Tag: owlbelthook

Owl Face Belt Hook: Research Fail

16th century, Accessories, Casting

After making the loops for my new belt clasp, I went looking for options for the S-hook that were not snakes or swans. In the process, I ran across this link that pretty much blows a hole in the idea that the lion head belt terminals I found are actually 16th century. They seem to be more of the 18th century military belt clasp type. I’m going back through 16th century portraits now, and so far all I’m finding are surface-mounted terminals like I used on my old belt. I’m also less sure now about the zoomorphic decoration on the hooks for 16th century belts, but I think that will stand up in the end.

Edited to add: I managed to find a few examples that were clear enough to see what’s going on with the clasp. Surface mounted loops, as I expected, but also no clear evidence of the zoomorphic S-hook. There was more variety than I expected, and less surface decoration on the hooks, so that may be a blessing in disguise, from a casting standpoint. There seem to be both S-shaped hooks and sort of curvy M-shaped hooks as well…

Owl Face Belt Hook: Casting the Loops

16th century, Accessories, Casting

I needed to make a new belt to go with the Alborghetti suit, so I found a new type of belt hardware to play with. Serafina came down today to work on some of her casting, so I cranked out a quick mold that I thought might do the trick. The extant piece I’m emulating has a lion face, with a perpendicular loop on one side for the belt hook and a wide rectangular loop on the other for the belt. Rather than make two molds for the two different belt loops, I tried to make a single mold that could be turned into either one. The owl face is from the household badge.


Alborghetti Suit: Waistband and Belt

16th century, Casting

Last night I tested how the doublet and trunk hose would work together. I pinned the trunk hose foundation to the lacing strip on the doublet, then put everything on and tried to sit down. The pins in the back immediately popped out. Discouraged but still hopeful, I went back and basted the doublet and hose together instead, and this time it seemed to work much better. I went ahead and covered the waistband with black wool, and plan to put eyelets in it sometime this week. I’ll also start working on binding the edges of the doublet and putting in buttonholes. Also sleeves. Each piece will bring me closer to the final fit of the whole suit. Finishing the trunk hose will probably happen last.

Something else that concerned me was whether the looser fit of the doublet would affect how my belt would sit at the waistline. The good news is that I think the belt won’t have any problem staying in place. The bad news is that my current belt is a good bit too short and can’t easily be lengthened. Since I sand cast the current clasp, I can’t just pour up another one easily. Instead I plan to make a new clasp in a stone mold. I looked at several different styles for the new clasp, and I think I’m leaning toward this one:

It will be easier to cast the loop if I don’t have to mess with rivets, and I’ll be able to move it to another belt more easily. Rather than casting a closed loop, I think I’ll make a flat bar and bend it into a loop. I can replace the lion head with an owl face as well, though it’ll take a little trickery to be able to cast both sides out of one mold. I have some ideas about how to manage that. I may just use the old S-hook for now until I decide I really want to make a new one. It would take a well-registered two-sided mold, which is hassle that I’ll avoid as long as I can.