Buckle (fastener)

“ The arrangement for undoing the stirrup-leather is in the most convenient position when it is close to the iron, and not in proximity to the stirrup-bar, as is the case in a man’s hunting saddle. If the leather is used in the latter manner, the buckle will be apt to hurt the inside of the lady’s left leg, when she brings the knee close to the flap of the saddle; and it will be more inconvenient to alter the length of the leather, when the lady is mounted, than if the buckle or hook was low down. The hook (Fig. 14) is better than a buckle, because it lies flatter and is easier to arrange. ”

“ Higher up again we get the tuilles or taces, which, from the fact that to adapt themselves to the human form they must narrow at the waist and spread out below, overlap upwards. From the taces are hung the tassets, with strap and buckle, which give increased protection to the upper leg, and yet are not in any way rigid. When the tassets are made of more than one plate they are attached to each other by a most ingenious arrangement of straps and sliding rivets. ”

“ These should have the knee-band three quarters of an inch wide, lined on the upper side with a piece of plush, and fastened with a buckle, which is much easier than even double strings, and, by observing the strap, you always know the exact degree of tightness that is required to keep up the stocking; any pressure beyond that is prejudicial, especially to those who walk long distances. ”

“ I cannot remember a single instance of a man’s foot remaining fixed in the stirrup who was riding without spurs. I do not mean to say such a catastrophe is impossible, but I have good reason to know that the buckle on the instep, which when brightly polished imparts such a finish to the lustrous wrinkles of a well-made boot, is extremely apt to catch in the angle of the stirrup iron, and hold us fast at the very moment when it is most important to our safety we should be free. ”

“ It appears to me that the long coupling reins only add to the weight, which is necessarily considerable, without conferring any benefit, and, indeed, when, as I have seen them, they are so long that the buckle touches the left hand, they can hardly be unattended with danger. ”

“ Fig. 146.—West End Bevelled Flat Top Buckle.
Brass furniture is largely used, and it is got up in many qualities and styles of finish. The best brass [Pg 119] does not tarnish nearly so soon as common brass, and, of course, has a good appearance when clean. Partly covered brass or plated furniture is also sometimes used, the buckles being covered with leather about half-way up the sides, leaving the top and a little of the side bare. This looks very well, and is more durable than iron-covered buckles, as the brass- or silver-plate does not destroy the leather so soon as iron ”

“ In operation the garment is placed upon the person and is fastened at its front edge. Then the belt-straps D and D' are drawn for­ward and upward at the same time, placing the body of the wearer in the positions which have been described, and after the person has been thus properly straightened or posed the ends of the belt-straps at the front of the device are connected at the waist-line by a buckle 19 or any equivalent thereof. ”

“ Havens advised. “Perhaps I can use the old turn-buckle on the sharp threads of the Louise and put the one which belongs there in the place of this worn one. Sometimes a transfer of that kind can be made to work in emergencies.”
225“That’ll be fine!” exclaimed Ben. “I remember seeing that tried myself. I’ll hold the light while you take the buckle off the Louise.”
Ben turned his flashlight on the guy wires and the aviator began turning the buckle. The wires were very taut, and when the last thread was reached one of them sprang away so violently that the turn-buckle was knocked from his hand. ”

“ Tying up a fore-leg.—Having “picked up” the foot, we may secure it as follows:
1. By Rarey’s leg strap, which is about 3 ft. long, and is furnished, at one end, with a buckle, below which, a leather “keeper” is placed on both sides (see Fig. 13) . To apply it, the free end is passed round the pastern, from the outside, through the keeper at the back of the buckle, thus forming a loop. Another turn is taken round the forearm, and a second loop is made by passing the end through the buckle. The strap can now be tightened up as may be required, and the end run through the second keeper. ”

“ Use thin brown waste to make the loops; with the compasses mark a width of this about 3⁄8 in., cut to the right length; then rub and crease the chapes. Place the buckles in the leather, put in the loops about half the width of the chape between the two [Pg 55] points of the chape, and close to the buckle, and put two or three stitches in each end. The pieces to hold up the belt firmly at the small of the back should be about 1 in. wide. Rub the edges and crease them as well as the two pieces for the front, and mark stitches with the pricker in all of them. ”

“ The blckle was so adjusted as that the band could be removed from the bale only by cutting. Upon the buckle were stamped the words: 'Licensed to use only once.' When cut from the bale the band and buckle were sold to persons who used the buckles either upon a new band, or one repaired, and these bands were sold to planters to be used again in baling cotton. ”

“ The roller is nothing more than a surcingle having that part which corresponds to the saddle well padded, having on each side of it on a level with the sides of the withers a buckle for the reins, and behind, in the centre line, a D for the crupper, which should near the tail have a buckle on the near side of it, or it may be as well to have one on either side. The buckle greatly facilitates placing the crupper under the tail, as it can be put round its root easily, instead of having to be drawn over its whole length from the tip to the root, hair and all. ”

“ Cut a strip of leather or an old rein, 1 in. wide, and shave it round along the edges and at the ends; it must be long enough to run from ring to ring.
Having prepared the rings and breeching dees (Fig. 178 and 179, p. 125) , cut the bearers from good leather, 10 in. by 3⁄4 in.; turn them down so that the points will meet, and flatten the bends. Prepare one end of each for the buckle, and cut a groove along the lower side, where there is no joint, and open it. Place the buckles and dees in two bearers and the rings and buckle in the two remaining, joining them on the side under the loop. ”

“ To one end of the cravat I then made fast the buckle, and the other end I tied, for greater security, tightly around my wrist. Drawing now my body upward, with a prodigious exertion of muscular force, I succeeded, at the very first trial, in throwing [371] the buckle over the car, and entangling it, as I had anticipated, in the circular rim of the wicker-work.
My body was now inclined toward the side of the car at an angle of about forty-five degrees ”

“ A much smaller buckler, or centre of a buckler, only 91⁄4 inches in diameter (also with two rings of bosses) , presumably found in the Isis, [1330] near Eynsham Bridge, is in the Museum of the Society of Antiquaries. It has a slightly conical boss, surrounded by a circle of smaller bosses between two raised ribs. There is also a raised rib round the margin formed by turning over the metal towards the outer face. In the outer ring of bosses two are missing at the places where, no doubt, were formerly the rivets of the buttons or loops. ”

“ The whole upper edge of the buckler is always surrounded by a very ornamental semicircular border, sometimes semi-elliptical, of punctures placed in the meshes of a net-work in high relief and arranged close together, in rays, passing perpendicularly from the buckler and forming at the same time when observed transversely, curved lines parallel to its upper rim or edge, excepting at the sides, where they diverge, leaving a space occupied by other lines of dottings, parallel to the former, but speedily terminating on the cheeks of the buckler. ”

“ First of all, the modern buckle for the belt or girdle claims attention. The lately revived custom of wearing the blouse led, as a matter of course, to the use of the belt with a more or less ornate buckle, just as, a few years ago, the long necklace came into general [5] use again. ”

“ When the edge gets a trifle dull, use the small steel on both sides of the edge; first wet the steel with the lips, it makes a much better edge. For the benefit of beginners who may attempt to splice a belt for the first time, do not use a glue that will not allow you to remove the clamps and put on the full load in forty-five minutes after the glue has been applied and well rubbed down. The time given here applies only to clean belts that are absolutely free from all oils, and does not include old oil-soaked leather that no glue will ever dry on. ”

“ But you can readily see that the halter had been drawn fearfully tight, and I could not get slack enough to unfasten the buckle. At last I gave a hearty wrench, and was just about to be able to slip the [Pg 105] prong of the buckle through the hole, when the insecure talus on which I was standing, and on which the animal had been resting, began to slide. Fortunately I am fairly quick on my feet, and in two or three springs I reached a little outjutting terrace. ”

“ Fifty runs, or one hundred deals, are reckoned an average day's work; this is inclusive of the time required for changing the saws, returning the rack for another run, and other exigencies. For attachment to swing-frames the saws have buckles riveted to them; these are by various modes connected to the crossheads. Each top buckle is passed through the crosshead and is pierced with a mortise for the reception of a thin steel wedge or key, by whose agency the blade is strained and tightened. ”

“ The large square buckle is the ton of the present day. The ladies also, have adopted the reigning taste: It is difficult to discover their beautiful little feet, covered with an enormous shield of buckle ”

“ Now, sword-and-buckler and long-sword play was no doubt a manly pursuit and a useful. But, as an every-day companion, the long-sword was incongruous to a fastidious cavalier; and, again, the buckler, indispensable adjunct to the broad swashing blade of home production, was hardly more suitable. In Elizabethan days it soon became obvious that the buckler was inadmissible as an item of gentlemanly attire. It was accordingly left to the body attendant; and the gallant took kindly to the fine rapier of Milanese or Toledan make. ”

“ When the scarfs have been made and the old glue has been removed, turn the flame (which should be an almost invisible blue if the torch is working properly) directly on the leather and move it over all the surface of the splice until the leather has become thoroughly heated; never allow the flame to remain directed at any point long enough to make the oil in the leather boil. If you do, the belt is burned. Continue to move the flame over the surface of the belt until the leather is so hot that the hand can scarcely be held on it. ”

“ It is a heavy oiled latigo strap, punched with buckle holes, passing through a cinch ring supplied with a large buckle tongue. You can reach over and pull it up a hole or so without dismounting. It differs from an ordinary buckle only in that, in case the rig breaks, [153] the strap can still be fastened like an ordinary latigo in the diamond knot.
Saddle Bags and Saddle Blankets
On the right-hand side of your pommel will be a strap and buckle for your riata. A pair of detachable leather saddle bags are handy. The saddle blanket should be thick and of first quality ”

“ Representations of the Sword-and-buckler contest occur in Roy. MSS. 14, E. iii. and 20, D. vi., both engraved in Strutt's Sports. See also Hefner, Pt. ii. Plate vii. All these, however, are miniatures of the fourteenth century; though 14, E. iii. is early in the period. From these examples we learn that the buckler was about a foot and a half in diameter, had a boss in the centre, and was held at arm's length by a bar crossing the hollow of the umbo, exactly in the manner of the Anglo-Saxon shields described and figured in a former page. (See woodcut, No. 20.) ”

“ What is meant by the head end splice is the one that is on the pulley first—the arrows in Figs. 77 and 78 will make this clear: they indicate the direction in which the belt should run; therefore that end of the piece of leather that is on the pulley first is the head end (or first end) and the end that leaves the pulley last is the last end. If the two belts shown in the sketch were reversed, the points would be turned up by everything that touched them; whereas, running in the direction that they do, everything that touches them has a tendency to rub them down. ”

“ Bucklers went out fifty years ago, "about the twentieth of Queen Elizabeth"; men do not now swash with them, or fight in that way. Iron armor has mostly gone out, except in mere pictures of soldiers; King James said, It was an excellent invention; you could get no harm, and neither could you do any in it. Bucklers, either for horse or foot, are quite gone. Yet old Mr. Stowe, good chronicler, can recollect when every gentleman had his buckler; and at length every serving man and city dandy. ”

“ The advantages of the fixed screw consist in its uniting the gun and carriage, and thereby preventing its jumping, in travelling or firing; greater facility of mending it, and an increased power in limbering up; it is also more economical, as a less depth of beam is required, the fixed screw adjusting itself by means of trunnions, while the capstan-headed requires a horizontal hump on the beam to receive it. ”

“ If the flanges were cast on the head stock itself, and stand still, rather than on the pulley, where they keep turning, the belt would keep out from between the gear for a certainty. One motion should fasten a foot stock, and as secure as it is possible to secure it, and a single motion free it so it could be moved from end to end of the bed. The reason any lathe takes more than a single motion is because of elasticity in the parts, imperfection in the planing, and from another cause, infinitely greater than the others, the swinging of the hold-down bolts. ”