Advice on refurbishing a sporran

[jeepel]

hey friends

I was recently gifted two antique and seen better days sporrans, in order perhaps to put them together into one.

Metalwork needs to be refinished.

Sealskin needs to be reconditioned, and in places reglued where it has torn.

Advice on how to, and products in order to?

[Pleater]

hey friends

I was recently gifted two antique and seen better days sporrans, in order perhaps to put them together into one.

Metalwork needs to be refinished.

Sealskin needs to be reconditioned, and in places reglued where it has torn.

Advice on how to, and products in order to?

The sealskin could be strengthened with gauze - I have sheets of gauze but it can be got as bandages and just laid on as parallel lines - at right angles to the fault lines if that is appropriate, and then use watered down wood glue - the one which will soften when wet is best, just in case it needs to be removed at some point. I leave extra all around the edges so it can then be glued onto edging for improved strength and to take the strain off fragile parts. I glue the gauze onto the inside of the edging, not onto the fur side of the skin.

I have strengthened failing leather and pushed out saggy wrinkles by gluing card onto the inside of an already gauzed piece, putting under gentle pressure and letting it dry completely. It was a pouch which had been stored flattened and twisted and always assumed that shape when left to its own devices.

Anne the Pleater

[jeepel]

Anne the Pleater

Can you see the picture I added? I cant tell if it uploaded..... does not show from here

any way you know of that one could treat the sealskin from the outside? Its still on the sporran. The natural bend point where the sporran opens was dry and ripped on the sealskin. its repairable since nothing fell away; just going to continue to be dry till it gets in better condition - the gauze glue is good maybe for repairing the hinge where it broke

[kilted2000]

Can you see the picture I added? I cant tell if it uploaded..... does not show from here

any way you know of that one could treat the sealskin from the outside? Its still on the sporran. The natural bend point where the sporran opens was dry and ripped on the sealskin. its repairable since nothing fell away; just going to continue to be dry till it gets in better condition - the gauze glue is good maybe for repairing the hinge where it broke

I don't see a pic.

[Pleater]

No picture.

I had assumed that you'd be disassembling the sporran in order to restore the metalwork, so the sealskin would be detached and would perhaps be getting a new lining and probably being treated with some restorative to get it soft and supple again.

The wood glue I use is PVA thinned down with a little water. It, and the gauze adds some body back to the leather. The glue will also connect the edges of the tear.

Anne the Pleater

[EagleJCS]

The picture can be found as an attachment to the subject in the topics list. Look for and click on the paper clip.

I'm no leather expert, but I would imagine just about any leather conditioner (maybe Neatsfoot Oil?) would work to help soften the leather back up and bring it back into shape. You might check with your local shoe repair shop for advice. You could also check for local saddle/tack shops and/or upholsterers that deal with leather.

Best of luck.

[OC Richard]

With sealskin that has so much worn off I don't think there's much that can be done, other than sending it to Margaret Morrison to have the bag rebuilt or replaced.

With the metal parts it depends on how they're made.

The cantle I see looks like the high-quality ones which came in two finishes/levels of quality

1) all the separate parts as we can see, silver plated, stamped Made In Scotland in tiny letters on one side

2) the various components made all of a piece, nickel or chrome plated, generally not stamped.

If yours are silver plated and the plating is badly worn off, I think the only thing to do is to have it plated.

For me the cost of these measures are too high, and I would just wear the sporran as is, and let it look its age.

Because the costs would be more than a new sporran would cost, I think.

This is a slightly different case, I bought the sporran at left on Ebay for a quite low price. The bag was thrashed, but the cantle looked like the work of Frederick Narborough (Birmingham) who made chased nickel and Sterling Silver mounts for bagpipes, and less often buckles and cantles.

The cantle proved to be hallmarked Sterling Silver and worthy of having a new bag.

I sent the sporran to Margaret Morrison with beautiful result.