Quality Sporrans for less money

[OC Richard]

Troglodyte gave you the proper way to do it.

I, on the other hand, take the lazy way and use Chicago screws.

I bought one of those tools which cuts a neat scribe line along the edge, it really upgrades the look.

And I recently got a tool that simulates a stitched border, you just roll it down in the scribe line. (Cheater!)

In any case the top belt is one I quickly made with leather strap and Chicago screws. I did scribe lines but I didn't have the faux-stitched-border tool at that time.

I have a few sporran straps I've done the same way.

[OC Richard]

Very interesting sporran, it has Forsyth-looking tassels yet the back suggests WE Scott.

In any case $25 for a gorgeous vintage sporran. Too bad there's a Seaforths badge stuck on the flap.

Seal front so no bueno for Estados Unidos.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/18680585168...Bk9SR6K0tuztZA

[Hauge]

Very interesting sporran, it has Forsyth-looking tassels yet the back suggests WE Scott.

In any case $25 for a gorgeous vintage sporran. Too bad there's a Seaforths badge stuck on the flap.

Seal front so no bueno for Estados Unidos.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/18680585168...Bk9SR6K0tuztZA

Same seller has this:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/18680510066...8AAOSwl49nQx2k

So now we know where the Seaford badge come from...

[Troglodyte]

Troglodyte gave you the proper way to do it.

I, on the other hand, take the lazy way and use Chicago screws.

I bought one of those tools which cuts a neat scribe line along the edge, it really upgrades the look.

And I recently got a tool that simulates a stitched border, you just roll it down in the scribe line. (Cheater!)

In any case the top belt is one I quickly made with leather strap and Chicago screws. I did scribe lines but I didn't have the faux-stitched-border tool at that time.

I have a few sporran straps I've done the same way.

Ah, yes. Good fellow to know, is our Trog.

One of the the belt-fastening methods he has tried, is to replace the little internal buckle with monk-rivets - sometimes known as Sam Browne studs as they feature on those belts.

The already-pierced holes in the adjustment strap need to have a small slit cut at the side, so that they push over the stud easily, but that's a simple thing.

This kind of fastening, Trog finds, removes some of the bulk made by the inner buckle, and is less likely to catch on the kilt's strap buckles.

A set of dividers works equally well for marking the edge line. The blunt side of a table-knife blade can be used for 'tooling' the marked line, if you have no proper leather-working kit. A flat-head screwdriver also works.

[OC Richard]

Already having got bids, a WE Scott EW2 with silverplate cantle.

It has the scribe-hinge across the back which they introduced with the 1953 patent design, but lacks the 1953 patent stamp.

The question is the fur. Rabbit? Mink? Artificial? (It does seem to lack the nasty yellow tinge usually associated with the artificial fur they used in the 1950s and 1960s.)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/38768504464...Bk9SR8rC0tHxZA

[OC Richard]

In addition to a number of WE Scott "day" and "semi dress" sporrans for under $50 there's a couple Nicoll Brothers seal Evening sporrans which are a huge bargain for those not in the USA.

This one has an FN/D&N cast top

https://www.ebay.com/itm/17670883584...Bk9SR7Da55byZA

Probably likewise, with a possibly aftermarket Black Watch collar badge stuck on

https://www.ebay.com/itm/18681996331...Bk9SR7ba55byZA

[User]

...
https://www.ebay.com/itm/18681996331...Bk9SR7ba55byZA

I see a lot of sporrans where the leather is covered with tiny hope depressions. The sporran in that listing shows this on its backside.

I assume that texture is made by stamping, or some similar technique. Is the texturing purely aesthetic, or does it provide a tangible benefit to the leather?

[Troglodyte]

I see a lot of sporrans where the leather is covered with tiny hope depressions. The sporran in that listing shows this on its backside.

I assume that texture is made by stamping, or some similar technique. Is the texturing purely aesthetic, or does it provide a tangible benefit to the leather?

This is a printed (or impressed) texture which is to simulate the hair-growth pattern on pigskin (which is visible on many suedes used in shoe and garment manufacture) as 'hogskin' is given in the old catalogues as the body leather for sporrans. As with deerskin and sealskin, there is a good tradition of using pigskin in sporran-making - it was once very common.

The little dimples or holes are where the individual bristles would once have been, but most mass-produced sporrans of the style shown in the listing are made from a form of compressed fibreboard that is covered with a leather-effect surface. Any leather-look finish is purely decorative.

There is little difference between the fibreboard and real leather at fist glance, and most people never realise they are not the same thing. The diference becomes apparant with aging - real leather takes on a pleasing patina with regular handling, while becoming increasingly supple. The fibreboard remains stiff for ever, but resists wear much better and requires no wax or oil treatment.

You can find photographs of commercial sporran-makers' workshops that show stacks of pre-cut blank panels of this fibreboard on the work-benches. It's a good choice for mass-production of a standard pattern, and gives a superb new finish, but vintage patent W. E. Scott of the 1950s - '60s in real leather often have the genuine bristle-growth dimples.

The one shown in the listing by Nicoll Bros' looks like genuine leather, but is probably cowhide with the hogskin effect added.

For the price, this sporran is excellent value (Nicoll Bros' sporrans were the benchmark quality) and it would be worth buying and exchanging the cantle and tassels. Margaret Morrison use the old Nicoll Bros' patterns and tools, and their current range of fancy cantles would fit the Nicolls' sporran.

[OC Richard]

Yes in old catalogues leather "day" sporrans are usually pigskin/hogskin or buckskin/deerskin.

c1910



c1930



"Hide" by the way means cowhide.

1930s "day" sporrans in colour



At some point they stopped using actual pigskin and used textured and coloured cowhide to simulate the pigskin appearance.

(Black leather "day" sporrans don't appear until the 1970s.)

[User]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge with me, gentlemen. I learn something new every day!