I'm thinking of purchasing a buckler to try out some I.33 drills and was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on this. I've seen one at GDFB that I'm interested in. Do they make a good product? What is the best size to get as they offer them in 9, 12 and 15inch diameter sizes?

Personally, i don't like the handles on their bucklers, they are huge (then again, i have small hands)... Having said that, i know a couple of people who own them, and have no complaints. If i remember correctly, they are (to me) over weight.

As an alternative, I reccomend Phil Frasers. Decently priced. Pretty light, but can take one hell of a beating, and the handles are a decent size. And to boot, they ship damn quickly.

Phil have a web presence?

www.philfraser.com

Thank ye!

Nice! I posted asking who makes great bucklers and didn't get much response -- but I'll check these out!

M.

A&A has a few nice bucklers, and Mercenary's Tailor has one that looks like it'd be perfect for I:33.

Thanks for the info guys! Think I might give Phil Fraser a try. I had a look at his site and the bucklers have a nice handmade look to them which appeals to me plus hes based in the UK :D so shipping costs should be reasonable!

I'm thinking of the gdfbglobal buckler myself, can anyone show a photo of the grip? As some other people I know are also considering them, it would be most welcomed, and passed on.

David

Most of the people in our study group use bucklers from Crescent Moon Armoury. Since the bucklers are made of wood they perform great with steel blunts yet don't damage our wooden wasters. The handles of the bucklers feel good in the hand and there is good room for the hand.

http://www.crescentmoonarmoury.com

Ran Pleasant
ARMA DFW

I have used a GDFB buckler for a while now, both with steel and wooden swords.

They are quite heavy (I've been told), but I like the handles as they are large enough and wide enough to hold with a padded glove. Also, the round handle means that they are easy to flip over in hand.
The GDFB bucklers do look awfully machine made. The inside of the boss has thick machining grooves, and the handle is clearly a piece of steel tube flattened at the ends and bend into shape.

The largest problem with GDFB bucklers is, however, that they grind so much of the backside of the rivets holding the handle, that the handle loosens after only a few hours of use (in the case of mine). I fixed this by replacing the rivets and used the opportunity to paint the inside of the boss and the face of the shield (except for the boss) black using oilpaint. This hides the machining grooves in the boss a bit and personalised the buckler for me.

Overall the GDFB buckler is (I think) good value for money, and if replacing a rivet is no problem for you, they are great.

I forgot to mention that the edge of the shield has quite a nice thick roll, so that the shield doesn't damage wooden weapons.

Sure I can, only when I replaced the grip rivets, I covered the grip by sewing a piece of leather around it.

Basically the grip is a steel tube, flattened at the ends and bend into a |__| shape. I'll make a picture tonight, or I could try to make a picture tomorrow night of a friends buckler (if I remember to ask him, and he remembers to bring one).

Also, two guys in one of my swordfightgroups do steel sparring with Buckler and Axe (don't ask why) and their GDFB bucklers are still in working order after quite some time (they did have to replace the rivets of course).

The inside of mine - I normally put a bit of tape round the grip (I find it quite comfy - size wise) but, as luck would have it, I just took the last lot off the other day.

Not pretty, but mine has not become loose yet!

Neil.

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I'd also like to recommend Crescent Moon Armoury.
http://www.crescentmoonarmoury.com
Those bucklers are solid, historical, have a good size, and are very functional.

I second the suggestion!

I originally bought a 9" and 12" fluted buckler from GDFB, but found the handle to be very chunky, and difficult to handle when doing I.33 techniques correctly. My Chapter Master at Leeds had drilled out the rivets and flattenend the handle (he has access to a large metlework workshop at the Royal Armouries!! That has improved the buckler no end - they are also very heavy, but I find that is good for training my left arm to hold the weight and get my back muscles working!!!

However, I have recently sold my GDFB bucklers and invested in a Phil Fraser blackened buckler 12" - very nice - it stopped a poleaxe at full pelt at Whitby and now has a small dent in it as a momento!!! ;)

While I do not have any experience with the bucklers mentioned, I thought I would pass on a size consideration. In Medieval Sword and Shield, Paul Wagner and Steven Hand mention that a buckler larger than 12 inches in diameter makes some of the grappling techniques in I:33 impossible. In the little bit of playing around that I did, I also felt that (at least for a person of my relative small size) 12 inches or less would be ideal simply because of the need to move the sword around the buckler, etc. At the same time (and this just seems logical to me, there might be some very good arguements against), I would think a person would want the largest buckler they are comfortable with, so as to improve their defensive potential.

In short, whichever manufacturer you decide on, I would aim for something as close to 12 inches as possible without getting bigger than that.

-Grey

Perhaps it's not necessary anymore, but as promised; here's mine.

I have the smallest GDFB buckler (9 inch). Actually the size was one of the reasons for me to select a GDFB buckler; grapples are easier to do with a smaller buckler.

EDIT I didn't see Greyson's post before posting mine.

Thank you all very much. The photos are most useful!

I'm mildly confused however by the fact that in Reiner's picture, (thank you,) his buckler handle is not flush with the back of the buckler, and the handles posted by both Neil, (thank you) and by Frances (thank you) they appear to be flush with the buckler.

Neil, Frances, are your handles flush? Or do they stick out like Reiner's? I want to be sure I'm not the victim of an optical illusion before I start to wonder if his buckler is from another batch or some such.