Adventures in Shield-Making - Part 3

Welcome to the final part of our adventures in shield-making. I won't be covering the painting of shields - this is entirely up to you. No smiley faces or anarchy symbols.

I think that - like samurai - our fighters should round themselves out by acquiring skills that aren't strictly combat related. One of these is definitely rimming - I find it deeply satisfying when done well. If you haven't rimmed, you aren't a complete warrior.

I will apologise early for the use of words such as 'rimming' or 'rimmed'. The use of such terms is unavoidable when talking about this stage of shield-making: personally I think only degenerates would be unable to restrain their mirth, and you are all far too sensible to fall about laughing when I discuss the techniques necessary for a good rim-job.

The first step is to obtain some rawhide. The best source I know is to buy the largest dog-chews as shown below. You will need two or three per shield. I have some spare because I bought them in bulk, so I'm happy to help if you need to work on a rim.

Too delicious for dogs - keep them away from your rim!

Put them in a bucket of cold water and leave them overnight.

When working on rims, pliability is key

I have a lot of tips to offer about rimming. The first is this - don't stop until the job is done. If you let your rim dry before you've 'gone round the circle', it's a nightmare. You can always re-soak the rawhide, though it's not so easy when it's attached to a shield!

Keep your bucket of rawhide handy

Preparation: you will need your soaked rawhide, which should be nice and flexible. Note - it is a good idea to untie the ends of the dog-chews as soon as you are able, open them up, and then let them soak for a while longer - this will help your rimming be even and satisfactory.

You will also need blued carpet tacks (available on Amazon or any decent hardware shop), a hammer, and stout scissors. And a shield, of course. Shields are usually 12mm thick, so 13mm carpet tacks are ideal. As I have found in the past: if it's too long, it may involve unwanted levels of penetration.

When you take the rawhide out of the water, you should notice that it is very wide for what you intend - you want a nice tight rim, not one that flaps all over the place. So cut it in half as shown below. This will also save you money, as your rawhide will go further.

I prefer a narrow rim

When cutting rawhide, you will need some strong scissors. You don't have to be precise when cutting a strip in half, but try to keep it even. A jagged rim is deplorable, and will become dangerous when dry. When you have cut two strips, put one back in the water while you work the other one.

Twice the rimming

Technique is key - rimming is an art. Taking your first strip, and starting from one end, try to spread it evenly on either side of the rim. Put a tack into the first corner and - SUPER IMPORTANTE! - try to keep it as near the edge of the rawhide as possible while still having some material 'outside' the tack head. Hammer it in well.

Then turn the shield over and tack the opposing corner. While doing this - also very important - try to keep the rawhide taut between the first and second tack. Otherwise you may end up with a baggy rim, which most people will find unattractive when you display it.

When putting the tacks in, make sure they are not at an angle, and make sure you bang them all the way in! Doing it properly now will save you pain in the future. Also, keep the rawhide taut (but not over-stretched) to get a tight finish.

After that, work your way around the rim. Keep it even on both sides by alternating between them - if you concentrate on one side first, you may not leave enough for the other side!

Overlapping

When you reach the end of a strip of rawhide and get the next piece, always overlap them and put a tack through both lengths right in the corner. Try to avoid sharp points - it's easier to cut wet than when it's dry, so trim your rim during this process.

Handling a split rim

Rarely, you may find a split in the rawhide as shown above. You can deal with this by putting tacks right in the corners on either side of the split. After it's dry, you may find that the edges are a little sharp - you can always put a small patch over them.

Nearly completely rimmed

As you apprach the climax of your rimming you will probably find the remaining unrimmed section to be shorter than the material you have left. Top tip - don't cut the rawhide until after you have done - otherwise you may end up falling short and having to undo the work!

A complete rim-job

When you are done, you need to leave your rim to dry. This can take hours, so I often like to leave it out in the sun, whatever the neighbours think. I wouldn't use a hair-dryer in case the rim cracks from the extreme temperature change - though that may be superstition on my part.

You may be worried about the wavy or baggy nature of the rim you have worked on (see above) - fear not, rawhide shrinks dramatically when drying, and your rim should end up nice and tight.

Look at my lovely rim!

Thank you for following this short series on shield-making - I hope it has been informative. Over the years I have acquired useful experience in rimming and other features of shield-making and I hope I have passed on some good tips.

Out of all the features of this series, rimming is perhaps the most intimidating. However, with care, calm and thought you too could become a very good rimmer. Smoke me a kipper.