How often do you wear a kilt pin?

[OC Richard]

I was going to put "never" but you know, once in a great while I will wear one. And I have a really nice one! Bespoke from Ortak I think, a nice Sterling Silver Celtic cross (which they only offered as a pendant, and I had to ask them to make it up into a pin).



But I've been around Pipe Bands for 35 years or so now. Ever seen a pile of 20 year old band kilts, where the band wears kilt pins? I've seen several such piles from different bands, and you'll not see one which doesn't have some of the kilts, sometimes most of the kilts, with tears or rips or at least shaggy enlarged holes where the kilt pins go. There will not be a SINGLE kilt where you can take off the kilt pin and not plainly see evidence of where the pin was, displaced threads and small holes being the best-case scenario.

The logic of the thing escapes me: "Let's spend $500 a piece on heavyweight handsewn kilts, then hand them over to a roomful of chimpanzees armed with icepicks to jab holes in them." (That's what the kilts look like!)

Think of the drummers, who are hooking up and unhooking their heavy drums constantly, these drums having numerous projecting bits any of which can catch on the kilt pin. Put down the drum and rip! there it goes. We pipers aren't quite as hard on our kilts but say if the band has to march through a crowded room, shoving through people and past chairs and one of the kilt pins catches on chair and rip! there it goes.

So we're starting up a new Pipe Band now and we're looking to buy kilts and it's no kilt pins, never! Kilts are a big investment and we want them to stay is as good a shape as possible.

I trawl used kilts on Ebay regularly and I see, all the time, vintage or used kilts showing damage from a kilt pin. I have to pass on those kilts, even if otherwise I would want them.

BTW there was a nice thread a while back "show us your kilt pins"

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...lt-pins-64703/

and I was surprised that most of the things people are wearing on their kilts aren't things designed as kilt pins, but are as random an assortment of objects as can be imagined... basically anything that has a pin back, or can have a pin back attached, is used as a kilt pin.