This year a former colleague of mine wanted to get something special for his son’s first birthday.
He asked me to make a wooden sword and shield to decorate his sons room. It should however be sturdy enough to use as a toy once his son got older. You might ask how he came up with the idea, since his son is still so young.
It so happens that the card sent out for his birth had a cartoon style knight on it with a sword and shield.
Since toys are sometimes left outside I thought pallet wood would do nicely for the shield.
The sword is made from a treated kind of pine for outdoor use.
After the glue up I fortified the shield with an extra border and added a bunch of screws (with plugs to cover the holes).
Since the shield on the card had some drawings, I carved them out in the front.
From top left to bottom right they are a clover, a castle, a dragon and a crown.
I had some leather laying around from one of my wife’s old handbags, and one for the ‘handles’ of that was just perfect as handles for the shield. From the same bag I re-purposed some leather for the handle of the sword.
Some leftover wood from other projects was used for the cross brace of the sword and the tiny shield with the initial carved into it.
As a finishing touch I added some copper metallic powder to the initials and some parts of the dragon carving ( talons, tail and fiery breath).
After a coat or two of a linseed oil mixture it was ready for action.
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