Club Obi Wan

I thought I might chime in here

I am looking for a Raiders Style Buckle and I believe what is out there and what has been presented here is real dang close, but really elucidates the "trinity" design in obtaining the perfect buckle :

1. not pressed, but cast
2. rounded edges, sqared edging on the inside (this I am for dang sure)
3. FLAT not rounded edging.

As far as the other features such as nickle plate, 1 inch capacity...that's fairly ubiquitous. We get these features right and bingo. So far, the closest I have seen is that chap buckle by heritan. Though for some reason, chap buckles only come in 1.25 inches ! How annoying !

As of now, my solution is simple. I am contracting a fellow builder to go ahead and machine me out a buckle as a prototype. Hopefully, this will be the end all !

FYI



This is what I am hoping to get custom fabricated in the right size.
Currently it only comes in 1 1/2 & 1 3/4".

I think it comes closest to the majority of scenes in Raiders with the exception of the extremely flat bucket as seen in the Flying wing fight,
as you can see below.



Stay tuned.

Dalexs

PS Got Maul, which scene are you trying to get closest to?

As for the buckle I am aiming for, its the flatter faced one as seen in the Marion/Basket Chase scene... If you look at this pic from SWInsider, I think this is one of the best reference shots we have of the buckle, right under our very noses. The buckle on top of the magazine is the one I have implemented on my strapping system. Unfortunately its stamped, but hey, it fits the width of my strap. My analysis of this mag pic, coupled with the screengrabs off the DVD chase scene lead me to believe that at least THIS version of the buckle is flat.



Most importantly, I hope you don't interpret my posts as stepping on your toes. Its my intention to contribute to the research that's been done on this buckle and help in our united effort to find an accurized solution. As you have further elucidated, we have the possibility of two options on the horizon which is even more than anyone could ever ask for when our prior choices were inaccurate versus more innaccurate.

This is an exciting time if we could both come out with two real tangible solutions.

By all means... proceed! no toe stepping on around here.

This had been one of those little nuance things that every so often comes up and while we've had buckles that have been close, depending on which scene you base it on, we've never had the perfect buckle.

Keep in mind that at least different styles appeared in Raiders.
I've been trying to come as close as possible to best reflect the general look.

Good luck!

Dalexs

whew ! I was sincerely hoping I wasn't insulting all that you've done thus far ! thanks for the reassurance.

Anyhow, it actually wasn't until this thread did I realize that there were different buckles, so I guess I have to specify from this point on. Anyhow, take a look at these notes and tell me if the measurements seem alright...these are the numbers I came up with a little while ago :



I eagerly await your feedback.

Sorry to hi-jack this thread for a moment, but I just noticed that Dalexs has a cool new avatar. Where was that pic taken. Looks real cool.

looks like the Cozumel Ruins to me...it is pretty cool !

Got Maul,

You're close on the measurements, but I think you'll find that 1 1/8" is goingto be to wide all around for a standard 1" strap. It'll give you too much slop on the side to side.



This was "The Perfect Buckle" I came across from Siegels of Calif.

As you can see, and many others have agreed, the buckle frame just looks too dang wide in relation to my 1" strap.

The frame rails are 3/16" wide. A mere 1/16 less then the 1/4" you are looking for.

The inner dimensions are 1 1/16" wide by 1 1/8" tall.

Had the frame been just a tad narrower, and the overall size equal,
I think it would have been spot on.

Hope this helps.

Dalexs

Dale,
I remember seeing that buckle in your above "FYI" post - what website is it from?

Regards
I J

Hope I'm not way behind on my homework here, but what about the buckle that looks like it's curved, in a concave dimension, when looking at it straight on?
I think you can really see this in the scene when Indy is hanging from the gun turret in LC.

IndyBlues wrote:Hope I'm not way behind on my homework here, but what about the buckle that looks like it's curved, in a concave dimension, when looking at it straight on?
I think you can really see this in the scene when Indy is hanging from the gun turret in LC.

Whipwarrrior is the guy who really researched a source for the TOD & LC buckle. I believe he located a source in New Zealand or Austrailia for them.

I've been primarily focusing on the Raiders buckle.

IndianaJames, that buckle in my above post is from Siegels of California.
And the Garrison buckle was from Aplus hardware
(check the image source from 1 or 2 pages ago of the full size image.)

Dalexs

The 1509-12 doesn't look bad. http://www.eleathersupply.com/buckles.shtml

Jack,

That buckle is very deceiving looking. It is actually much longer then it aappears in the picture. I have a couple and some of the others here have gotten it as well.

Thanks for looking though.

How about this one? Center Bar Buckle 1" Nickel Plated #151200

oops that's the same one I posted earlier.

Moved from other thread:

Starman, here's a pic of the same buckle from Tandy's site:

And the same buckle on my bag:

darn it, my guy is not answering. I will take that as a no !

back to the drawing board. Any luck on your end ?

Hey guys! What do you think of this as a potential buckle?

http://public.fotki.com/IndyBlues/vario ... uckle.html

Austin located this little beauty, and I have one in my possession.. I will try and take some actual pics.

The dimensions are pretty dead on, with a frame width of just 1/8"
it's 1 1/8" tall, by 1 1/4" wide. The only letdown, there is one spot on the buckle where they welded two ends together, but all I did was file the weld down, and it's barely noticeable.

Let me know what you think.

looks like a beaut ! I usually prefer the chase buckle with the thicker in width edges, but this has a real authentic feel to it ! If you could get a few, I would love to pick one up for my collection.

Months down the line, I come home to a package on the doorstep after a weekend away.
I now have a nickel buckle that looks pretty good to me. It's from another UK leather craftsman
who has been in the trade for years, and a real nice fella too

Looking forward to your guys comments...

I will get some pictures up as soon as I get the battery charged in the digital camera.

ID

Hey blues,
that looks pretty good, is it an old rifle sling?

Indy J

Hey Indy James, indeed it is a rifle sling. About 45" long, fully extended.
Too short to use for a bag strap for an adult, but for a kid, it's perfect.
I'm using the strap for my sons Indy bag.

The buckle looks great attached to an Indy bag strap.


Here are some pics, courtesy of Austin Powers, that I borrowed from his site.

http://public.fotki.com/IndyBlues/various_gear_pics/

Looks pretty darn raiders-ish to me! Cant wait for more info....

Cheers
IJ

<img src="http://www.lost-ark.net/images/montage.jpg">

The custom strap I have attached here is a little shy of 1", but the buckle is exact.


ID

Very nice!

Now, how does one go about to get it?

Regards,
Swindiana

Swindiana wrote:Very nice!

Now, how does one go about to get it?

I must confess, I really like this buckle after fitting. However, it seems we are getting more choice now...

I still waiting for price details to come back, but there is plenty of stock I'm told. These are from
a small leather craft shop, so he doesn't have any on-line ability. This is also why it took so long
to find someone like this guy who was willing to help....

Will post as soon as I know.

ID

Well, I like this one a lot.
If you are able to get some, I'd like 3 of them if you are willing to handle the deals in case the guy is not able to.

Thanks!

Regards,
Swindiana

I think that's the best buckle I've seen so far. Great find!

Just found what I needed and the price for this buckle is 2.49 UKP + postage at cost, which
I think works out quite reasonable, at least in the UK.

He can't do any discounts until orders reach into the 100's...

If anyone is interested please let me know, as I have to work out how we are going to ship, or
I might just buy a quantity myself to make things easier, dependent on interest...


Please let me know guys,

ID

indiana_dudley,

I just did the conversion on that price. It come out to almost $4.50 per buckle. You add postage on to it, and it gets close to $10 per if shipping to the US.

Can you get me some bulk discount pricing on it. If it is worth it, I'll go ahead and buy some bulk and dish them out from this side of the drink.

I think it a really decent looking buckle and would love to get hold of a sample.

Let me know.

Dalexs

amen to that ! I would take a few as well.

I'm interested in buying as well.

Dalexs wrote:indiana_dudley,

I just did the conversion on that price. It come out to almost $4.50 per buckle. You add postage on to it, and it gets close to $10 per if shipping to the US.

Can you get me some bulk discount pricing on it. If it is worth it, I'll go ahead and buy some bulk and dish them out from this side of the drink.

I will stick the buckle in an evelope and see how much it would cost to snail mail to the US via the cheapest method. I'm sure it will be nearer $5.50 than $10. Although it might be a short wait.

At the other end of the scale, I know that these buckles come in packs of 10, so how many would you be interested in? The problem here will be weight/shipping, and possible import duties as they may fall under commercial samples etc... Perhaps someone could fill in on the US postal issues... ?

I'm not sure which method would work out cheaper for the individual, would most of the US guys interested here look to get one from Dalex ?

I will see what I can do for a pack of 10 in the meantime...

ID

I meant that the total cost of the buckle with shipping would be close to $10 bucks.
I would probably wind up getting a bag of 100 or so for efveryone on this continent.

EDIT: I'm moving this over from the other thread:

This is a buckle I received in the mail this week:


And for comparison

Dalexs wrote:I meant that the total cost of the buckle with shipping would be close to $10 bucks.

Sorry, wires crossed, but I also meant approx $5.50 - $6 all inclusive if mailed via cheapest method in envelope.

I might be way off, but will wonder to the post office tomorrow, sample envelope in hand, to find out.

ID

Dalexs, would you become the supplier for us U.S. folks ?


btw- I would take two

indiana_dudley -

I'm interested in a couple of these buckles too.

/SJ

Looks great. Though I think the original may have been straight and not curved. (unless I am mistaken, the buckle in the photo above looks a bit curved in profile.)

dudley I'd need six of those fine looking buckles if it does not cost too much to ship to the States.

Cheers,
Jeff

I just got a small handfull of the buckles I displayed above, if anyone is interested in them. Just shoot me a PM. I'll send them as is, with the strap, or without, depending on how you want them. Without will be cheaper on shipping.
Let me know,
"Blues

Just one question indiana_dudley. Are those buckels solid or stamped?

Cheers,
Jeff

Gobler wrote:Just one question indiana_dudley. Are those buckels solid or stamped?

Solidly cast buckles. They are very sturdy buckles with quite a weight to them. I have to
confess that I am pretty satisfied myself. I will try and get some to you guys as quickly
as possible so that you can share your thoughts.

They are also a nice shiny nickel, which doesn't show all that well in the photos.

ID

To me, now a days, if a buckle could hit at least two of them, we have somewhat of a winner :

1. not pressed, but cast
2. rounded edges, sqared edging on the inside
3. FLAT not rounded edging.


This was the first buckle I went with, it was a stamped buckle and as everyone noted, it wasn't very sturdy, but it had the look I was going for. Its against a magazine photo of the real buckle :



And yesterday, I was at the leather shop and picked up this buckle below. The nice thing was it was SOLID BRASS, not pressed and nickle plated. The edges were rounded and the inside edges were just a bit rounded. The body's edging was flattER than the original buckle I had up top. It also had a tooth I had to wrestle off without scraping the buckle too much.

more pics of the buckle



the nice thing is, this buckle is thick. No breakage or anything in its future. I don't know why it looks rectangular in the picture, I think its an optical illusion of the jacket spacing. What do you guys think ?

when it rains, it pours...

[cue "Battling Banjos" song]

Alright, I just got these both in the mail today. First up was when I was playing with the idea that the buckle was rectangular. When I realized later that maybe this was off...if you take a look at the pics, you could swear it matches some of the indy scenes...this one is not pressed, its casted, but thinner casted than the other one I have up top :



This second buckle was graciously given to me by the kind folks from Todd's Costumes...I think its actually the size higher than the buckle I have posted up top since it seems to be of the same make and thickness.



Both of these I had to sand down a bit to get that luster off. No less, I am amazed how far we have come in the past....DAY !?!?!?

its funny, the more I look at this rectangular buckle, the more I like it ! I mean, look at the far right reference pic that Dalexs put up....to me it really does seem rectangular...hmmm...anyhow, you all take a look. As Dalexs pointed out, there were more than one type of buckle used...

Got Maul wrote:Dalexs, would you become the supplier for us U.S. folks ?

btw- I would take two

Because I kinda the one who startedthis mess... I would be willing to do it.
I just need more details from indiana_dudley.

My concern is goingto be what th final cost will be to evryone.

Dalexs

Perhaps if several of us bought two or more then we might manage 100 for the discount. As I stated I need 6. Just an idea.

Cheers,
Jeff

Ok, managed to escape lunchtime and here's the findings:


On the Post Office scales one buckle is <b>30g</b>

The buckles therefore qualify in quanties of up to <b>2</b> as letter mail. (see link below)

Then from <b>3 - 10</b> into the 'small packet' scale - Which works out cheaper especially as weight goes up.

Above that I'm sure people would want Insured delivery etc so....

Add to this the price of a small Jiffy bag (<b>60p</b>) - This makes no difference to single buckle weight charges

I can use an envelope and tissue for 1 and 2's

<b>
Single to UK = 2.49 + 28p postage + preferred packing = 2.77 (or 3.37) UKP

Single to Europe = 2.49 + 57p postage + preferred packing = 3.06 (or 3.66) : Approx 4.58 Euro (or 5.48 )

Single to US = 2.49 + 1.05 postage + preferred packing = 3.54 (or 4.14) : Approx $6.56 (or $7.67)

</b>
Details of all the shipping charges are here, so you can work further quantities
(don't forget there may be + weight of packaging on 60g multiples):

http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/cont ... aId=400347

All the international prices above were Airmail. If your prepared to wait there is always
surface mail at lower cost:

http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/cont ... aId=400393

ID

I don't really think it's an issue to bulk purchase these buckles.
There are enough people who want more then 1 to make it worth while.

I would be willing to make the purchase, and feed them out from here
DEPENDING on what the bulk cost would be.

Right now, at the current cost, that would be an outlay of almost $250.

That, I cannot do right now, unless I knew I was turning a bunch of them over.
Unfortunately, the exchange rate on this end is not in our favor.

I'm more then happy to step aside if anyone else wants to front run this operation.

Dalexs