We have made a number of shields, mostly for fun, but if you see them around a renaissance fair, come say hello!
Below if a more traditional mid-period Norse style shield made from thinner pine. No jointing in this one, but it has a tied-leather trim and hand-made hardware for leather straps!
Dragon Painted Norse Spiral Shield With Ax
Dragon Shield Strap 
Dragon Norse Shield In Progress
First-round working with rawhide for a trim on a fully jointed pine shield can be seen below. The shield at its max is around an inch and a half thick and was hand planed down around the edges to trim weight. The shield has two linen layers, a full steel boss, and hand-made hardware for the leather straps. This is probably the heaviest shield I have built, but it sure can take a beating (we’ve fired a fair share of arrows at it).
Below is another round shield, but again out of plywood before I knew any better. It features a hand-painted, alternating color, Celtic knot all the way around.
Old Celtic Knot Shield
Below is was my first go at a round shield many years ago. It was made of ply wood a long time ago. The paint job of the wolf is why it still exists, I like it too much!
Old Shield Wolf
The first shield of many . . . This one was based on the video game Dragon Age and is a mix of the Inquisition’s eye, the Mage’s circle, and the Templar’s crest. (Yes, we can hear the cries aloud: “They’re Nerds!”)
Old Shield Dragon Age
A long time ago I was on a hike and found a tree split by lightning. The tree had fallen away with about an inch and a half thickness creating a perfect section to fit around my arm. It has broken since these photos, but it is, to this day, one of my favorite shields.
