Buying Spurs - For Dummies

[Silverstone]

Ok. I'm looking for some spurs and just need basic pointers on buying them. Nothing fancy, just something to jingle as I walk. eBay has a slew of them, but what am I looking for. For the questions below, please think functionality as a priority.

 

1 - How do I choose size?

 

2 - What materials are best for our purpose?

 

3 - What straps are best?

 

4 - are there any "Don'ts"?

 

Thanks!

[Dantankerous]

If you like to be somewhat to a lot flashy, get a pair with jinglebobs on 'em. They are so much more beautifully obnoxious with 'em.

 

 

Spurs add to a costume and are generally the lowest price item (besides scarves) with which we can "accessorize".

 

There are many retailers that sell spurs. Some are made over seas, and a few still made in the USA. Take your pick.

 

Look on line and find the style that fits your idea of a great looking spur. Try it out. If you don't like it, you are not out much cash and can almost assuredly resell it here. Then buy another and start again.

 

This place has a good selection to peruse.

 

This one as well. These are VERY nice.

 

Another thing, don't go cheap on the spur strap. Those are "as cool" looking as some spurs are; hand made, ornamental, and really dress up a boot. Fun shopping too.

 

Plenty of leather makers will do you right with custom made straps.

 

Size? I went with what fit my big boot. I also wanted the largest I could get.

 

Materials? Not certain. Something built strong enough to last. Not sure if there is much of a choice there.

 

Straps? Thick leather, a bit ornamental. Custom made is my vote, although you can be set with a stock pair of straps. They just won't be as purdy.

 

What NOT to do? Trip and fall because you snared yourself on your own spurs. Learn to walk around in 'em. Especially when going down stairs.

 

Have fun and good luck!

[Col. Roosevelt]

Looks like Dantankerous pretty well covered it all, especially the part about stairs. Spurs are whatever suits your fancy.

[Brother King, SASS #69031]

And then... there are the collector's spurs. The ones made by folks like North and Judd; Garcia; Klapper, etc. You could spend a lifetime and a lot of money on this specialty alone. It would be well worth it in my estimation.

 

Once in a while there are deals on EBAY and thru auction houses if you know what you're looking at and looking for. For example, one of the finest examples of Klapper's work was available from a vendor at Land Run. I thought they were fairly priced and wish that I had the spare change ($1500) he was asking. If history is a guide, they're one heck of a dandy investment and will probably be $10k soon enough.

 

Life is too short to have only one pair of spurs anyway.

[Utah Bob #35998]

More reliable than e-bay

River Junction

Wild West Merc.

 

If spurs are too loose they can be squeezed in a bench vise.

[Jackson Rose, SASS #45478]

Go to your local tack shop or a 4H tack sale. You can usually find a good assortment of spurs for reasonable prices. A lot of the match vendors carry spurs also. I suggest you buy an inexpensive(30 to 40$) first. Not all people can walk in them. As for size, good steel spurs can be made smaller by squeezing in a vise. If they are too small, well you get the picture.

[Brother King, SASS #69031]

More reliable than e-bay

River Junction

Wild West Merc.

 

If spurs are too loose they can be squeezed in a bench vise.

Don't squeeze these: buy them and send to me for adjustment

 

EARLY CALIFORNIA SPURS

[Jackson Haller]

Howdy!

Brother King, those have a markedly down-turned shank. Suspect good period correct for the 1880s and 1890s, and into the early 20th Cent. (Look like some Buermann's I've seen). Difficult to walk in unless one has very high heeled boots due to that shank angle; definitely made to be worn while astride a horse.

 

Silverstone, I assume you've never used spurs practically (that is for horse riding). In that case, I would look for very short and straight or up-turned shanked, very small rowelled spurs. (Look at some of the cutting horse style spurs, made to be used with low heeled boots, and tend to have up-turned shanks. These tend to be modern looking spurs.)

 

The metal used will probably be fairly soft steel (as is used on inexpensive pairs) and can be bent a bit if needed. The spurs should not fit real snug (either in the heel area or the sides, where the buttons are), and should rest on the top of the boot heel. If you use modern boots, sometimes there is very little, if any, spur ledge on the heel. Nailing some pieces of leather to the top of the heel can act like a poor man's spur ledge.

 

As for leather straps, the wider the better, as this distributes the weight of the spurs over a larger area of the foot and is less likely to cause discomfort as the day goes on. Also, don't get any that have metal showing on the inside of the strap (like the backs of spots, rivets etc), as over time, these bits of metal can chew up the leather of your boots.

 

Consider this your beginner's pair.

 

Wear old boots that you don't mind marring till you get used to walking in spurs, and practice going up and down stairs in them, and making turns. When you can do all that without really thinking about them (and not stabbing your boots!), then wear them to the range and practice some mock stages with movement, to make sure you are safe. I've seen more than one shooter go down with guns in their hands due to tangled up feet/spurs. They are great additions to one's outfit, but should be considered advanced CAS gear.

 

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me; I have a great interest in the history of spurs in the Old West, have been wearing spurs in CAS for over 15 years, and also wear them to ride.

[Brother King, SASS #69031]

Howdy!

Brother King, those have a markedly down-turned shank. Suspect good period correct for the 1880s and 1890s, and into the early 20th Cent. (Look like some Buermann's I've seen). Difficult to walk in unless one has very high heeled boots due to that shank angle; definitely made to be worn while astride a horse.

My favorites are my North and Judd (anchor stamp) bronze/ snowflake rowels. The rowels touch the ground when I wear them with my 1" heel Earthwalkers. So they jingle/jangle/jingle when I walk. They also have (as do all my Garcia's) the heel chain, which should be worn loosely even though that allows it to fall under the boot heels on most boots.

 

Wearing spurs is second nature to me now as I spent a lot of years in horse related sports (cutting, roping, reining cowhorse). (NO! DANG IT! T-BONE! I will NOT BUY ANOTHER HORSE FOR MOUNTED SHOOTING!) They definitely take some getting used to when driving a car or negotiating stairs, etc at first, I guess. But, I don't even think about running in them now or taking them off to drive or going into a lunch diner. Around here cowboys don't take off their spurs except when they pull their boots off.

 

Get what strikes your fancy.. then keep buying them and pretty soon you'll have a nice collection.

[Marauder SASS #13056]

"Buying Spurs - For Dummies"

 

Make sure the rowels go in the back!! :D

 

 

 

 

http://www.wwmerc.com/cgi-bin/Category.cgi?category=12100&type=store

 

The bottom right pair are nice for the price, but the bottom left would work better for lower heeled boots.

[Silverstone]

Thanks everyone. I prefer to buy in person, but alas in SEPA, there aren't many tack shops. I visited two today and like rubber tipped darts, rounded spurs are aplenty, but actual pointed darts and real spurs are not.

 

Sacramento, thanks for the in depth info, which is exactly what I needed. I did find a set on clearance this morning and was actually looking for the smallest spur wheel I could find. Just figured it made sense and it sounds like I was right. These weren't the smallest, but not big (about the size of a quarter).

 

My boot seems to have a decent ledge and when on a flat surface, the spur wheel is 1 3/4" off the surface. Also, they are not pointed, but squared, so i guess they'll do less "damage". They were the only Men's set they had left. They don't even csarry straps??? So, they sell the "shirt without the buttons.."

 

nyway, wide straps make sense and I'll look for those. My boots were bought used and cheap and really aren't a perfect fit, so I have no problem teraing them up a bit. In fact, I want everything to look "weathered" anyway.

 

I'll grab some straps and learn how to walk...again.

 

thanks!

[Tabaquero]

Don't squat down when yer wearing them!

[Tabaquero]

Don't squat down when yer wearing them!

[Tabaquero]

Don't squat down when yer wearing them!

[Col. Nathan C. Riddles, SASS # 7462]

Since you're about to purchase your first pair of spurs I thought you might want to learn the correct nomenclature.

 

Spurs are made of steel, aluminum, or brass. They can be stainless steel, nickle or silver plated, or blued just as a gun. Around here working cowboys generally use plain spurs while at work. The more ornate or decorative spurs are used at rodeos, horse shows or parades. Spurs, like anything else can be a fashion statement. Jinglebobs are a piece of metal that look similar to a fishing sinker & are attached to the pin that holds the rowel in the shank with a small ring similar to a key ring. While walking it hits the side of the rowel and jingles. Hence the name.

 

Rowels can vary in size & design as can shanks. Mexican vaquero or charo spurs can have sharp pointed rowels as large as 3" in diameter. Modern English riding spurs have a very small rowel about 5/8". Cavalry spurs were brass & had no rowel, just sort of a small knob at the end of the shank.

 

Shanks also can vary in style. Here's my favorite. One of the most popular shank styles is called the gal leg spur.

[Irish Pat]

If you are in a portajohn DO NOT get your suspender straps hung under your spurs!!!Irish Pat, sass 19486

[Waimea]

Not hijackin'...just need a simple question answered:

 

Do the jingle-bobs get connected somehow to the rowel?

 

Waimea

 

[Utah Bob #35998]

Not hijackin'...just need a simple question answered:

 

Do the jingle-bobs get connected somehow to the rowel?

 

Waimea

 

 

The shaft that holds the rowel on has a hole at one end to attach the jingle bobs. Not all spurs have that type shaft but they're easily replaced with a jingle bob friendly one.

link

[Silverstone]

Since you're about to purchase your first pair of spurs I thought you might want to learn the correct nomenclature.

 

Spurs are made of steel, aluminum, or brass. They can be stainless steel, nickle or silver plated, or blued just as a gun. Around here working cowboys generally use plain spurs while at work. The more ornate or decorative spurs are used at rodeos, horse shows or parades. Spurs, like anything else can be a fashion statement. Jinglebobs are a piece of metal that look similar to a fishing sinker & are attached to the pin that holds the rowel in the shank with a small ring similar to a key ring. While walking it hits the side of the rowel and jingles. Hence the name.

 

Rowels can vary in size & design as can shanks. Mexican vaquero or charo spurs can have sharp pointed rowels as large as 3" in diameter. Modern English riding spurs have a very small rowel about 5/8". Cavalry spurs were brass & had no rowel, just sort of a small knob at the end of the shank.

 

Shanks also can vary in style. Here's my favorite. One of the most popular shank styles is called the gal leg spur.

 

Thanks.

 

Yes, I saw plenty of the bob spurs today, but I wanted to hear the rowels jingling. I picked up a set today for $20. Pretty much plain brushed steel, just a subtle design on the buttons that attach to the straps. Keeping it simple for now.

[Michigan Rattler, SASS#70590]

My favorites are my North and Judd (anchor stamp) bronze/ snowflake rowels. The rowels touch the ground when I wear them with my 1" heel Earthwalkers. So they jingle/jangle/jingle when I walk. They also have (as do all my Garcia's) the heel chain, which should be worn loosely even though that allows it to fall under the boot heels on most boots.

 

Wearing spurs is second nature to me now as I spent a lot of years in horse related sports (cutting, roping, reining cowhorse). (NO! DANG IT! T-BONE! I will NOT BUY ANOTHER HORSE FOR MOUNTED SHOOTING!) They definitely take some getting used to when driving a car or negotiating stairs, etc at first, I guess. But, I don't even think about running in them now or taking them off to drive or going into a lunch diner. Around here cowboys don't take off their spurs except when they pull their boots off.

 

Get what strikes your fancy.. then keep buying them and pretty soon you'll have a nice collection.

I thought I was just being lazy by not taking them off just to go to the grocery store.

[Checotah]

If you want some good spurs, not the cheap ones often seen in some stores, contact Wimpy or Whiney at Lindholm Bros. Spurs. They make great spurs and will gladly answer any questions and even custom make spurs to yer particular needs. They are big supporters of our game and are always donating spurs to various causes and shoots.

 

Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with them; just a very satisfied customer and proud to say I know the Boys. Just got my 2nd set of their spurs, Gal Leg design with big rowels and jingle-bobs.