/diy/ - Do It Yourself

>>1799957
Generally, you don't. It's not historical and doesn't really add anything structural to the shield. I've added rawhide to a couple of my shields (SCAfag), and I've done it by drilling a ton of holes and sewing it on with a blanket stitch. Even rawhide is only arguably historical, and is pretty borderline. If you absolutely must use metal, probably the best way is solid one-piece rivets.

I've found that my shields get pretty strong if you just give them a slight curve and glue a layer of canvas to the front. I don't use rawhide any more because even if it does give it a bit more longevity the wood underneath still turns to mush after a while and you're constantly redoing the sewing.

Pic related is a shield I finished just earlier today for LARPing or whatever.