Victorian Goat Hair Sporran Reconditioned

[BoldHighlander]

That is truly stunning.....both the original craftsmanship & your restoration of this magnificent sporran!!

[saxandpipes]

An amazing piece. It shows just how inferior today's "custom work" is compared to what was available a century or so ago. Well done, indeed. (And I must spend more time on eBay...)

I agree completely. To be honest this is the reason I haven't speant more of getting a "nice" sporran yet. This is just a beautiful piece of craftsmanship, where did you find it?

[Dram]

I am looking to eventually purchase some silver sporran chains for this sporran. Ian Grant of Edinburgh has a nice simple, yet elegant design of sporran chain that looks more classical than the curb style chain.

The pouch appears to have originally used a belt, as the loops on the back are quite far apart and are wide.

Can anyone recommend someone that could make what I've always known as a "D" (which on many sporrans is the small piece of leather on the pouch where the chains clip to the sporran) that would fit?

[Downunder Kilt]

Check out OCONEE Leather, they have standard size ones but if you need something custom I am sure that they could accomodate you too. Magnificant looking cantle you have there

[Dram]

Check out OCONEE Leather, they have standard size ones but if you need something custom I am sure that they could accomodate you too. Magnificant looking cantle you have there

Thanks for the info. I will contact them. Maybe I'll get one of their leather sporran belts in the interim also.

[OC Richard]

What a fantastic sporran! A true work of art.

I agree that those cones/bells are amazing, the openwork with the leather showing through.

It looks like that sporran was originally worn with a leather sporran strap, not a chain strap. Oftentimes old sporran cantles have a pair of metal rings on the back where a chainstrap can be attached in addition to the leather loops for a plain leather sporran strap.

You might be able to see them here, on the back of the Celtic Dragon cantle that's mounted on that sporran:





(The bits of tape are to protect the kilt from the nail ends, as this cantle is held on with two tiny nails, pushed through then bent over, very common on old sporrans.)

Now that thing you call a "D", I had heard called an adapter, just a short bit of leather with two D-rings. They're to allow a sporran with loops for a plain leather sporran strap to be worn with a chain strap.

I've made these myself, they're easy to make with a bit of leather, two D-rings, and two rivets. The modern adapters are much narrower than would be best for your antique sporran, I think.

[Dram]

Thanks Richard. Yes I agree that this would have only had a leather belt originally, as the back of the cantle doesn't have a place to attach chains.

If I do put chains on it I am going to have to make sure they don't rub against the cantle. If that becomes an issue I'll just use a leather belt.

Yeah, modern leather D's are too short and too narrow to work on this, so one would have to be made.

BTW: I really like that brass cantle you have!