MoD brass cantle re-bagging

[Troglodyte]

I let temptation get the better of me recently, and put in a lazy bid at auction for an old MoD so-called Culloden sporran.

My bid won the day...

Sadly, though, the sporran has been regarded as simple army-surplus by the previous owner, and had rather crude tassels and a MacGregor clan badge attached.

This ruined the original bag, which had been de-blanco'd and was back to the buff suede. It would have been nice without the tassel and badge treatment...

However, a bit of effort with the handicraft tools and some choice leathers, and we have something in the way of salvation for cantle use.

It is an antique-finish chestnut with piping arond the gusset and pinked-and-piered border decoration, and a twin-tassel arrangement of my own invention - so novel and individual - together with my trademark tassel style. Lining is in a sand-coloured suede.

The bag proportions are somewhat larger that the army-issue original, and the deeprer gusset means we now have a good-looking and practical sporran. It has plenty of capacity.

The only drawback is that the front plate of the cantle has been broken off (or removed) at some stage, and has been re-attached using a resin bond. It works well-enough, but it would be best if the resin was removed and the plate re-brazed into position. A simple job, I would imagine.

But did I really need another of these sporrans..?

Of course not, so this is now ready for a new owner, and will join my other sporran-making projects where they get sold as a fund-raising effort for a charity-run museum here in Scotland.

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[Hauge]

No matter what, it is a beautiful result, i'd feel honoured to give a new home. If only...
Really certain it will bring many a great carrying, to the future new owner!

[Troglodyte]

No matter what, it is a beautiful result, i'd feel honoured to give a new home. If only...
Really certain it will bring many a great carrying, to the future new owner!

House of Labhran on-line shop has both cantles and complete sporrans for sale, so you can check out the competition and see how other makers tackle the task.

But their prices are about double what I shall be asking for this - what I think is fair to cover my auction and material costs. The original bag will be part of the deal.

PM me if interested.

[figheadair]

Beautiful workmanship. If I didn't have two already then I'd definitely be first in the queue.

[Troglodyte]

Beautiful workmanship. If I didn't have two already then I'd definitely be first in the queue.

Coming from a man with such impeccable and discerning taste as you, that's just about the highest praise I could get..!

Thanks..!

But have you considered this - as these old brass cantles are easy-off, there's no reason not to have a selection of bags in different styles, colours, finishes, etc, so you could swap and change as your mood and fancy demands.

The bags are easy enough to make, and my model is slightly deeper and fuller that the army-issue original - ie, with a wider gusset and slightly larger silhouette so as to be more practical in a carrying capacity sense.

Perhaps I should make a couple and have them readily available...

[Tomo]

Nice work. I manage to pick up an MOD sporran in Edinburgh last year for £45 and currently lookign at having it re-bagged.

[Troglodyte]

Nice work. I manage to pick up an MOD sporran in Edinburgh last year for £45 and currently lookign at having it re-bagged.

Bags for the MoD cantles are limited in their options, as they have to mount easily onto the securing bosses, and the gusset needs to hook over the hinge side bosses.

But these parameters allow for a fair bit of decoration, like the one I've just made, and the option of fur if it is not too thick.

I still have some upholstery hide that I made a very plain version of a little while ago, that is as yet unused.

Interested..?

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More pics available.

[OC Richard]

Wow that's gorgeous.

It's amazing how the subtle and elegant border decoration lifts the look of the whole sporran several notches.

Now I'm inspired to try that. I've got my pinking shears and I've done one pinked cantle gasket-liner (cutting the curve was much easier than I had imagined) and now I need to punch the holes. What a difference it makes!

BTW aren't there usually five poppers on the cantle? Does that vary from model to model?

[Troglodyte]

BTW aren't there usually five poppers on the cantle? Does that vary from model to model?

The Mk1 MoD cantle has five bag-mounting bosses and a leaf-spring for the clasp, with a pull-up release action . The later ones have four bosses and a push-down release action, with the spring housed around the clasp shaft in a cylinder.

A five-boss bag will fit onto a four-boss cantle, as the shape and dimensions seem to be identical, but a four-boss bag would need to have an additional hole punched in order to make it fit properly.

Ideally, it would be best to match the bag to the cantle - but if you know which version you have, making a bag to fit is straight-forward and easy even when the cantle is not present for fitting.

My pictures show the two versions I have - the five-boss version is a bag I made and used circlips on the bosses; the four-boss is a bag I commision Margaret Morrison to make, showing their replacement snap-fasteners.

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