Brass cantle, tan leather and goatskin sporran

[Troglodyte]

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If you're thinking this is a case of deja vu, you're not wrong...

This is a newly-completed sporran in the same style as the previous one I posted about recently, using the remainder of the goatskin fur and the same tan leather, but with an undyed and natural finish buff coloured calfskin lining and a brass cantle.

Now, whether it's the oils in my hands, or that in the leather - or a combination of the two - but the bright polished finish of the brass has been trying to patinate before my very eyes..! The metal will have mellowed into a soft 'aged' appearance in next to no time, complimenting the old-fashioned tone of the leather and giving the sporran a pleasing classic look.

So what do I do with my handicrafts..?

I have a 'shelf' in the shop at a folk museum here in eastern Highlands of Scotland, for which I source items of vintage Highland dress, and have them for sale as a fund-raiser for the museum. The museum is a registered charity and survives on donations and what it can raise through such sales.

[Shinenotburn]

Absolutely brilliant work! Your finishes are superb, and the details are exquisite. Well done .

[Troglodyte]

Absolutely brilliant work! Your finishes are superb, and the details are exquisite. Well done .

Kind words..! Thanks!

I have to admit I am not a leather-worker, so am probably doing all kinds of things 'wrong' in the eyes of the trade.

I come to sporran-making from book-binding, so what I think of as suitable leathers, and the cutting, making and moulding techniques I employ might seem a bit novel and unnecessary to seasoned bag-makers.

I construct my sporrans the the leather panels being laminated with an interlining that adds considrable amount of strength while retaining supple flexibility. I am not a fan of the two-stiff-boards style that commercial sporran-makers seem to favour - which appears to be on account of their preference for leather-look fibre-board.

Although there might be sufficient leather and fur in a skin for more than one sporran, I never make two of the same thing - preferring to use a different cantle, or lining, or tassel arrangement, so that each one is unique. Also, my leather supplies are from trial samples or limited runs (often three to five skins only) so the option of long production runs is impossible anyway.

Sporans are an excellent example of form following function - and construction. The have to be a certain size and proportion to function as they need to, which is, I guess, why makers through the ages have all arrived at the same conclusions in terms of technique and product design.

Much in the way all books are essentially the same...

[stickman]

Beautiful workmanship on your sporrans. Your bookbinder background comment made me think of my mother. She was a bookbinder about a hundred years ago. Wish I had some of that talent. Keep up the good work.