I tried it on, and more questions

[Tobus]

Yea it’s a claymore with a thistle on the handle, would it be better if I flipped it upside down? Next kilt I’ll probably buy a lightning bolt for.

Just my opinion, but the problem I have with this style kilt pin is that there's a big gap between the outer body of the pin and the actual pin shaft itself, due to the way the clasp is made. No matter what orientation you pin it to your kilt, the heavy front wants to flop around, since it stands proud of the kilt fabric by the thickness of the clasp tabs. They become a rotation point. And the fact that the front is not flush with the fabric makes it want to catch on things. That's par for the course with most kilt pin designs, even the blanket pin style that I prefer, but at least the blanket pin doesn't have much weight to it.

Honestly, kilt pins are more trouble than they're worth. I may yet just stop wearing them altogether as I keep trending towards simplification. *shrug*

[AmateurKiltsmen]

Just my opinion, but the problem I have with this style kilt pin is that there's a big gap between the outer body of the pin and the actual pin shaft itself, due to the way the clasp is made. No matter what orientation you pin it to your kilt, the heavy front wants to flop around, since it stands proud of the kilt fabric by the thickness of the clasp tabs. They become a rotation point. And the fact that the front is not flush with the fabric makes it want to catch on things. That's par for the course with most kilt pin designs, even the blanket pin style that I prefer, but at least the blanket pin doesn't have much weight to it.

Honestly, kilt pins are more trouble than they're worth. I may yet just stop wearing them altogether as I keep trending towards simplification. *shrug*

The only problem is that kilt pins are a big part of the look for me, a kilt without at least pin or sporran doesn’t feel right to me.

[Egerland]

When I visited Scotland in the early 70s grouse claw brooches were on sale everywhere. I've always thought they'd make a nice kilt pin.

[ShaunMaxwell]

See this thread for some interesting pins:

https://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/...lt-pins-64703/

Cheers,

SM

[OC Richard]

About big heavy cumbersome kilt pins, it's been a strange modern trend in kilt accessories in general.

The accessories I own made in the 1930s-1950s period are slender and lightweight.

The vintage sgian is slim, flat on the back, and lightweight meaning it's comfortable to wear. It doesn't make the sock droop like some of the huge heavy modern sginean do. I've even seen modern sginean with handles made of thick heavy solid pewter.

The vintage kilt pin is delicate, lays flat, and weights almost nothing. Many modern pins are thick heavy things that weigh down the kilt.

The vintage sporran is slender and lays flat. Yes it has a gusset so it can hold wallet keys etc just fine. Some modern sporrans are huge thick things like military ammo pouches or something.

[OC Richard]

As Steve so clearly explains, even kilts which were made properly and fit the wearer correctly are often worn wrongly, spoiling the look of them.

The thing I see at every Highland Games are Pipe Band people who have nice handstitched traditional kilts which were made to their measurements, but who wear the kilt far too low.

They're putting the top of the kilt where the top of modern jeans is, which does two things

1) make the kilt too low at the bottom, covering their knees.

2) put the line where the pleat-stitching ends below where the crest of their buttocks is, so that the pleats go inward hugging the underneath of the buttocks. (The point where the stitching should end is hard to describe; imagine a plumb-line going down from waist to knee over the top of one cheek; the point it's no longer laying on the cheek but hanging free to gravity is where the stitching should end.)

[SF Jeff]

The thing I see at every Highland Games are Pipe Band people who have nice handstitched traditional kilts which were made to their measurements, but who wear the kilt far too low.

Having attended a Scottish fest last weekend, this was in abundance. Men, women, band members, non-band members, didn't matter. No one was showing any knee. The kilt of one younger drummer (teens probably) was so low I could not see the tops of his hose. It literally looked like a dress. I don't know if this is a result of wearing the kilt too low, or taking an incorrect measurement, or just personal preference.

Another observation was the lack of kilted people. Very few in relation to the large number attending, and many of them were younger guys with a cheap PV or utility kilt, sandals, a "Royal Kilt Inspector" t-shirt and a 20 oz. Bud light in each hand. But that's another thread.

[Troglodyte]

The only problem is that kilt pins are a big part of the look for me, a kilt without at least pin or sporran doesn’t feel right to me.

It's easy to understand your sentiment.

Kilt-pins are now more about personal choice and taste than anything functional, and there is almost endless option to express this.

The 'blanket pin' style often gets unfair dismissal, but they tend to lie flat against the kilt in a neat way, and there are a good few options out there. Vintage ones sometimes make their way onto eBay, and you can usually bag a bargain.



This little vintage trio are solid silver, with the army officers' style pin at the top and the presentation one in the middle having a 1915 date. The bottom one is from the 1950s and is still availble from some Highland outfitters.

The brass is less 'bling' than silver, so suits day-wear and hunting tartans very well, and also goes well with a brass cantle sporran and brass belt-buckle.

The common but classic oversize (three to four inches long) safety-pin style that often gets supplied with a new kilt is just as good, and comes in nickel (or chrome) and brass finishes.

[ronmack]

When I visited Scotland in the early 70s grouse claw brooches were on sale everywhere. I've always thought they'd make a nice kilt pin.

My late Mum had one ... I'm going to have to hunt for it now!

[Jock Scot]

My late Mum had one ... I'm going to have to hunt for it now!

Far be it for me to suggest this, but grouse claw kilt pins are rather "old hat" and not as popular as they were, I am afraid, within certain "conservation groups" these days. If it were me, I think I would choose something else. Just saying.