First you need a good piece of iron, not the cheap sheet you can buy on the market. I’ll forge it from a single block of wrought iron, heat it to a bright red, hammer it flat with my old hammer 'Diplomacy', then work it into a shape that has a strong rim and a shallow bowl. After the forge part I’ll quench it in cold water, then temper it at 400°F for an hour to relieve the stress. That gives you a hard, durable shell that can soak up blows. The handle will be a simple leather strap, not a fancy rope, and the whole thing will have a clean finish that shows I didn’t waste time with a machine. No shortcuts, no welded joints. If you follow that, you’ll have a shield that lasts.

Alright, I’ll keep the iron heavy, the rim thick, and no shortcuts. I’ll forge it by hand, no machine, no filler, just raw metal and my hammer.