Cross Belt: How, when and where to wear it?

[WolfmanJack]

I recently had the opportunity to buy a cross belt at a very reasonable price, so I grabbed it...without, I fear, any idea of how, when or where I might wear it. I am not a piper.

MacLeay shows these being used as a baldric, to carry a bladed weapon;


but he also shows the cross belt being worn in a manner that perhaps might be serving other purposes;

I doubt that the chap on the right is carrying that big two-handed claymore slung on his cross belt and I see no scabbard attached to the cross belt of the figure on the left.

So experts, how, when or where I might wear my new cross belt? I do have a basket-hilted claymore, but I cannot see how I would attach the scabbard to the cross belt (the scabbard has two rings that would not fit through the loop in the cross belt (see below):



I'm open to any and all suggestions.

[Snowbear]

You might attach your weapon by adding a chain to the lower ring on the scabbard.

However I would not be wearing a sword in public. From old history I have read that a man with a nice sword was a man with power. So the sword was a symbol of a mighty man.

As to where you might want to use your crossbelt I have no idea. I wear it as part of my No.1 piping uniform. Other than that I've never seen it worn these days.

[Good Egg]

Wrong sort of scabbard.

Highland/Scottish dress is not a uniform so I hesitate to say you shouldn't wear it but I cannot think of a way that you could short of wearing full levee dress without looking odd.

It might look quite good with a Jacobean shirt especially if you adapted the holster to contain a bottle opener or beer can holder.

I've been offered them before and have given it some serious thought but always drawn blank and not bought.

Sorry to be negative.

[davidlpope]

Can't really think of any reason or occasion to wear a cross belt, unless piping in a No. 1 full dress uniform with a piper's plaid, etc.

Cordially,

David

[thescot]

The crossbelt is pretty "costumey" unless you are in uniform with a pipe band or military unit. The only real reason for a baldric is to carry the weight of a sword . . .or a drum. Or to make a uniform look cool. I fear that any other use of a crossbelt would cause you to appear to be in costume rather than simply wearing highland attire.

Having said that, you might have occassion to attend a Ren Fest somewhere and dress as a highland gentleman of old. Or--if you are really bold and want to stand out--you might even attend a very dressy occassion, don your best doublet and swing the sword over your shoulder while wearing a dirk and maybe even a pistol and powder horn to show your sense of style. I would like to do that, personally, but I wouldn't actually do it; too "costumey" once again. You'd have to know your friends well and be assure that it was appropriate so as not to look like some goob!

But be prepared for ridicule or even laughter if you do unless you are with a group that normally dresses in such fashion.

Finally, you might wear it to the local highland games if you so desire. I've seen people wearing much stranger things than a crossbelt, so I doubt anyone would say anything. Just know that you would be considered to be in costume.

As to swinging the sword from the baldric, you may need to adjust the frog at the bottom to fit your scabbard. There are brads and leather working items just for such things at the local hobby store. The rings on the scabbard are to attach to a sword belt, the kind with the long strap in the back which attaches to the lower ring to make the sword hang properly. (You've seen such in old cavalry movies, but rarely with the sword actually attached.) I would focus on fastening the scabbarb tightly in the bottom of the belt. See this site that shows the method of fastening. http://budk.com/Swords/United-Cutler...-Sword-Harness

[Semiomniscient]

For that type of scabbard, you'll need a frog (sp?) that is essentially a chain that will attach to a belt. This is what I use with my basket-hilt claymore--similar to what you've shown. The crossbelt might be useful if you're going to wear anything extra on your belt (such as a dirk or hip flask, etc.) to help prevent the added weight pulling down your belt. (I have this problem if I wear my sword on my belt--as I have no crossbelt.) Just be sure to wear the crossbelt over you doublet or jacket and I'd suggest wearing it with a purpose over just for looks. If you come up with your outfit with it, post pictures! :-)

[cavscout]

I'll agree with the others that there aren't that many times when a crossbelt would be needed. There might be some, but mainly few and far between. The black/nickel has a very formal appearance to me. If it were brown/brass you might find more casual situations.

One thought I've been kicking around for day wear is to make a leather satchel with a wide shoulder strap giving the appearance of a cross-belt. You might look at mounting a wide satchel bag to the cross-belt in lieu of the scabbard. That would at least make it more practical and functional and that can tend to help accessories "work" better with an outfit when they have a purpose.

Something like this but with a slightly wider strap
http://www.saddlebackleather.com/cat...-Tobacco-Brown

A couple of strategically placed d-rings or trigger snaps would allow you to attach your sporran to serve as a "cartridge box" type bag while hiking when a sporran would not be quite as comfortable worn traditionally and not preclude you from still using it as a sword belt at other events.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

...it may be possible to convert your baldric (aka cross belt) into an extremely elegant dirk belt (aka kilt belt) suitable for formal attire. Other than that...

When is a baldric worn? Nowadays it is worn as part of a uniform or costume, but never with civilian attire.

[Good Egg]

That being the case, if you want to wear your sword, you might try this:

Go to your local pet store and get the longest, thinnest, black pet collar available. After sliding your scabbard into the frog pass the end of the collar through the bottom ring on the scabbard, then slide it through the frog and pass it through the top ring (this puts the buckle away from the mouth of the scabbard). Now buckle the collar and you are in business.

Either that or buy a leather scabbard on eBay or contact Sabre Sales. They have several.

[cavscout]

Another configuration option, do as MOR suggests below and get a long, thin, black, leather dog collar, buckle it, cut it in half on the opposite side of the circle you just created, get two snap hooks from the hardware store and rivet one on each of the cut ends. Run one trigger snap through the frog and clip the trigger snaps to each of the rings.