Ringwall Hand Made Steel Round Shield with Engraved Celtic Knotwork Border | 24 Inch Diameter | Riveted Rim, Domed Centre Boss and Leather Strap | Norse Reenactment Gift | RK-1818

Ringwall is a hand made steel round shield with a brushed satin face, a raised outer band carrying an engraved plaited knotwork border, a ring of domed rivets set through the rim and a hemispherical centre boss riveted over the middle. The field between rim and boss is stepped so the light breaks in three separate places across the face, which is what gives a plain metal disc its depth. A rolled leather strap ships with it.

The boss is the whole idea. A Viking age shield was not a wall you hid behind, it was a hand held tool, and the round hole cut in the centre of the board was where your fist went. The boss is the iron dome riveted over that hole to keep an incoming point out of your knuckles, and because the grip sits at the centre of mass the whole shield can be rotated around your fist to meet a blow from any direction. That single design decision is why Norse shields were round rather than the tall kite shapes that came later once shields moved onto the forearm.

Made, shaped, engraved and finished in Memphis, Tennessee. It ships with the leather strap, a light protective wax on the steel and a care card. Free shipping inside the United States and one to two weeks of processing while the face is raised, the border is cut and the rivets are set.

Specifications

Why the border is plaited and never ends

The band around the rim is an interlaced plait, the pattern family that runs through Irish, Pictish and Norse metalwork from roughly the seventh century onward. It is built from a single ribbon that crosses over and under itself and returns to its own start, so there is no beginning and no end anywhere in it. That property is why interlace was cut onto reliquaries, brooches, cross slabs and weapon fittings across the whole of the north Atlantic world, and why it is one of the few decorative languages that reads as northern instantly.

Cutting it around a curve is harder than cutting it in a straight line, because the plait has to be spaced so that the last repeat meets the first cleanly. Ours is laid out by hand for each shield, which is why the join sits in a slightly different place on every one.

The steel and the leather

The face is formed sheet steel, raised into its stepped profile rather than pressed flat and painted to look raised. The centre boss is a separate hemisphere spun and riveted through its own plate, which is how a real shield boss is fitted and is far stronger than a boss simply welded to the surface. The rim rivets are domed and set through, not glued on, so they are structural as well as decorative.

The strap is vegetable tanned leather cut from a single length. Vegetable tanning uses bark tannins rather than chromium salts, and it produces leather that darkens with handling, holds a shape once it takes one and can be conditioned back for decades rather than crumbling.

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, the leather or the wood. 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 a rune line can run inside the stepped field, or the whole knotwork border can be swapped for a design of your choosing. See the engraving page for what the space allows.

Mounting and display

The shield hangs flat and sits well on a wall above a mantel or behind a rack of weapons, and the stepped face means it still reads as three dimensional under a single light source rather than flattening out. Two picture hooks set at the level of two opposing rim rivets will carry it safely, or a single heavy duty plate hanger sized for the weight if you would rather not see any fixings.

Carried, it is a centre grip shield, held in the fist behind the boss rather than strapped to the forearm. Be clear about what it is. This is a display and reenactment styled shield. It is not certified or sold for full contact combat, and it should not be used as protective equipment in any kind of sparring or contact event.

Care

Brushed steel wants very little. Wipe the face with a dry cloth to clear dust and fingerprints, and once or twice a year put a thin coat of microcrystalline or paste wax over it, working with the direction of the brush marks rather than across them. Do not use a household abrasive cream, which will cut through the brushed grain and leave shiny patches you cannot easily match.

If a spot of rust ever appears, take it off with a fine grey abrasive pad worked along the grain and then rewax. Feed the leather strap with a neutral balm once a year and never dry it near heat.

Made in Memphis

The face is raised, the border is engraved, the boss is set and the rivets are peened in our Memphis, Tennessee shop. This is not a plated import from a catalogue with an added label. It is the reason a shield takes one to two weeks and the reason the lifetime warranty against defects in forming, fittings and finish is real, with no end date and no receipt needed.

A note on handmade variation

This shield is hand made, not machine made or bulk produced, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. The plait is laid out by hand for each rim, so the repeat spacing and the point where the pattern closes will be yours alone. Brushed steel takes its grain from the pad and the pressure of a hand, so the sweep of the brush marks varies. Rivet doming and the exact set of the boss shift by small amounts. The leather strap darkens to its own tone. The diameter, the material and the build are the same every time. The character is not.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use this in reenactment combat

No. It is built and sold as a display and costume shield. Reenactment and living history groups set their own equipment standards and safety inspections, and this piece is not made to meet them.

How heavy is it

Heavier than a wooden shield of the same diameter and lighter than people expect from solid steel, because the face is formed sheet rather than plate. Two hands or one hanger are enough to place it on a wall.

Will it rust

Not indoors if it is waxed once or twice a year. It is bare steel rather than stainless, so it will spot if it is hung in a damp garage or a bathroom.

Is the strap adjustable

The strap ships as a single length so you can cut and set it to your own hand and forearm. Tell us in the order notes if you would rather have it fitted and riveted before it goes out.

Can I have my family name in runes on it

Yes. Use the rune converter and choose the engraving option, and the line will be cut into the stepped field where it reads clearly from a distance.

How long does it take to arrive

One to two weeks of processing while the shield is formed and engraved, then free shipping inside the United States.

What is in the box

• One Ringwall steel round shield with engraved knotwork border
• Rolled vegetable tanned leather strap
• Protective wax film on the steel
• Care card for brushed steel and vegetable tanned leather
• Made and finished in Memphis, Tennessee

Explore the range

See more in viking shields, viking armor and viking home decor, or read the guides on hanging metalwork safely.