Quality Sporrans for less money

[Scottish Rock]

Another very likely possibility is that the picture being used by the cheaper seller has been taken from a listing for a higher quality sporran, which is a fairly common practice among purveyors of mass-produced sporrans and other Scottish-like wear.

That is true (in general, didn't know about this happening with sporrans and such as well). I did a Google image search but the picture of the cheaper one does not seem to appear on many other websites. I did find another listing on eBay instead of etsy but it's the same seller, Hamilton Kilts:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/172398035971

and also another one from 'GearxWearsShop '

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1324...r-sporran-with

which says at the bottom:

Meet your sellers

Muhammad

Owner of GearxWearsShop
Message Muhammad

This seller usually responds within 24 hours.
GearxWearsShop made this item with help from
Hamilton Kilts, Siālkot, Pakistan

I wonder what that 'made this item with help from' bit means. But in any case it's clear that the cheaper one is of Pakistani origin, if that wasn't obvious already from the price. And the more expensive one is apparently UK made so that does explain the price difference.

[kilted2000]

It's just that I'm not sure if I like it with tassels or not. I think the cheaper one does look great but a sporran with tassels might be a bit more dressy than what I would like for me personally.

I don't want my own ignorance to dictate all my choices only to end up with something that no highlander would never wear .

Tassels do not make a sporran any more or less dressy so if you like them then its fine.

[Scottish Rock]

Tassels do not make a sporran any more or less dressy so if you like them then its fine.

Perhaps frivolous or flamboyant is a better term for what I mean rather than dressy. So what I meant to say was that I might find a sporran with tassels a bit too frivolous or flamboyant. But that's just the uneducated 'opinion' of of someone completely ignorant to all things highlandwear.

[JPS]

Perhaps frivolous or flamboyant is a better term for what I mean rather than dressy. So what I meant to say was that I might find a sporran with tassels a bit too frivolous or flamboyant. But that's just the uneducated 'opinion' of of someone completely ignorant to all things highlandwear.

With all due respect, you're already wearing a kilt. There's no need to worry about sporran tassels drawing unwanted attention. Tassels on a sporrans are perfectly traditional, harkening back to a time when the sporran was held cinched by drawstrings. In more modern times, the British military issued sporrans without tassels, and today you'll find some UK makers who offer bare sporrans in the military style.

[Scottish Rock]

With all due respect, you're already wearing a kilt. There's no need to worry about sporran tassels drawing unwanted attention.

That did cross my mind actually. So yes it probably is a silly thing to fuss about, but somehow I manage to do so .

[OC Richard]

I understand that a Scottish or UK made sporran is going be more expensive than a Pakistani one, but I came across these two listings which show two rather similar sporrans but at extremely different prices...

I'm always wary of guessing about sporrans if I can only see photos of the front.

Because no matter how clever the Pakistani makers are at copying the fronts of legit sporrans, the backs are generally odd, revealing their origin.

I will point out that one sporran has proper Celtic knotwork on the flap, while the other only has an outline, and isn't knotwork at all.

About tassels, as was pointed out already the presence or absence of tassels has no impact on the level of formality, or even ornateness, of a sporran.

A quite plain sporran can have tassels, and an extremely ornate expensive one can lack them.

A plain sporran with tassels.



An ornate sporran with none upon thars.



Anyhow here's a dozen gents, in various levels of formality, and nary a tassel between them.

[OC Richard]

And speaking of tassels, here's a nice Nicoll Brothers sporran that's missing them. (I highly doubt it was originally made without them.)

I am fond of Nicoll Brothers sporrans! And the price is very low.

The seller says it's faux fur, and perhaps it is. It looks like seal for sure! Who can say whether or not it would pass through US Customs.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/22537431092...tion=10%7C3000

[Scottish Rock]

Thank you to everyone for chiming in, appreciated. I probably just need some time to get over myself wrt tassels. I actually kinda like them aesthetically, but they (to me) look kinda flashy (and yes a kilt is flashy all by itself) and I'm not a very flashy person, far from it.

I will point out that one sporran has proper Celtic knotwork on the flap, while the other only has an outline, and isn't knotwork at all.

I was going to say I didn't understand what you mean but after looking more closely I see that the knotwork of the more expensive one has a 3-dimensional quality to it where the 'rope' will disappear behind other pieces of rope that are in front of it whereas the cheaper one is entirely flat, essentially like a shadow of the knotwork. I wonder why they did it like that, doesn't seem like it would save time or money. So thank you for pointing out something to look for. I do prefer the more 3-dimensional quality.

[Scottish Rock]

I'm always wary of guessing about sporrans if I can only see photos of the front.

Because no matter how clever the Pakistani makers are at copying the fronts of legit sporrans, the backs are generally odd, revealing their origin.

You're making me wonder in what sense the backs of Pakistani made sporrans are odd. How can I identify them by looking at the back in case pictures of the back are provided?

Also, besides them being odd, is it 'just' that they look odd or are they inferior in some way? If it's just looks does it really matter all that much, given that in principle you don't see the back of the sporran, at least whilst being worn?

You opened up my eyes to the Celtic knot embossing (in retrospect I can't believe I didn't notice that ) so I'm now wondering what else I might not be seeing.

As I mentioned in the other thread (the one I started about waist height) I have ordered a kilt from what I believe to be an expert and highly qualified kilt maker, spending a lot more on it than I thought I ever would on a kilt. So on the one hand it makes sense to also pay a bit more for a good quality sporran to go with it but on the other hand I've already spent so much on the kilt that it's tempting to save on the sporran just to keep the total cost somewhat manageable.

[OC Richard]

You're making me wonder in what sense the backs of Pakistani made sporrans are odd. How can I identify them by looking at the back in case pictures of the back are provided?

Also, besides them being odd, is it 'just' that they look odd or are they inferior in some way? If it's just looks does it really matter all that much, given that in principle you don't see the back of the sporran, at least whilst being worn?

Very astute questions!

About the style of construction, for some reason Pakistani sporrans usually have the leather tab (which the strap goes through) positioned lower than legit Scottish-made sporrans. (In the "legit" category must also be included L&M Highland from Canada, who produce fully traditional sporrans of the highest quality.)



Can this be seen from the front? Yes, when worn. With most Pakistani sporrans the strap passes behind the sporran closer to the middle, and the sporran can hang a bit oddly, though usually it's not all that noticeable.

Then there's the quality of the stitching. High-quality Scottish-made sporrans have very even clean stitching. Some Pakistani sporrans are close, while some have poor uneven stitching.

Pakistani sporrans, and sporran straps, often have little sharp bits which can damage the front of the kilt. With the stitching there can be little knots sticking up. With the cantle, and the strap, there can be metal burrs etc.

You opened up my eyes to the Celtic knot embossing (in retrospect I can't believe I didn't notice that )

Yes actual Celtic knotwork has the over-under thing. Also, proper Celtic knotwork is strictly over one, under one, etc. In other words a strand never passes under, nor over, two strands in succession.

On vintage Scottish-made leather stamps and cantles and buckles this "rule" of Celtic knotwork is well followed.

Sadly many modern makers don't understand the principles of Celtic Art.

Here, if you trace a single strand you'll see it've over one, under one.



and here, with my sporran



Here are eight Scottish-made examples of sporrans with that tooling on the flaps. As you see, all are proper Celtic knotwork.