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"The belt and buckle combination has been used ever since civilizations wore clothing, just around the beginning of the Bronze Age." That may be a good estimate of when the buckle was devised (though buckles or comparable devices could have been fashioned from wood or bone much earlier). However, given the harsh climates many of our distant ancestors colonized, it seems likely that many of us were wearing clothes long before the Bronze Age. Jimgawn (talk) 17:18, 14 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I cut the following paragraph from the "Contemporary Uses" section of the article because it looked like advertising rather than useful content:

Many web sites started selling belt buckles which gain popularity by the day. One of the most popular belt buckle sites, http://www.hotBuckles.com, is specializing in Scarface belt buckles, in addition to other very popular belt buckles. Many others offer a large variety of Western, Eagle, name and spinner belt buckles, among other clothing accessories. The above web site, [1], is a good example of a belt buckle site that is dedicated the buckles only.

Feel free to reinstate the paragraph if it is considered useful. --stephenw32768^<talk> 14:55, 3 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

This same user (and at least one sockpuppet) has been posting this spam all over the place---at least 7 examples can be found today alone. There is nothing useful about his contributions, it is simply spamdalism. ---Charles 18:21, 3 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I think there are enough "for the [], see []" links on this page to nominate it for its own disambiguation page. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.33.223.145 (talk) 05:52, 26 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Can someone add images for the various components - also, re. chape, it's very hard to understand what is being talked about unless you already know what a chape is. My dictionary appears to conflate both chape and prong. Illustrations or photos would really help. (20040302 (talk) 10:56, 22 January 2010 (UTC))[reply]

Yes, chape is also conflated with a mordant — and one source even says they are the same, which they are obviously not. I can provide chape pictures, but first please consider this overall definition/disambiguation:

"A buckle is a single, self-contained device that should be distinguished from a clasp, which necessarily has two separate parts. In common parlance little distinction is made between them, but a great deal of confusion has resulted from the practice. A buckle has a mechanism to attach it to one end of the belt, called a “chape,” and a second mechanism for adjusting belt tightness when it is worn, called a “mordant.” In contrast, the two pieces of a clasp are permanently attached to opposite ends of the belt, and one of several means is used to fasten them together. Not having a mordant, one characteristic of a clasp is that it requires the belt length be adjusted before it is put on.

By not adhering to the distinction between a buckle and a clasp, several misnomers have occurred. For example, the so-called British “Nurses Buckle” is really a clasp with symmetrical pieces. These are often mirror images of one another that make an integrated design when hooked together. Similarly, asymmetrical Victorian clasps are often mistakenly referred to as buckles because the smaller element, containing a hook or slot, was lost over the years. Military buckles are often really waist belt clasps.

Belt plates are neither buckles nor clasps. Rather, they are emblems attached to the belt for decorative or identification purposes. The Argentinean “Gaucho Buckle” is really an ornate belt plate placed in the center of a wide belt that clasps behind the person’s waist. American Indian “concha belts” employ belt plates called conchas—the Spanish word for shells. Ladies brooches were often made to resemble Victorian buckles, but are easily identified by a garment pin on the back. Finally, it should be understood that a Ranger set is simply a buckle with one or more ornamental “belt keepers” and a “belt tip.” The Ranger set should not be confused with a two-part clasp, as it functions quite well without the keeper or tip ornaments, which are often lost."

NOTE: I can populate the above with several references and mages. (Hope I'm posting correctly. Don't know my way around Wiki yet.)

Elkcub (talk) 23:31, 26 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Sounds eminently sensible. I still have no idea what the differences of these things are, even though I've most likely worn them all at some time! If you have artistic inclination, how about some nice illustrations labelling the components? (20040302 (talk) 12:30, 27 January 2010 (UTC))[reply]

Thanks. My artistic skills are limited, but I do have one drawing done for me by a friend some years ago. This would be a generic Western/Cowboy/Rodeo trophy buckle. Note that it is of Plate construction (not Frame or Box). The chape is a U-shaped bar that allows the belt to be attached in several ways. The mordant is a reverse, articulated hook. For Western buckles this is called a flapper. The throw of the buckle, incidentally, is the distance between the hook and chape bar.

Sorry. I can't figure out how to attach the .jpg, which is only 128KB. Need help. What's the difference between "Show preview" and "Show Changes"? "Save page" seems to enter the post. Whew!

Elkcub (talk) 07:00, 28 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I've added a rather rough sketch of what I now understand to be the various parts of a buckle. I am NOT an expert, and derived all my understanding from this article! Can an expert verify it, and let me know if I have made any mistakes?! (20040302 (talk) 08:34, 20 October 2011 (UTC))[reply]

From what I can gather, the prong is also known as a mordant, or a tang, or a tongue - is that correct? Does the name change if the prong is inward facing rather than outward facing? e.g. an inward facing buckle on the civil war buckle vs. an outward facing prong on a normal buckle ?

IS there any published source on this sort of thing? (20040302 (talk) 16:59, 29 May 2013 (UTC))[reply]

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