English stirrup leather buckle - unusual?

[Xanthoria]

16 hours ago, fivewayswelshcobs said:

Have you looked at the T bar stirrup leathers, instead of a buckle there is a T bar fitting , when in use a cover slides down over the fitting to help protect the saddle. Abbey sell the fittings. 

I've not used them but many people do to reduce the bulk under the leg.

I've got two pairs of stirrups like that and they're OK, but the holes tend to wear out very quickly because they're inserted in a thin layer of leather. Buckled ones last a lot longer, which is why I love the Kieffer ones I bought. They just have this one design flaw...

[Silverd]

On 4/27/2020 at 12:57 PM, Silverd said:

I'm not an expert on this topic but I've made-up many stirrup leathers for clients and they have been happy with them so far.  I use Cast Stainless Steel Buckles in 1" and 1/1/8" wide from Abbey England along with their Stirrup Butt leather and Spun wound Poly Cotton thread.  Stirup butt is tanned specially to reduce stretch under high loading conditions. The Spun Wound thread is designed not to abrade and both are more expensive but both are very tough and I think work very well compared to the more popular straps today that are a composite design.  Today, most stirrup leathers sold in USA use a nylon strength member sewn between two layers of skirting or bridle leather.  The solid Stirrup Butt approach is traditional where as the nylon core is modern... Which I suggest is less costly.   Most of the leathers I sell are to replace nylon core style leathers that have abraded from the inside out.

As for the buckle I photo shared, it is an Abbey England Stainless Steel buckle in 1" that I quickly formed using simple tooling in my shop.  I did not purchase it in this form.   I  don't believe the stress of deforming the material into this shape will cause a problem with the material failing under load since the cast steel is quite malleable.  If you consider the actual loads your stirrup leathers see they are not that high actually.

For a rider that weighs 200 lbs and a 3g peak load = 600lbs.  There are two sides so you can say divide the 600lbs by 2 = 300lbs per side.  Convert to metric if needed.  

Re Preventing the tongue tip of the buckle from digging into the underside of the flap.  I would suggest that you look closely at the curved buckle as the way I see it a flat buckle may present more stress on the strap but I think has less profile which should translate into less protrusion of the tip into the underside flap.  This is suggesting that sacrificing the stirrup leather is better than damaging the flap.   Sanding the Tip down a bit to remove the sharp point I see on some might also help.

 I also think it would be something that could be prevented by using similar guard as is used on the Billet straps.  This is not a conventional solution and will add a bit more bump to the flap on the outside as a result but will protect the flap.  Make the guard from thin leather and replace it as needed.   

Hope this helps!

 

Silverd

I can mail you a couple of the bent buckles.  I have them in 1.0" and 1 1/8"  wide I believe...Or I can make you a custom set of leathers with these buckles from the English Stirrup Butt.   

Silverd