My new Firefighter Memorial kilt from Sportkilt

[Tatonka]

Had to post a pic of my new kilt! It was my Father's Day present from Mrs. Tatonka. I am awful proud of it and had to share.
I was so excited, I forgot to put on my kilt pin.
I am thinking about using my old firefighter badge.
Would that be appropriate?

[Downunder Kilt]

I think your old firefighter badge would look great. I don't know how big or heavy it is, just make sure it doesn't drag down the fringe side of the kilt. If it is a wee heavy in the usual place for a pin, you could perhaps place it mid thigh.

[weeknee]

Black and red are my favorite colors, i really like that...it looks good.
by the way, what size is that ??

[Riverkilt]

A sharp look for sure. Great you honor the fire service.

Quick observation - the tartan name for the Sport Kilt is "Firefighter" tartan.

Mention it since the thread title is one letter off from the USA Kilts "Firefighter's Memorial" designed by Kelly Stewart and copyrighted by USA Kilts.

Both SportKilt and USA Kilts donate a portion of the proceeds - the former to the National Fallen Firefighters Association and the later to the Leary Firefighters Foundation.

Interesting to read the design ideas.

In both the red is for fire (USA Kilts includes the fire engines too)

for SportKilt the black and gold are for turnouts.

for USA Kilts the black is for the fallen firefighters

SportKilt has white for water

USA Kilts has green and gold for the strong Irish heritage of the fire service.

USA Kilts also adds a 3-4-3 pattern of red thread through the black in honor of the 343 NYC firefighters who died 9/11/01

There's only one answer here - buy one of each!



This is the USA Kilt Firefighters Memorial tartan in their semi-traditional model.

Hmmm, pleats look out of focus in that shot. Lets try another one.

[seanachie]

Both SportKilt and USA Kilts donate a portion of the proceeds - the former to the National Fallen Firefighters Association and the later to the Leary Firefighters Foundation.

Interesting to read the design ideas.

In both the red is for fire (USA Kilts includes the fire engines too)

for SportKilt the black and gold are for turnouts.

for USA Kilts the black is for the fallen firefighters

SportKilt has white for water

USA Kilts has green and gold for the strong Irish heritage of the fire service.

USA Kilts also adds a 3-4-3 pattern of red thread through the black in honor of the 343 NYC firefighters who died 9/11/01

There's only one answer here - buy one of each!


This is the USA Kilt Firefighters Memorial tartan in their semi-traditional model.

Hmmm, pleats look out of focus in that shot. Lets try another one.

Thanks for this info Ron, very informative!

Sharp kilt Tatonka! I agree for your service and the dedication it took to earn it go with the badge.

[Tatonka]

Quick observation - the tartan name for the Sport Kilt is "Firefighter" tartan.



There's only one answer here - buy one of each!

Ooops, thanks for pointing that out. And you are absolutely correct, I need to get the USAK tartan too!

[Tatonka]

Black and red are my favorite colors, i really like that...it looks good.
by the way, what size is that ??

I am a pretty big ol' boy as they say here in Arkansas, it is a XXL.
And that is still after losing 76 pounds!
I have another 82 until I hit 200 pounds which my doc says I should be able to do.
So hopefully, you will see this kilt in the "For Sale" section in a couple of months, LOL

[Larry124]

Good looking!
What do you think of the material, and for the (hot) weather?

At this moment my daughter has an unopened box awaiting at home with a Sport Kilt “kilted skirt” in that tartan. She’ll debut at a Bluegrass Music (camping) Festival over the Independence Day weekend.

[Whidbey78]

Very nice. I have considered one of the firefighter's tartans. One of my best friends is a San Bernadino County firefighter, and my cousin is a fireman in Colorado.

If your badge is too heavy, make one...it's easy. Get Super Sculpey from WalMar or an art supply storet. It's easy to work with and requires no special skills or equipment. Basically...Knead it until soft. Lay out a pancake about 1/2 inch deep. Sprinkle it with baby powder(to prevent sticking) and push your badge into it to make a mold. Don't worry, it won't damage it at all. Bake the mold in your oven according to the directions. Let it cool, then sprinkle it with baby powder and press clay into it to make a new badge. Pull it out of the mold and bake it. Attach a pin back to it and hit it with some paint. Not a perfect replica, but it will look good and impart the idea. There are a lot of good tutorials online that will walk you through the process.

I did this with my Enlisted Aviation Warfare Specialist pin from the Navy. I found two benefits--first, it was lighter, and second it cost about a dollar, counting the pin-backing, so if it was lost or damaged I just made a better one.

Just a suggestion. Polymer clays are pretty cool for this sort of thing because they are easy as pie to work with and cheap as heck. A five dollar box of clay allowed me to sculpt about thirty original prototype kilt pins before I was happy with it. Then I made a mold from it and made 10 more--quite a few became gifts, mostly magnets--and I still have a lot left.

The kilt looks good. As a fireman you should wear it with pride!!

[Tatonka]

Very nice. I have considered one of the firefighter's tartans. One of my best friends is a San Bernadino County firefighter, and my cousin is a fireman in Colorado.

If your badge is too heavy, make one...it's easy. Get Super Sculpey from WalMar or an art supply storet. It's easy to work with and requires no special skills or equipment. Basically...Knead it until soft. Lay out a pancake about 1/2 inch deep. Sprinkle it with baby powder(to prevent sticking) and push your badge into it to make a mold. Don't worry, it won't damage it at all. Bake the mold in your oven according to the directions. Let it cool, then sprinkle it with baby powder and press clay into it to make a new badge. Pull it out of the mold and bake it. Attach a pin back to it and hit it with some paint. Not a perfect replica, but it will look good and impart the idea. There are a lot of good tutorials online that will walk you through the process.

I did this with my Enlisted Aviation Warfare Specialist pin from the Navy. I found two benefits--first, it was lighter, and second it cost about a dollar, counting the pin-backing, so if it was lost or damaged I just made a better one.

Just a suggestion. Polymer clays are pretty cool for this sort of thing because they are easy as pie to work with and cheap as heck. A five dollar box of clay allowed me to sculpt about thirty original prototype kilt pins before I was happy with it. Then I made a mold from it and made 10 more--quite a few became gifts, mostly magnets--and I still have a lot left.

The kilt looks good. As a fireman you should wear it with pride!!

Thanks for the advice. The badge works fine for me, but I am going to get one for my son, and I think I will make him a replica of my badge to wear on his.