Sporran strap wear

[macgreggor]

and THAT is why sidewalks are cement rather than pavement!
macG

[Thistle Stop]

I have to ask, why is it that just about every sporran maker these days sells or provides chain straps with every sporran? This is a comparatively recent habit which I simply cannot understand. Perhaps chain it less expensive than leather, I do not know - it could well be here in the United Kingdom, where most of our decent leather has to be imported. Perhaps it is a matter of 'fashion'.

Not so many years ago, all-leather (Day) sporrans were sold with leather straps, whilst silver-cantled/sealskin (Dress) sporrans came with chain straps. It was unheard of to see a chain on a day sporran.

I have two all-leather sporrans that were delivered to me with chain straps, which I have never used. Those destructive chains were replaced by leather straps before I would wear either of those beautiful sporrans. Then there was another one that came from the USA (could it have been my Buzz Kidder?) with an all-round chain (ie: no leather and buckle fitments at all). What was THAT about?

Yep, Buzz's sporrans come with a chain -- just a chain, with nary a piece of leather attached. I have given him grief about this, but I think his philosophy is that the value of his sporran is in the bag, and the wearer can use it with any kind of chain strap or belt they desire. They look quite nice dressed up with a sporran belt or a nice chain strap.

As far as I know, nobody makes the kind of day sporran strap I want to see -- one made of soft, smooth, relatively thin leather that is folded, glued and stitched, with lobster-claw clips attached at the front ends and a plain buckle at the back (like a normal belt or the back of a chain strap). This kind of strap would have smooth, rounded edges and would be light and flexible, which would improve the fit (as compared to a hard leather belt that goes through the back of the sporran) and minimise the wear on the fabric.

[Big Paul]

Freelander Sporrano makes a fine strap just like you described. Just received mine from him and I'm totally pleased!

[Thistle Stop]

Freelander Sporrano makes a fine strap just like you described. Just received mine from him and I'm totally pleased!

Cool! Thanks for telling us!

[Granite]

Today I visted half a dozen kilt shops here in town. Picked up two new shirts & hose, and thought to myself - 'I'll ask if they have leather sporran straps..'

You should have seen the looks and heard the comments...'Oh dear, what do you want those for?'....'No one wears them!'....'Maybe we could order it for you, it could take a while though'...'Wouldn't Sir be happier with a chain strap?'...

Or instead my question was answered with a derisive look as if I had asked for a 'specialist' magazine from the top shelf...

I will certainly now endeavour to track down a leather sporran strap just to prove to the doubting Thomas's over here that it looks just fine when worn with my day outfit.

Even though my wife now thinks I have too much of an interest in leather straps... ;-)

Regards.

[beerbecue]

The force acting on a chain or a strap will be the same, i.e., the weight of the sporran, pulling on the chain or strap.

The area of the chain or strap, that contacts the kilt, is much less for the chain.

Same force applied to a smaller area, there will be more wear.... it all comes down to beautiful physics.....

Its the same reason you can lie on a bed of nails, and nothing will happen... all of that force (your weight) applied to a large area - but, your weight on one nail - oops!!!

Friction plays into the motion, or action, if you will, of the strap/chain, on the kilt - the increased motion of the chain just exacerbates the problem... a lot of force provided by a small area acting over a larger area of the kilt..... (as compared to a leather strap)

I think I have even seen suppliers attach velcro to the inside of a leather strap - even less motion, and supposedly greater comfort, and even less kilt wear.....

For those dress occasions, I suppose one could wear a chain/strap combo with a decreased length of chain, and have more leather... The chain would still be there for looks, but the greater amount of leather would aid in 1) greater friction, less motion and 2) greater surface area. This would be especially beneficial if the strap came around over the hips and onto the flat part of the kilt. So, a quite short chain section.....

[Rick]

Same force applied to a smaller area, there will be more wear.... it all comes down to beautiful physics.....

This would indeed be true if there was no contribution from material interaction, surface roughness or sliding distance. For example, one could argue that the rougher surface of the leather would cause more wear than the smooth chain. However, experience seems to show that this is not the case. Now, is it possible that the reduced motion, i.e., sliding distance, of the leather strap counteracts the increased roughness of the leather vs. the metal, i.e., sliding distance is more important than roughness. In other words, if a bench wear test where performed where the sliding distance of the metal and the leather over the wool were identical, would one still see lower wear rate for the case of the leather? I do not know. This is why I posted the original question and the various hypotheses presented by responders have been very interesting. Tribology is one of those highly frustrating subjects because there are so many variables that may or may not be of significance in any given wear couple. Perhaps if I get really bored this summer I will build a simple tribometer to investigate this further.