I am seeking a buckler similar to kind used in MS I.33 and in particular one that looks and handles similar to the ones used the book "Medieval Sword and Shield" by Paul Wagner and Stephen Hand.

I need a buckler that is suitable for sparring and heavy use. Any suggestions or vendor recommendations are appreciated.


Thanks.

I've tried out a lot of different bucklers for I.33 stuff, and my current favorite for price is the one from Alchem.

http://www.alcheminc.com/bucklers.html

They are incredibly rugged, but weigh half as much as anything else I've used. The handle is a simple dowel, and they appear to be simply spun steel with a rolled edge. They look fine but are not meant to display a high level of historical detail. They are for fighting with.

I personally find that the 12 inch diameter is perfect as well. offering enough coverage without interfering with your ability to cross your buckler and sword hands over each other, or engage in grapples, etc.

The GDFB bucklers all look nice, but they are really heavy, and the squashed pipe handles are a bit awkward to hold. OTOH, I have a great deal of confidence that they could take a lot of abuse.

I have a buckler from Darkwood, which I believe is actually manufactured by someone else, but with the Darkwood T shaped handle. I have the deep bowl version. It's light, and the T handle is pretty neat (although later period) and comfortable, but I find the size just a little off, and more importantly, I've used it way less and it's way more bashed up.

I haven't tried either the steel or cuirboulli buckler from revival, or the cuirboulli from purpleheart. I like the idea of leather in terms of weight, but can't really comment otherwise.

I'm saving my pennies for a Merc Tailor wood and steel buckler. I haven't seen one in person, but it looks nice on the web, and I love their armour.

http://www.merctailor.com/catalog/product_inf...cts_id=136

They also make an all-steel one, again I haven't tried one out.

http://www.merctailor.com/catalog/product_inf...ucts_id=57

Hope that helps!

Funnily enough, I'm looking into getting one of that sort of style myself.
http://www.talerwin.com/ is apparently where they got them from in the first place.
And http://www.manningimperial.com/ is another one.
Both are excelent smiths.

I would always recommend making your own bucklers. So you have the choice of components used, size and weight. And the apperance of course.

I recently searched for stainless steel bucklers (very humid where I live), and came across this supplier in Germany - stick4stick: http://stick4stick.de/index.php?app=shop&...176b170d81

They offer two sizes in two styles, and the large ones are about 20% lighter than the GDFB models. As hardened stainless steel, I'm assuming they'd be pretty durable ...

If anyone has experience with these bucklers, please let me know!

Wellyou can get the shield bosses in different ways of manufacture, material, size and weight. The the only thing would be to put the wooden disc and the boss together. That is the easiest way, and it is how I did my two bucklers. Wooden bucklers also have the good properties of reducing alot "clang" noise in the training hall.

Thanks for the review Steve!

One thing we did when I used to make shields with a friend that would probably help on this buckler, is to bevel one side of the inside edge of the hole in the wood part of the buckler, where your hand goes in to grip it. Flattening out that lip gives a surprising amount of room to alter the way you grip your buckler.

I had forgotten that these were 13" instead of 12". I have one 13" steel buckler, and I also really prefer 12.

I'm also a fan of rawhide edging, but agree that the fasteners look a little bumpier than I'd prefer.

Well, I'm about to place a rather large order with Merc Tailor. I still need to decide whether to throw a buckler in, make my own, or make do with the several bucklers I already own...

Thanks Steve. And thank you to everyone else who made suggestions.