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Failte (Welcome)
Hello and a warm welcome to my website. My name is Rab Cairney and I am a proud Scottish patriot. I am passionate about my country's history and Culture and to that aim I labour long hours hand-crafting Scottish Targes of my own design and/or commission work.
In the 15th Century, The Scottish shield was written in history in 1456 by an act of the Scottish parliament. It demanded that anymen unable to shoot a bow were to equip themselves with an axe and a targe to serve their Country in duties of Arms.
The designs varied throughout the century but the basic construction remained the same. The Scottish Targe is around 19" in diameter, made of 2 thin sheets of either fir or oak, the grain one set across the other for extra strength. The wood was then covered in leather, straw was sometimes added to the back as padding, the highland targe was sometimes reinforced with brass sections in an attempt to bulletproof it, it was dressed with metal studs and embossed with elaborate designs. The more elaborate the design, the more important the owner. Last but not least a spike was added to the centre boss of the Targe, turning it into a leathal weapon, this was often a broken swordblade as metal was at a premium.
My Targes are completely hand tooled and the back is padded with deer pelt. All materials are sourced in Scotland and contribute to the local economy.
Alba Gu Brath.
