Club Obi Wan

I agree, looks good!!

I J

indiana_dudley wrote:
At last.....

I have what could be the first buckle that comes close from the UK source. I am inquiring
if this same buckle comes in nickle, but your thoughts so far please....

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

Ok, and now the bad news:

1. It doesn't come in nickel (only solid brass shown)
2. We need to get 10 people interested min, and they are 3.50 UKP inc. postage each within the UK
3. The white piece of string doesn't come off

So please let me know and give me an idea if anyone is interested in this one.

I also am looking at this guy putting together a bag strap including this buckle for 20 UKP inc postage within the UK if any British members are interested.

These are his prices, with nothing in it for me. Just looking to serve the COW community on this side of the Atlantic as many things imported from the US here work out expensive when you add postage and possible import duties.

ID

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whipwarrior wrote:I've searched the net for the perfect roller buckle, and posted my findings
in a side-by-side comparative shot of the 3 closest matches to the buckle on Indy's satchel strap in Temple of Doom / Last Crusade for everyone's critique:

http://www.geocities.com/pangaeascape/buckles.html

Not meaning to take any light away from your finds here, they are great looking buckles, but I think the issues that have been raised before are:

1. The removal of the roller.
2. The grooves on the center bar that guide the tang. These can distort the leather as it falls over the bar.

Also, are you certain that none of these buckles are pressed, rather than cast. I'm pretty sure that #3 there is pressed.
It is sometimes difficult to tell from photos believe me. This will have a bearing on the strength and look of the buckle close up.


ID

The strap buckles in Temple and Crusade HAVE the roller on it. Check the rope bridge promo shot where Indy is holding up the Khyber knife, and freeze-frame LC when Indy is pulling himself up the tank turret. The roller is clearly there.

The Raiders buckle as pictured in the initial post of this thread is square and flat, does not curve and seems to be squared on the individual surfaces, and is cast not pressed. I think Lee Keppler has come the closest but the edges of all of the sides of the buckle are rounded and not squared. None of the buckles seen thus far have matched Raiders perfectly.

Considering all the time and money that several people are spending finding a perfect tiny buckle, would it make sense to find and contract a custom buckle or fastener crafter, or jeweler, to master and cast a perfect buckle that we are all looking for? We would need a bulk order to make it feasible but I think among all of the people here that we could guarantee 100 pieces. I want 5 for myself and I would probably pay $10-15 each only if it were a perfect match to Raiders.

Also, the strap buckles in Temple and Crusade HAVE the roller on it.

I didnt believe it until Mr. Keppler himself showed me!!
$10 is a bit much for a buckle for me I must say.....sorry, I'm cheap!

Indy J

whipwarrior wrote: How can you tell if a buckle is pressed, rather than cast?

It is difficult to tell from a photo sometimes, I've now had a few samples through that looked good on 'paper'
but when they arrive, you can soon tell from a profile view. The edge is squared all round where the heavy
pressing tool has just cut it from a sheet of metal. The buckle just doesn't look solid, or good for that matter for this job.

Agreed, removing the tang/prong is not an issue.

Belloq: I think this is sometimes part of the fun for the 'search' for the 'add any rare religious artifact' with Indy Gear.

...and as to follow on that last comment, my lead in the UK know informs me that a nickel version might not be out of the
question yet...

ID

Does anyone have a German G3 rifle sling? Though I purchased one off ebay last year, a mix up has prevented me from actually obtaining one. Its a 1" wide brown leather strap with what I thought looked like a perfect buckle. As I recall the leather was not long enough to create a bag strap. Still, they retail for only $10 I believe.

Heres 2 that are on ebay currently:
<img src="http://i18.ebayimg.com/03/i/01/61/92/92_3.JPG">
<img src="http://www.guys-militaria.com/MVC-849E.JPG">

The second picture makes the buckle look a bit stout, however this is due to the angle of the picture and the curve of the buckle itself. Plus if you rotate the Raiders screen shots/photos, you'll discover that the buckle is far from square in dimension.

I'll be taking a jewelery/metals course in a years time. If you can all wait until then, I could turn out a small batch of custom buckles after-hours in the studio and sell em off at cost of materials. This is assuming we still haven't found an existing buckle thats just right. Then we would all have to agree on blueprints and which buckle to replicate.

Thats all I got,
Paul

Nice work Paul!
It sounds like it will be worth waiting for...

Regards,
Swindiana

I've got the feeling that we're looking for something that may no longer
exist in current production. Of all the different places that sell buckles
I keep running into the same models and searching for manufacturers
of buckles only yields a handful of possiblilities (at least on the net).
If the perfect buckle is found it will probably be alone or in very small
quantity. I think Paul's idea of a custom made buckle is a good one and
I would certainly wait a year or more for the real deal. After all how long
have we been looking already with little success? So keep us informed
Paul and you can count on me for at least 5 of them when the time comes.
In the mean time the search continues.

Regards,
Indybill

The guy who sent me the Hush Puppy shoe buckle said that they can pretty much get what ever I want. BUT you have to place a minimum order of 2000 units. So unless there is a run on raiders bags after IndyIV comes out... the search continues! Tally Ho!

Dalexs

Dalexs wrote:The guy who sent me the Hush Puppy shoe buckle said that they can pretty much get what ever I want. BUT you have to place a minimum order of 2000 units.

Since What Price Glory is updating their bags I wonder if they'd consider getting a load of buckles and they might even sell some buckles individually.

Good call, the new buckle on the new bag looks pretty accurate....

IJ

Agreed, does anyone in particular know Jerry well?

ID

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Except for that roller on it, its not a bad looking buckle overall, if your looking for a raider buckle that is.

I can't tell from the picture if the top rail where the roller is, is indented for the roller to sit in, like some buckles I've seen.

I suggest you call them and have them send you a sample.
You may also weant to check out page 178 of their catalog, buckle number c-22, which comes in a 1" size. Its very similar to the buckle you get from Lee. Its the same a what I currently have. Its as close as we've gotten so far.

Dalexs

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I didn't realize you were looking for the LC roller style buckle.



Thats easy to find... this is from Tandy leather for .69


http://tandyleather.com/prodinfo.asp?nu ... 9&mitem=38

Why didn't you say so in the first place!

Dalexs

In the words of Henry: "It's fake. You see, you can tell, with the cross-sections."

The "roller" is cast directly into the buckle mold, so it only looks like a roller (and not a very convincing one, at that), and it's made of potmetal. I put it into a vise just to see if I could bend it, and it snapped like a pretzel.

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I think what you're looking at is this buckle, just from a different
angle: http://www.leatherfactory.com/PRODIMAGE/1540-00-M.JPG
Having seen this one I can tell you that the long sides are convex,
not straight and the roller is fake.

Regards,
Indybill

Nice looking whip. I would however contact the CO and find out if that is in fact a roller or a moc roller. Just my 2 cents.

Cheers,
Jeff

Well, that was a total bust. Here is the reply from J and J:

Hi!

I'm sorry, that should be more clear on the site.

Those buckles are not true free rollers. Our "roller buckles" are
though.

thanks!

Heres what Ohio Travel told me when I tried to order a few of the c-22 buckles - I emailed them becuase you apparently have to have a customer number to order with them.

Sorry for the inconvenience.
We do set you up with an account # when we take your first order, then you can order on line. We have a few questions to ask you to help us serve you better, like do you have a catalog, what type of business, etc, or
because many people do not realize the minimum first order is $75. Also, the site is not secure for credit cards.
Once we have you in the system you can just state put on CC ending in .....
or I will get a money order e-mail or fax with total after adding shipping.

I have sourced a nickle plated iron roller buckle from a company in [another country], and have arranged for samples to be imported via their US distributor. These things are EXACTLY what we ToD and LC fans have been looking for! I should have them in about a month.

If you have extras, id like to grab 1 or 2 if I could!

Tks
I J

I've placed an initial order for 5 buckles. They are 1" nickel plated iron, with a free-spinning roller. I'm going to have to up the price a bit from the actual cost of each buckle in order to recoup the shipping fee, which is a flat rate. The reason I'm not revealing the name of the manufacturer yet is because I just made the initial deal. I don't want people innundating them with orders, especially since the US distributor doesn't even list these buckles on their website. They're doing me a special favor by importing them. Plus, I want to get the buckle for a physical in-hand inspection, and post high-res pictures for everyone to see. But so far, it looks really, really good.

whipwarrior wrote:I've placed an initial order for 5 buckles. They are 1" nickel plated iron, with a free-spinning roller. I'm going to have to up the price a bit from the actual cost of each buckle in order to recoup the shipping fee, which is a flat rate. The reason I'm not revealing the name of the manufacturer yet is because I just made the initial deal, and I don't want people innundating them with orders, especially since the US distributor doesn't even list these buckles on their website. They're doing me a special favor by importing them. Plus, I want to get the buckle for a physical in-hand inspection, and post high-res pictures for everyone to see. But so far, it looks really, really good. I'm glad everything is coming together as smoothly as it is.

-Dale

Provided they look good when you get them, please put me dow for a couple as well

To celebrate the premiere of my new Indiana Jones website, I’m holding a scavenger hunt inspired by a similar contest at theraider.net last year. It is open to all members of Indy Gear / Club Obi Wan, regardless of status. The only requirement is that you must be a true Indiana Jones fan, so basically everyone who is reading this qualifies!

The prize: I will be giving away three Temple of Doom / LC style nickel-plated iron roller buckles (1 per winner) for your satchel strap. Trust me, these are the closest thing to screen accurate that you’re going to find in the world, outside of the Lucasfilm Archives!

The rules:

Visit my website and explore the Temple of the Sun to locate the three Roman numerals from the movie. Each one is disguised as an invisible tile that can only be revealed by passing your cursor over it. An entertaining bit of movie dialogue will materialize to let you know that you’re on the right trail.

Next, click on the tile with your mouse to continue the quest. Be warned: not every page contains a numeral. In some instances, you must carefully examine your surroundings to find a transparent link that will bring you one step closer to your goal. The tiles are hidden with lethal cunning, but don’t get discouraged! I promise that they do exist, though not easily discerned. If you’re persistent, like Indy, you will find the treasure.

The “X” will take you to the page of the website that sells the buckle. The first three persons to e-mail me with the name of the company, and the Item # of the buckle will receive one for free*

You must include the date and time in your e-mail so that I can accurately determine the winners. Entries lacking all of the necessary info will not be valid. I will announce the prize recipients on May 13.

“Good luck, fellow seekers!”

* Winner pays shipping.

Ugh, I hate this! Too many people visiting your website, so its down...

Sorry, it's Geocities, not me. But don't worry, it's not an easy puzzle to solve, and you'll have PLENTY of time to search for the pieces. I can run through it in about two minutes because I designed it, but I calculate it would take a thorough search of about three or four days, if not longer, for a first time visitor to the site.

-Dale


P.S.- Here is a sneak peek at the prize: http://www.geocities.com/pangaeascape/buckle.html

whipwarrior: Great contest and nice site! Entry sent! Please let me know if the email shows up as I haven't used the email feature on COW before. (I could PM you the info if not.)

Here is a link to my poster contest in case you'd like that one.

http://www.indygear.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7820

EDIT: Wooohoo! Thanks!

High regards,
Swindiana

Out of the three prizes, only two have been claimed so far. The winners are:

Swindiana
IndianaGuybrush

The company is called Toowoomba Saddlery, and the product is listed as: 1" Np. Hobble/Rug Buckle (BKL100H1).

These roller buckles can be purchased in the U.S. thru Down Under Saddle Supply, for $1.60 apiece. It is recommended (but not required) that you buy in quantity, as minimum domestic shipping/handling costs $8.00, which will cover up to 50 buckles.

Down Under Saddle Supply
5470 East Evans Ave.
Denver, CO 8022-5226
http://www.downunderweb.com

In order to cut shipping expenses, I have decided to award the last buckle to one lucky Georgia Gearhead, whose name I will randomly select out of my fedora. I’ve collected the following names from the Club Obi-Wan Memberlist. Please notify me if I missed anybody from the Peach state. The drawing will be held on Thursday. I will notify the winner via PM.

Dakota Ellison
Burns
indy_guitarist
IndyFrench
Indydawg
IndianaCollins
Kittlemeier
Indiana Joe

Great WW! I already have a ToD strap and bag cut and ready for it, just need for the buckle to arrive. Very generous of you!

Regards,
Swindiana

Well, the drawing recipient has apparently dropped off the face of the earth, so does anyone else in Georgia want a completely awesome (and free) Temple of Doom / Last Crusade satchel strap roller buckle?

I'm not in Georgia, But I'd pay the shipping for it to PA

IndyBlues wrote:I'm not in Georgia, But I'd pay the shipping for it to PA

If you want another look at it, here it is:

http://www.indygear.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7992

A bit more rectangular than my Raiders buckle, but I couldn't be happier with it. The roller is actually great for adjusting the strap for every occasion possible. My black strap is 2mm thick, a bit to thin to keep it fastened but easily fixed with an unnoticable "invention" of mine including extra leather on where the buckle attaches to the strap. I recommend getting a strap 3mm or thicker in case you want to make your own strap without any result that involves slipping of the buckle when carrying heavier loads. I wanted mine 2mm thick in order to get it floppy enough for my needs, and for what I see on screen in ToD. You gotta love these bags, and all parts included for an Indy bag.

Regards,
Swindiana

PM received! Congrats!

All right, we're going to try this ONE MORE TIME. Anybody who wants a free, ultra-authentic roller buckle for their satchel strap, please send me a PM. Only contact me if you are serious, as I've had two no-shows already.

Get the buckle, it is great!

Now!

Regards,
Swindiana

Okay, folks, the buckles are sold out! Thank you for bidding!

Edited for sounding like a butt head.

PM sent with explanation. Sorry for any misunderstanding.

IndyBlues wrote:Edited for sounding like a butt head.

Were you calling Bufflehead?

Has there been any new info on this? Heres a BUMP....

Regards
I J

Stay Tuned.

I may have some interesting news regarding a Raiders Buckle.
I may also be posting a poll soon.

Dalexs

Looking forward to the news.

David