The winner has been chosen!


The winner of the Viking Shield is:

Jeff Ross of Apex, North Carolina

Please take a moment to congratulate Jeff on his lucky win.

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My thanks goes out to Viking-Shield.com for donating the prize for this contest.

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To review the details of this contest, please visit the Contest Announcement.

Stay tuned for more contests here at myArmoury.com!

Congratulations Jeff and let us know your impressions when you have it in hand.

Congratulations Jeff and thanks to myArmoury and Viking Shield for the contest.

Congrats! I'm so very envious! :p

Congrats! You'd better put it to good use! ;)

Congrats!

I was really hoping for it but ahh well.

A nice one for you Jeff, congrats.
And thanks to myArmoury and Viking Shield.

Congrats! Now there is no excuse not to get a full viking kit :)

Congratulations, Jeff, on the win. I hope you enjoy the shield.

Congratulations! May it serve you well! :)

Congratulations!
May it protect you from the cuts and blows of your foes! :D

Cheers,
Henrik

Gratz, Jeff. Hope it serves you well for many a year!

Congratulations! I can't wait to see more contests :cool:

Another hearty congratulations to Jeff Ross. May it keep you in good health.

Congrats Jeff!

My sincere thanks to everyone, and especially to Nathan and the myArmoury Team. I am looking forward to receiving the shield, and I will certainly post my opinions of it here, once it's in hand.

Jeff Ross

How cool that any member can have a shot at winning something! Makes me motivated to become a contributing member. Looks like a fun shield!

Congratulations! Looks like a fun piece. :)

Spam, spam, spam, spam................................
(Sorry couldn't help it.)

Congrats Jeff!! What a great Christmas present! Just in time to fight through those mall crowds. Enjoy!

As promised, my report on the Viking Shield from the myArmoury contest.

Overall, I find that I agree with much of what was written in the review posted by Bill Grandy, who has done a very good job in capturing the details of the piece. Some of the points mentioned in the review are worth noting and amplifying. The first thing that one notices about the shield is that it is large and heavy. The review used the term "a little hefty" in describing the shield. I would say that it is more than a little hefty, bordering on the heavy. I am encouraged to note that the weight listed for this model on the vikingshields.com website is nearly a pound lighter than the weight reported for this example, although some of the difference may be attributable to optional features, such as the rawhide trim and forearm strap. I would say that the shield is usable, but ungainly in hand. The central brace that serves as the grip lacks contouring in the central portion, so that in use, I find the shield slipping down and the inside surface of the boss impacting my hand. A lining for the boss would help with this, and appears to be historically accurate. I find that the forearm strap is of limited utility, but then, I think that strap placement on shields is a matter of personal taste, and needs to be tailored to the individual. In my own view, I don't think this is a needed option for the Viking shield.
The weight issue represents a trade-off between historical accuracy, construction costs, and durability. A thinner shield with tapering plank widths and a leather covering would cost more to make, and would not withstand abuse as readily as the plywood plank construction in this shield. Given the selling price for this shield, the trade-offs are fair.

The shield is visually striking. Some construction details are on the rough side, in keeping with many people's impressions of the Vikings as "barbaric" , but not reflective of the level of craftsmanship seen on surviving remnants from some burial sites. However, hammer marks on the boss and rivets do add to the hand-made appearance of the shield.

I do have some concerns with the application of the rawhide edge strip, which is made up of a series of small overlapping pieces of rawhide, attached with (presumably) glue and small tacks. This is my only significant difference with the description of the shield in the review, which states that the rawhide is attached with rivets to assure that it does not come off easily. That would have been a better approach, but is not the case with this example. The small furniture tacks used to attach the rawhide are at significant risk of coming off when the shield is in use, and have the potential to become small sharp projectiles. Also, the overlaps of the small rawhide pieces provides convenient points for an opposing blade to bite into the rawhide rather than glacing off as might be the case without the protruding overlaps. This makes it more likely that segments of rawhide may become loosened in use.

Overall impression: If you need a Viking shield, and you are not concerned about having the details absolutely historically correct, this represents a good option to consider, and is probably a real bargain at the price point. The company appears to offer a fair number of options among several different models to choose between. It is durable, and will not stand out as being out of place in most reenactment settings. Those wishing to use the shield for fighting may want to consider an alternative means of securing the raw hide edging. Arm strength exercises might be advised as well.

Again, my thanks to myArmoury for the shield. It makes a striking addition to my collection.

Jeff Ross