Rough Sporran - Any Suggestions?

[WillowEstate]

Hi Everyone, especially the sporran makers among us!

I have a plain black leather day sporran, which has not been a problem (so far) when worn with my ex-military heavy wool kilt. However, having worn it a few times with my lighter polyviscose kilt, it seems to be "roughing up" the front apron. As you can see from the picture:

DSCF1336.JPG

the back of the sporran is stitched on the outside. The stitching is somewhat rough, as is the manufacturers stamp in the leather. Sorry the picture isn't better - black on black is hard!

One option would be to sand down the stamp until smooth and redo the stitching to try to make it less rough. Alternatively, it might be possible to stick something over the whole back to cover it all up.

Any suggestions which might be the most effective?

Many thanks for your wisdom and experience.

[artificer]

Hi Everyone, especially the sporran makers among us!

I have a plain black leather day sporran, which has not been a problem (so far) when worn with my ex-military heavy wool kilt. However, having worn it a few times with my lighter polyviscose kilt, it seems to be "roughing up" the front apron. As you can see from the picture:

DSCF1336.JPG

the back of the sporran is stitched on the outside. The stitching is somewhat rough, as is the manufacturers stamp in the leather. Sorry the picture isn't better - black on black is hard!

One option would be to sand down the stamp until smooth and redo the stitching to try to make it less rough. Alternatively, it might be possible to stick something over the whole back to cover it all up.

Any suggestions which might be the most effective?

Many thanks for your wisdom and experience.

If I had to guess I'd say it was probably the chain and it's clips that are wearing on your apron, although the edges of the strap keeper may be an issue as well.

I'd be amazed if the maker's mark was the issue.

ith:

[Chas]

Most sporrans of this type have a rough outer edge. The edge is usually not "slicked".

There are tools to do this, but you can do it with what you have to hand.

With a very sharp knife, very slowly, remove a small bevel of leather from that outer edge.

Once there is a bevel, it needs to be slicked. Using an old pair of jeans (Do Not Use Sandpaper), rub that bevelled edge - this will take a long time, but you can do other things like reading or watching TV while doing it. Beware of friction burns!

You will know that you are finished by touch - there will be a smooth slickness to the feel. When in doubt - do an extra 2 or 3 hours!

Regards

Chas

[MNlad]

Most sporrans of this type have a rough outer edge. The edge is usually not "slicked".

Agreed. With a PV or acrylic kilt, it doesn't take much of an edge or rough surface to do a number on the fabric. As noted by artificer, the chain and catch can also be a problem, so check them for any roughness or sharp edges—or switch to a leather sporran strap.

If you don't feel confident taking a knife to the sharp edges of your sporran, you can purchase a small beveler at a fairly modest cost at any leather shop. Run it along the edge of a scrap of leather a few times to get the hang of it. After beveling, slick it up and finish it off with a bit of shoe polish to match the color of your sporran.

Finally, it looks like there is a knot in the stitching at the bottom of the sporran. If it is really rough, you can carefully remove a bit of leather under it and set it flush with a spot of superglue.

[unixken]

After beveling, slick it up and finish it off with a bit of shoe polish to match the color of your sporran.

I would be very careful about the selection of any kind of polish or dye. Since you already have evidence of rubbing, between the sporran and kilt, be mindful of any dyes, etc., that could rub off onto the fabric. Once dried, I would rub any dyed edges with an old white t-shirt until no trace of the dye is evident on the shirt, before wearing the sporran.

[MNlad]

Good addition. Sometimes you just take things like that for granted . . . and shouldn't.

[TheOfficialBren]

I agree with Artificer.

I would say switch to a strap, ditch the chain/clips. You will be amazed.

I also afree with Ken. Dyes and polishes can be tricky. I don't wear anything that I've dyed until after I've given it a good rubbing down to ensure that the dye/polish has worked its way into the leather and the excess has thoroughly rubbed off on an expendable rag. I just made a belt for a forum member that I was EXTRA CAREFUL to do that with. He owns very nice kilts and I didn't want to risk his new belt damaging his garments.

Heppy kilting!

[A Hay]

I can't add much to the advice already given.
I was not aware of using cotton to rub the edges of the leather to slick them down.
I use a light coating of Gum Tragacanth (obtainable from Tandy Leather Factory) and a nylon slicker to burnish the edges of leather items. A resonable substitute would be to dampen the edges slightly with water and use a nylon comb to rub the edge briskly. This should do the trick in a minute or so. Put a piece of light cardboard between the edge of the piece of leather being polished and the rest of the sporran to prevent hitting the body of the sporran with the comb.
If you do use a sporran chain with clip ends, be sure the opening in the chain clasp is away from the kilt. A leather belt is a better alternative, although you need to slick the edges (and smooth the back of the belt if it is rough) to reduce friction.
Hope this helps.

Tom

[artificer]

I can't add much to the advice already given.
I was not aware of using cotton to rub the edges of the leather to slick them down.
I use a light coating of Gum Tragacanth (obtainable from Tandy Leather Factory) and a nylon slicker to burnish the edges of leather items. A resonable substitute would be to dampen the edges slightly with water and use a nylon comb to rub the edge briskly. This should do the trick in a minute or so. Put a piece of light cardboard between the edge of the piece of leather being polished and the rest of the sporran to prevent hitting the body of the sporran with the comb.
If you do use a sporran chain with clip ends, be sure the opening in the chain clasp is away from the kilt. A leather belt is a better alternative, although you need to slick the edges (and smooth the back of the belt if it is rough) to reduce friction.
Hope this helps.

Tom

I'd actually advise against wetting the edges of this sporran. If the edge is that rough my guess is that it's probably leatherboard instead of real leather. If it gets wet it can swell and/or delaminate from the thin leather face.

If the issue is the bottom/side rear edge the OP's best bet is to bevel the edges as Chas mentioned, give the new edge a very light rub with a block of paraffin wax and then buff with canvas/denim to burnish - or a nylon buffing wheel.

As TheOfficialBren mentioned, dyes should be handled with care- the last thing you want is a huge black smudge across the apron of your kilt.

ith:

[WillowEstate]

Thanks very much, folks, some great ideas I hadn't thought of!

artificer said:

" If I had to guess I'd say it was probably the chain and it's clips that are wearing on your apron, although the edges of the strap keeper may be an issue as well.

I'd be amazed if the maker's mark was the issue."

I don't think the chain is to blame - I was very careful to select one that had no burrs and had the open side of the clips away from the kilt when the chain was flat.

I think you are right about the strap keeper because it does have a fairly sharp edge around it. It may well be responsible for the higher part of the scuffing, though it extends a bit too low for this to be the only cause. I guess I could try bevelling and slicking the keeper as others suggested for the outer edge.

I'll check out the maker's mark again, the edges are very sharp and quite deep, unlike most leather stamps I've seen. May be cut, rather than pressed?

Thanks for your insight.

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Chas said:

"Most sporrans of this type have a rough outer edge. The edge is usually not "slicked"..."

You are spot on, the edge is a straight square cut and quite hard to the touch. Also the texture of the leather creates an almost serrated top (kilt side) edge.

Your description of bevelling and slicking reminds me of years ago when I used to be into lino cuts and I'm guessing the tools would be much the same. Search of the shed called for, I think I may still have them!

I'll certainly give it a try - sounds quite therapeutic!

I wonder if a piece of chamois leather would work for the slicking? I used to use that for fine finishing of the edges of wooden furniture - took a long time but produced a perfect result.

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MNlad said:

"... or switch to a leather sporran strap...

... slick it up and finish it off with a bit of shoe polish to match the color of your sporran...

... Finally, it looks like there is a knot in the stitching at the bottom of the sporran..."

I know leather sporran straps are the favourite here but I've never been very keen on them - I can't get them to lie right when I'm sitting (I'm too thin, perhaps!) but I'll bear it in mind.

I might get away without more polish/stain the leather looks like it was pretty thoroughly soaked but I won't know until I bevel it. I do have a black stain I got from an upholsterer in England years ago. It came with a kind of "fixer" that was painted on afterwards and stopped it staining clothing etc, so that may just do the trick if necessary.

Thanks Ken and The Official [BREN] for your reminders about leaking polishes.

I was thinking of undoing the stitching to remove the knot you spotted and tying a smaller knot between the back and edge leather layers, like I do with double skin belts. I can usually work a small knot into one of the stitch holes so the two skins lie flat. The hard part (making the holes) is already done!

I'll post back when I've made some progress.

Thanks, Tom and Artificer for the additional thoughts. I do have my doubts about the quality of the leather - it is stamped as "Real Leather" and smells like leather but it might be one of the near substitutes - I'll know when I try bevelling it.