What's with Cow-head sporrans?

[McCracken140]

I saw your illustrations, I imagined a real cow's head. That would be very large and unwieldy. I wonder if anyone has ever tried.

I was imagining a big coos head “full mask” sporran... I thought that might be rather unwieldy

[McMurdo]

I will not be queueing up to plunk down my hard earned cash on any of these anytime soon.

[Katia]

Okay, I admit it: I love the first one. Not in a serious way, but it's hilarious.

I saw your illustrations, I imagined a real cow's head. That would be very large and unwieldy. I wonder if anyone has ever tried.

I imagined a "mask" style sporran, only with a cow's head (not a real one, but)!

[OC Richard]

Yes an actual cow head would be far to big, but I have seen animal-mask sporrans (usually from US makers) using creatures that are too big to make a sporran of ordinary traditional size.

I think it's why the old Scottish ones were animals like badger and pine marten and such.

Admittedly this one's a bit on the small side.



But this looks too big, at least for this gent.

[PinellasPaul]

Looks like the beard of Eric the Red!

I like the fact that those new hairy sporrans look like they're made from actual Highland coo hair, which for some reason has been mostly neglected by sporran makers.

It's the oversized gaudy replicas of cow-heads and stag-heads that I can do without.

Like this: a nice traditional-looking cantle (this style has been in production since the 1920s) on a coo-hair body



On another note, this Glasgow pipe band has big coo-heads on their bonnet-badges and on their bass drum

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjCGbkj_W-g&t=19s

though I don't think they have them on their sporrans.

[OC Richard]

Coincidence?

I don't think so.

[KnittedReenactor]

Does anyone make/carry any coo fur sporrans that aren't the current gaudy type? I have been wanting one, but for the poorly executed designs.

[OC Richard]

Does anyone make/carry any coo fur sporrans that aren't the current gaudy type? I have been wanting one, but for the poorly executed designs.

The one I posted above uses a cantle design that's been in production from at least the 1930s, here it is in a 1930s catalogue



I used to own a very well-made and traditional-looking leather sporran with coo-hair front made by local saddlemaker and sporranmaker Billy Lang. I know I took a photo of it, and posted it on XMarks a while back, but just now I searched my photos and googled "Billy Lang sporran" but no joy.

Billy's sporrans are amazing, but he evidently has no internet presence as a sporranmaker.