McBane Targe
McBane Targe
The Scottish Targe is one of the great symbols of Scottish Martial Culture. First written about in the 1470’s with a history likely much older (they are cited as if they were common even then) they were a common sight in Scottish armies for at least 3 centuries and were carried across the world.
Like many of my targes this was a design I developed myself and was then hand made in Glasgow, Scotland. I later discovered that it closely resembles a targe (seen here) in Donald McBane’s ‘The Expert Swords-Mans Companion’ from 1728 as I was re-reading the book, and so named the targe accordingly.
Features:
This Targe is built with combat in mind, it has been kept simple to reduce cost and has no embossing on it to be damaged by sword blows. The core is 12mm Plywood with a facing of ~2mm vegetable tanned leather and over 260 studs. It is backed with linen including padding for the arm, a buckled strap and a leather handle.
Specifications (all measurements are approximate):
Weight: 2200g
Diameter: 460mm
Total Thickness: 16mm
