The Armour Archive

So, I stumbled onto these:

http://www.wildties.com/ties/WS229110.h ... -ARTICLE-0


silk laced knot cufflinks. Could these pass off as knotted buttons in period?

I don't see why they wouldn't. Just make sure that the one side is secured well.

Jean Robert

Thank you, InsaneIrish! I've been lookig for some of these at a decent price in solid colors (you'd be amazed how hard it is to find them in a single color) for awhile.

I will use mine as intended, but I think you could do a lot worse than to use these as buttons for your period cloths (they'd certainly look better than modern buttons, anyway). Caveat: I've done very limited research on period clothing.

-Grey

P.S. Of course the down side is that the shipping will still cost you just under $5.

Greyson Brown wrote:
P.S. Of course the down side is that the shipping will still cost you just under $5.

I was thinking of emailing them and seeing if they would combine shipping and get rid of the boxes.


Also, since you have seen these in person, The site says the size is 1/2" x 1/2". I assume that is 1/2" diameter knot? Am I correct, are the knotts about 1/2" wide each?

Make sure your button hole is smallish, and you'll be fine. They rarely slip out of a cuff, so there shouldn't be a problem.

I don't know exactly how accurate these would be, but there are early (first couple centuries BCE) finds in Ireland of gold dress fasteners that work like this. You have two buttonholes, then put one large end through each hole with the finials (or balls) on the outside of the garment.

InsaneIrish wrote:I was thinking of emailing them and seeing if they would combine shipping and get rid of the boxes.

Now, see, that (along with the absence of two introductory clauses to your statements) proves you are smarter than I am. I just went ahead and order, as I didn't want to miss out on the $1 monkey fists.

InsaneIrish wrote:Also, since you have seen these in person, The site says the size is 1/2" x 1/2". I assume that is 1/2" diameter knot? Am I correct, are the knotts about 1/2" wide each?

I'm afraid I have not seen these particular monkey fists in person. I would avoid cutting the button holes until you have these in hand (if that is possible). Most of the monkey fists that I have seen intended for cuff links (as opposed to those made of rope which are clearly (and redundantly) intended to prove that other people are better than I with knots) are about 1/4 or so inches in diameter, with about a 1/2 space between the knots. That may be where the measuerment listed comes from (you would be amazed how often data for cuff links, braces, and other men's wear accessories gets messed up).

I consider myself a novice user of French cuff shirts, but button holes tend to be about the same size (and thus, the knots have to be sized so that they pass through the button holes, but stay put); the distance between the knots is of more importance, as it dictates how up-tight/relaxed the individual wearing the shirt looks. Of course, I can't prove that this is what was meant by the mesurements on this particular site.

The delivery info on the site indicated that my monkey's fists should be delivered within the first week of March. I will try to give you some better info when they arrive.

-Grey

Anyone ever use one of these?

http://daoofsilk.com/catalog/tools/knot ... on-med.jpg

-+G

BTW - An assortment

http://www.silkknots.com/index.php

Sorry it took me so long to follow up on this. I did get my cuff links a while back, and I probably would not use them as buttons. The main reason I say this is because these particular examples have some spandex or similar material in them that makes them stretchy. Okay with modern dress cloths, but I know enough people who would give me serious grief for using them ar period garb.

The other problem I have is that they are just slightly too big to fit through a standard button hole. I was going to wear them today, didn't for that very reason.

-Grey

I've thought about making cufflinks in the past, and using them for buttons. If I made some fancy garb, I could have removable buttons so it would be easy to wash&iron.

They look very similar to buttons used in the late sixteenth century - the only problem I can see is cost. I am a small guy and I plan on at least 20 buttons for a doublet!

Since there are so many people talking about these I figured I would let you know that I can make them. It may take a little while for me to get all the materials but I can do them in any size that you want. I am not sure how much they would cost but I know the shipping would be a lot less than $5.00 each. And they would come with their own cardboard gift box (it may even say "Flat Rate" on it. It will take some fiddling but I will work on it and see if I can't make them like this so there wouldn't be too big of a bulge on the inside of the garment.

And since I am so good with knots I can make them out of any kind of material. I was thinking linen would be cool.

Just because I am curious how much would someone pay for something like this?

http://www.silkknots.com/images/uploads/FlowerPink.jpg

BTW - They look great with a dress shirt if you coordinate with the tie