item with our name on it. The lifetime warranty against defects in forming, riveting and fittings has no end date and needs no receipt.

A note on handmade variation

This is hand made, not machine made or bulk produced, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. Dishing is done by hammer, so the depth of the curve and the faint planishing texture under the polish are different on every shield, and the etch bites its own way through every resist. The dimensions, the material and the build are the same every time. The character is not.

Frequently asked questions

Is the pattern etched or engraved

Etched. The pattern is bitten into the steel with acid through a resist, so it is a genuine cut in the surface rather than a print. Your personalised rune line is hand engraved, which is a different tool and a slightly different look, and we will tell you which you are getting.

Can I use it in combat

Light contact, stage and film only. It is not certified for full contact steel combat and many groups restrict steel rimmed shields outright because of the injury risk to other fighters.

How heavy is it compared with a wooden shield

Heavier at the same diameter, around nine to eleven pounds for this 20 inch size. It is smaller than a typical planked round shield precisely because all steel at a full 30 inches would be unpleasant to carry.

Will the polish stay bright

With oil or wax and a wipe after handling, yes for years. Left alone in a humid room it will haze and spot within a season, and a haze comes back with metal polish and a soft cloth.

Can I have it blackened or antiqued instead

Yes. We build the same shield with a blackened ground so the etch reads bright against dark, or with an antiqued grey finish. Say which you want in the order notes.

How long does it take to make

One to two weeks of processing because each disc is dished and etched to order, then shipping inside the United States is free.

What is in the box

• One dished steel round shield of about 20 inches with a rolled rim
• Etched knotwork border with beast head terminals
• Riveted dome boss on a flanged base plate
• Leather covered grip and padded arm strap, fitted
• Care sheet for polished and etched steel
• Lifetime warranty against defects in forming, riveting and fittings
• Forged and finished in Memphis, Tennessee

Explore the range

See more in kite shields and bucklers, round shields, roman and greek shields and shield bosses, or read the guides.