I am debating between the
Merc. Tailor Viking shield
and the
Viking Shield model II shield

Pros I see for Merc. Tailor
Leather covered front, wool backed, shoulder strap

Pros for Viking Shield
Proper planked construction

Cons for Merc. Tailor
NOT planked construction

Cons for Viking shield
NO shoulder strap, NO leather front, NO wool back

I have unfortunatly seen neither one in person so which one do you guys think is better??? Has anyone had experiance with either?

P.S. I did read the review by Bill Grandy on the viking shield one.

Hello Zach,

It depends on your apllication. I like the VikingShield shields, but they need to have iron reinforcement strips if you plan to to live steel or hard use fighting with them; I've seen one come apart in just a few minutes of fighting.

Merc Taylor is pretty pricey, but they are gorgeous. Maybe too gorgeous to use.....

If you are going to wall hang it or use it for show, they're both fine.

Ive handled a Viking-Shield.com shield.. was ok but thought it was a bit on the weighty side.

Id say look at some of the guides online and make your own. Its so easy and alot cheaper than buying one.

One of the things that made me never want to buy a Mercenary Tailor is that they wouldn't paint it, but now they will.
Viking shield is, I believe, willing to do customizations to their shields, if I remember right it is $40 extra to add a shoulder strap.
I would advise Mercenary Tailor because you can pretty easily make the Viking shield style yourself whereas the Merc. tailor would be harder to do. The only downside I see on the Mercenary Tailor is the non planking on the wood, the upside is that would make it more durable if you use it in combat. One downside I see to both is that on both the rawhide edge is nailed rather than sewn on.

Are there any other shields that are for sale? I'm not so good at making this stuff but just for kicks where would I find a website with instructions. My main concern is accuracy.

Here are some links to the construction of a planked shield:

http://users.bigpond.net.au/fireandsteel/shield02.htm

http://community.webshots.com/album/310501948VGorZE


Some archeological info as well:

http://members.ozemail.com.au/~chrisandpeter/shield/shield.html


Another good write up on Viking Age shields:

http://www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/manu...hields.htm