Middle Earth Ranger Forum

Woo! Finally finished one of my two insane workmarches and can spare a bit of time to think about rangery stuff again.

As I work through my buckles project, I've been rethinking my burden strap.

I'd already come to the conclusion that I really want to be able to buckle it over other kit rather than have to heave the whole thing over my head - otherwise I get into all kinds of mess with my quiver. I had been thinking a standard buckle not unlike my quiver buckle, but it it recently occured to me something that toggles like a Victorian era military buckle might work:
.. not that aesthetic of course, but mechanically similar.
I'm not sure about that though. First just that so much metal is expensive and heavy and possibly overly glinty.

Perhaps more importantly, I don't know if anything like this existed prior to the early modern era, and I don't want the "flavor" of the later era, even if Gondorians could make all sorts of clever things. Anyone know of extant examples of heavier clasps prior to 1300 by any chance?

Alternately, any better ideas? Maybe a wooden toggle stuck through a standard buckle frame?

Nothing exact, but here are some Saxon alternatives (the last one is a hypothesized reconstruction):

Hunh... #2 and 3 aren't that far off from what I was thinking. That's kinda cool - this may be route worth exploring then!

#1 is jaw-dropping! It reminds me of Udwin's "iron age zipper pouch."
Fascinating how old some of things we think of as modern are - it's virtually a piano hinge! Wow!
And all those little hooks for sewing it down - wild.

Thank you!

I know, I saw that Saxon hinge and thought, "Hey, they stole that from the Danish BA!" Very cool.
I was going to suggest possibly looking at some russian field gear for inspiration, as they're somewhat metalphobic and do a lot of fastening with fabric loops and wooden toggles.

Ha!

I was going to suggest possibly looking at some russian field gear for inspiration, as they're somewhat metalphobic and do a lot of fastening with fabric loops and wooden toggles.

THAT is a good idea - thank you! Do you by any chance have any particular pieces in mind?

I'm tentatively thinking something along the lines of toggle (wood or metal) through a metal ring, but I'm by no means certain.
I like the idea of not fumbling with a proper buckle while there's weight on the strap, but have yet to see an approach that looks elegant enough for Dunedain/Eriador but primitive enough to not look modern.

Think think think... and image-searching russian stuff. Thanks!

Love the creativity going on here!

There's always a leather toggle, too. I've become quite fond of them, but it may not be quite strong enough for what you're doing. Also, my main concern with a toggle of any kind would be the potential to get caught on other straps, etc. I feel like the hook-buckle route is a really good idea here, especially if it's made from a fairly plain, dull metal. Heck, I bet you could even get one 3D printed with a star motif or other Dunedain/Gondorian/Numenorean design. It would probably be fairly easy to incorporate a Numenorean flower shape of some kind into a buckle like that.

And dull bronze would look awesome.