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  1. #1
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    Sporran cantle options

    Greetings rabble,

    I'm in the early stages of commissioning my next sporran. I plan to acquire a nice high quality piece that will cover me from casual/relaxed traditional to black tie. I am following wise advise to buy once and buy well. Anyway, so given all these MoD restorations I have seen popping up, gave me sporran envy, and after a long tedious search I found a source that'll make it and has a brass MoD cantle available.

    I'd like to get input on the appropriateness of a brass cantle in black tie. While those will be very far and few in between, given the cost of the sporran I'd like it to be the one that serves all purpose. The other options are the more commercially available polished pewter cantles, which I like a lot too, and also drop the price of the sporran by 60 pounds. Thanks in advance for your input.
    Last edited by Manu; 21st September 18 at 07:47 AM.

  2. #2
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    I'm nae expert on this, but I've heard it said that brass would be okay.

    My greater interest is what seems to me to be a putative search for a sporran that goes from casual to black tie - a more than challenging goal from what I'm reading. For that alone, I'll follow this thread with interest to see what you come up with, and what the Rabble thinks about it.

    Cheers & Blessings!

    Bill+
    Rev'd Father Bill White: Retired Parish Priest & Elementary Headmaster. Lover of God, dogs, most people, joy, tradition, humour & clarity. Legion Padre, theologian, teacher, philosopher, linguist, encourager of hearts & souls & a firm believer in dignity, decency, & duty. A proud Canadian Sinclair.

  3. #3
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    Ok, so when I say casual I mean a collared shirt or a jumper, and the sporran being on the nicer side without looking too formal in said attire. I guess I have seen and heard of some members (one of them being Jock, who I hope chips in to this conversation) use the McRostie sporrans for less formal black tie events as well. Im in the market for something along those lines but with a metal cantle.

  4. #4
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    Gotcha. In my understanding, as soon as you put on a metal cantle it becomes more formal. Yes, Jock says he wears a plain black day sporran for everything. I have the same one and absolutely love it, but it isn't what is traditional for daywear.

    Let's see wot the Rabble says.
    Rev'd Father Bill White: Retired Parish Priest & Elementary Headmaster. Lover of God, dogs, most people, joy, tradition, humour & clarity. Legion Padre, theologian, teacher, philosopher, linguist, encourager of hearts & souls & a firm believer in dignity, decency, & duty. A proud Canadian Sinclair.

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  6. #5
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    I use my brass cantle sporrans for day wear. I suppose in a pinch you could press one into service as a formal sporran but to me the brass lends itself to a day setting. My reason for saying that is my doublets all have silver buttons and mixing metals doesn’t really do it for me. There will be others who say it’s fine to mix your metals I’m sure.

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  8. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by McMurdo View Post
    I use my brass cantle sporrans for day wear. I suppose in a pinch you could press one into service as a formal sporran but to me the brass lends itself to a day setting. My reason for saying that is my doublets all have silver buttons and mixing metals doesn’t really do it for me. There will be others who say it’s fine to mix your metals I’m sure.
    Ah yes, I did not think of the mixing of the metals. So, in your opinion, could a white metal cantle be appropriate for daywear? And I mean with a rather plain black bag with leather tassels, not metallic.

  9. #7
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    For me daywear sporrans should not have a silver cantle either plain leather or the MoD cantle is fine but not a silver cantle.

  10. #8
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    This same subject comes up occasionally, with mixed answers. From what I recall of past discussions, mixing metals isn't that big of a deal in Highland tradition. It might depend on who you're trying to impress at your event, but there's no rule against it.

    I wouldn't consider a brass cantle ideal for black tie, but I wouldn't consider it verboten either. If I were going to go all-in with one single sporran, I might be tempted to choose the same. An ex-MoD brass cantle can easily span the range from casual to dressy, depending on how it's bagged and presented. Keep in mind, too, that the MoD cantles are made to be removed from the bag by popping off the clips from the internal studs. So you can have several bags made for the same cantle. One for daywear, one for black tie, etc.

    But if I only had one choice for the bag to go with that cantle, I'd choose something in a fur or hair covering. As a matter of fact, I have one being made right now with one of my MoD cantles mounted on a goat hair bag. I didn't order it that way specifically with black tie in mind, but it could work for that purpose. It can be dressed up by polishing the brass before the event, using a chain instead of a leather strap, and perhaps having some removable tassels through the front that get added for dressy occasions (bonus points for mixing metals by using silver cones on the tassels and a silver sporran chain combined with the brass cantle).

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  12. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tobus View Post
    This same subject comes up occasionally, with mixed answers. From what I recall of past discussions, mixing metals isn't that big of a deal in Highland tradition. It might depend on who you're trying to impress at your event, but there's no rule against it.

    I wouldn't consider a brass cantle ideal for black tie, but I wouldn't consider it verboten either. If I were going to go all-in with one single sporran, I might be tempted to choose the same. An ex-MoD brass cantle can easily span the range from casual to dressy, depending on how it's bagged and presented. Keep in mind, too, that the MoD cantles are made to be removed from the bag by popping off the clips from the internal studs. So you can have several bags made for the same cantle. One for daywear, one for black tie, etc.

    But if I only had one choice for the bag to go with that cantle, I'd choose something in a fur or hair covering. As a matter of fact, I have one being made right now with one of my MoD cantles mounted on a goat hair bag. I didn't order it that way specifically with black tie in mind, but it could work for that purpose. It can be dressed up by polishing the brass before the event, using a chain instead of a leather strap, and perhaps having some removable tassels through the front that get added for dressy occasions (bonus points for mixing metals by using silver cones on the tassels and a silver sporran chain combined with the brass cantle).
    Thanks, good points made. Im not a big fan of fur, daywear or black tie. I prefer the leather sporrans. I know for brings up a notch the wow factor, but it's just not me. I do however like the idea of interchanging cantles and such.

    I'm leaning more towards the brass option with black bag, mostly because most of the use will be for less than black tie affairs. I don't even have black tie jacket and vest yet, but in all honesty, I like the black button argyle better than the silver button, not as flashy, but looks very sleek IMO. And a polished brass cantle looks very sharp. I remember the days when I had to polish the brass buckle in my uniform, very satisfying

  13. #10
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    I recently Aquired an MOD cantle and had it rebagged with a dark brown bag, which I feel spans casual up to reasonably formal. It's a shame you're in America, as you can, as I did, pick up a 2nd hand 1980s - 2000 sealskin with chrome cantle for £60 quite regularly on eBay, which means for a relatively small sum (compared to a quality rebag) you can keep that in the drawer for more formal events.

    I'm less of a traditionalist than some, so as far as I'm concerned a nicely polished and rebagged MOD sporran looks as good as a fur sporran and anyone who knows how much they cost would likely overlook the fur requirement. I will agree with what others say regarding silver cantles, best left for more formal events.

    just my opinion, worth little, but it's still mine ��
    Last edited by Nomad; 21st September 18 at 12:36 PM.

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