Wearing a basket-hilt claymore with kilt...

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Throughout the history of the basket hilt sword it has been worn and carried in exactly the same way, regardless of the time period.

In simple terms the sword is worn on the weak side, suspended from a baldric worn over the strong shoulder and crossing over the body to the the hip on the weak side. The baldric is a form of belt, about 3-inces wide, and usually with a buckle in the area of the chest, to facilitate the putting on and taking off of the sword.

The sword is attached to the baldric by the simple expedient of passing the scabbard thru a sleeve-like loop which is part of the baldric. It is usually held in place by a small stud attached to the scabbard which fits through an equally small opening, or hole, in the sleeve of the baldric.

Any photo of a Drum Major in full dress would show you what a baldric looks like, and how it is worn.

[Tobus]

Throughout the history of the basket hilt sword it has been worn and carried in exactly the same way, regardless of the time period.

In simple terms the sword is worn on the weak side, suspended from a baldric worn over the strong shoulder and crossing over the body to the the hip on the weak side. The baldric is a form of belt, about 3-inces wide, and usually with a buckle in the area of the chest, to facilitate the putting on and taking off of the sword.

The sword is attached to the baldric by the simple expedient of passing the scabbard thru a sleeve-like loop which is part of the baldric. It is usually held in place by a small stud attached to the scabbard which fits through an equally small opening, or hole, in the sleeve of the baldric.

Any photo of a Drum Major in full dress would show you what a baldric looks like, and how it is worn.

Ah, OK. Baldric it is, then. That's the way I was leaning, due to the balance issue of the heavy hilt. I'm guessing this is why it's always been worn on a baldric? It seems more of a fixed angle, keeping the hilt from flopping down like it seems to do on a simple frog hung from a belt.

I looked at a couple of baldrics at the faire and have a general sense of how they work. But I didn't buy one because I wasn't impressed at all with the quality of the workmanship, especially for the price they were asking. I'm thinking I can make one myself, for a more custom fit/angle and better quality stitching. I'm not sure I'd want to get as fancy with the hardware as I usually see on drum majors, though. Any idea where I can find 3" buckles and keepers that aren't too ornate? I'm thinking even a simple round brass buckle (like the "Jacobite baldric" in HenryT's link) would work just fine. I could use one of Tandy's "reenactor buckles" if I had to, although I would hope I could find something a little better looking.

The scabbard has only a metal 'clip' on one side. I just hung it on my belt for the afternoon using that clip. But I'm thinking the clip would serve the same function as the stud you mentioned. It would be a simple matter to punch a hole or cut a slit in the sleeve of the baldric for correct positioning.

Now, this may seem like a dumb question. But when wearing a baldric with a kilt, I'm assuming it's worn over the kilt belt (i.e. put on last, and taken off first) with no interconnecting pieces. Is this correct? Some of the baldrics I saw seemed to have been mated with other waist belts and somehow connected to them. This isn't necessary, is it? Or would it make things more stable (less prone to sway) if the baldric were connected to the kilt belt?

[Dale Seago]

I'm not sure I'd want to get as fancy with the hardware as I usually see on drum majors, though. Any idea where I can find 3" buckles and keepers that aren't too ornate? I'm thinking even a simple round brass buckle (like the "Jacobite baldric" in HenryT's link) would work just fine. I could use one of Tandy's "reenactor buckles" if I had to, although I would hope I could find something a little better looking.

The most historically common, in Scotland anyway, seems to have been a "double D" style buckle. There are a couple you might find suitable on this page: http://www.gggodwin.com/cartgenie/prodList.asp?scat=64

The scabbard has only a metal 'clip' on one side. I just hung it on my belt for the afternoon using that clip. But I'm thinking the clip would serve the same function as the stud you mentioned. It would be a simple matter to punch a hole or cut a slit in the sleeve of the baldric for correct positioning.

Sounds like you have one of the backswords made by Hanwei in China. The weight, balance, and basket size of those are more historically accurate than most other "production" pieces out there. Both clips and studs were used on the scabbards; I think the clip is an older feature more common to personally owned weapons and the studs were more for the sake of military uniformity.

Now, this may seem like a dumb question. But when wearing a baldric with a kilt, I'm assuming it's worn over the kilt belt (i.e. put on last, and taken off first) with no interconnecting pieces. Is this correct?

Yes.

[Zardoz]

"it was their Highland theme weekend, I decided not to wear the kilt"

OK,

Here's a nice source for baldrics;
http://ravenswoodleather.com/index.p...arch_str=&pg=1

[Woodsheal]

I like these folks' baldrics (I own one of the late 17th C ones with the double frog, which a talented friend fancied up with some brass additions):

http://www.thequartermastergeneral.c...=leather_goods

Yes it's put on last, and does NOT connect at all with a waist belt. The "clip" on the scabbard is called the locket. It can fit into the baldric's sleeve one of two ways: