Sporran support - chain or strap?

[Todd Bradshaw]

I have both straps and chains. The typical retail sporran chain probably owes its wide usage to the fact that it is the cheapest way possible for a manufacturer to supply an adjustable hanging system with their product. The small amount of leather is reasonably cheap, the chain used is usually quite cheap, the clips and rivets are cheap and the labor time to punch a few holes and hammer-in a few rivets is minimal. The end results looks pretty much like what you would expect. I refused to use one until I finally made a nice one with decent materials and some actual labor involved. It just seemed like one piece of the kit that is frequently overlooked when it can be something more interesting without having to just lay out a lot of cash for one of those fancy ones with sculptured links.



I'm not a big fan of Rapid-Rivets, which are just pounded together until one piece theoretically mushrooms inside the other, so I'll generally hand-sew the connections on my straps, or use Chicago Screws, that screw together for better security. I haven't seen any abrasion from a variety of clip types at the sporran end, but I do always clip them on so that the open (or sharper) part of the clip is up against the back of the sporran, not against the kilt. Problem solved.