All About Cavalry Spurs

The use of boot or heel spurs in a cavalry is a practice that historically was practiced in various different countries. Cavalry spurs were determined as a show of military rank and overall experience in the cavalry and spurs were given to those cavalrymen who had progressed onto being more advanced than just one of the new recruits.

There is an old civil war tradition known as the “Spur Ride” where all of the new cavalry and military recruits perform a series of tests and events designed to test their skill on top of their horse. Also they were then checked on their knowledge of the rules, regulations and history of the cavalry, which they were expected to remember and recite these facts from only their memory. The Spur ride became a way that soldiers were able to “earn their spurs” to prove that they had become better horse riders and soldiers than newer recruit.

After the soldiers had been involved in their first fight, they were awarded a 2nd set of spurs as a form of medal and then were accepted in to “The Order Of The Spur”. The spurs and a certificate were mostly given during a special banquet or event that was known as a “Spur Dinner” where all of new recruits were given their heel spurs, details of comrades killed in battle were read out and any other medals and awards were presented. As well as getting the boot spurs, the soldiers were also given a stetson hat, which was also a sign of accomplishment within the ranks.

The cavalry soldiers that had earned their spurs were then perceived as a better level than those in the cavalry who had none or were yet to earn their spurs. Although the soldiers may be of a similar or the same military rank, that they had “earned their spurs” during battle, as part of the “Spur Ride” or a task was a sign of their seniority over those who had none.

Cavalry boot spurs were primarily manufactured using silver and were mainly styled on the English Prince Of Wales style spur design. There were also sets of gold heel spurs were presented to soldiers of a higher military rank or to soldiers that were involved in a larger number of combat scenarios.

There are many types of boot spurs that have been worn and used over Western America. If you come over to the authors web site, you can find a lot more information about heel spurs and see some pictures of Cavalry Spurs and find out detail about the people that made them.

Cowboy Spurs Makers – The Big Three

If you become interested in buying cowboy spurs or western spurs, you will soon become aware of the makers who are referred to as “The Big 3″! These 3 makers are the people who are responsible for making cowboy spurs what we know them as today. They were the trail blazers of their time and excellent business men as well as craftsmen. They knew how to mass market their spurs to the likes of cowhands as well as the cavalry and army too.

August Buermann, the first of our 3 was not even American. He was born in Germany and it is was not until the age of 22, after he had travelled to America to complete training in becoming a locksmith that he was able to start making cowboy spurs. Buermann was so good at making these spurs, he attracted the attention of the US mounted cavalry and soon they were all wearing his spurs too.

Buermann spurs are easily identifiable by their Star Brand logo which is usually located under or near the buttons of the side of the spur. Despite his success and fame, the Buermann company and trademark was bought in 1914 by North and Judd, another large and established hardware company.

The North and Judd company went on to become one of “The Big 3″ makers and were eventually responsible for kitting out the US army and mounted cavalry in the American Civil War. Even though the company started before 1800, it is known that they had over 500 people working for them at their peak in 1878. The makers mark of North & Judd spurs is the Anchor Brand or mark which can be found stamped into the spurs.

Another of The Big 3 is the Crockett spurs company, started by Oscar Crockett in the early 1900s. Oscar learnt the skills to make Cowboy Spurs from his brother and began to make custom sets of spurs to order as well as standard aluminum or steel spurs for the mass market.

When the Crockett company purchased the Shipley Spurs outfit in 1940, they were making and selling over 170 types of spurs from their catalogs. Crockett spurs are marked with the word CROCKETT or C&G.

Although we have covered the 3 companies in “The Big 3″, we also need to talk about the company owned by Jim Renalde. The Renalde spurs company ended up owning some of the other major spur making companies and at it’s height was the largest maker of spurs in America. Renalde owned the Kelly Bit and Spur company and also bought Crockett Spurs too.

The Renalde company was also a popular maker of saddles, buckles and other horse tack and blacksmith items. Eventually, Renalde became the largest manufacturer of Cowboy Spurs in America until it was closed down in 1980, taking with it a long history and smaller companies and names it had purchased over the years.

The 3 best makers of Cowboy Spurs

There are 3 main makers of cowboy spurs and they are referred to as “The Big 3″. These 3 makers of spurs and also western tack, horse bits and saddlery are the people that are responsible for making the spur what it is today and also taking it to mass market. These are the 3 who made cowboys what we know them as today.

The first of “The Big 3″ is August Buermann. Buermann was born in Germany in 1842 and eventually travelled to America to be trained as a locksmith. His career took a turn when, at 22, he began working at a blacksmiths making cowboy spurs for the army as well as the locals. By the early 1900′s, Buermann’s spurs and name were on the heels of all of the US mounted cavalry, through an amazing commission he had been awarded.

You can tell a set of Buermann spurs by the Star logo he used to stamp onto them. The Buermann star can usually be found on the spur strap buttons. Even though Buermann was a popular maker of western spurs and tack, he sold his business to North and Judd in 1914 and retired – presumably on a nice fortune.

North and Judd are also one of the famous spur makers and had their roots in making saddlery, cowboy equipment and boot spurs as far back as before 1800. In 1878 they became the North and Judd Manufacturing Company and had over 500 staff working for them, producing spurs and equipment for the soldiers in the America Civil War and the US Army. The famous mark of the North and Judd spurs is the Anchor Mark which was stamped on to each of the spurs they made.

Another of The Big 3 is the Crockett spurs company, started by Oscar Crockett in the early 1900s. Oscar learnt the skills to make Cowboy Spurs from his brother and began to make custom sets of spurs to order as well as standard aluminum or steel spurs for the mass market.

Crockett soon became one of the largest makers of spurs in America and after they purchased the Shipley Spurs company in 1940, they became the largest. At that time, with the two companies combined, they were selling over 170 different types of spurs from their catalogs. All of them were marked with CROCKETT or C&G as the makers mark.

As with any business that is making money, there are always larger companies above you that want the piece of the pie you have. That’s what happened with cowboy spur makers too. The company owned by Jim Renalde bought the Crockett Spurs company in 1951 and also the Kelly Bit and Spur company in 1965 which made them probably the largest seller of spurs around that time.

The Renalde company was also a popular maker of saddles, buckles and other horse tack and blacksmith items. Eventually, Renalde became the largest manufacturer of Cowboy Spurs in America until it was closed down in 1980, taking with it a long history and smaller companies and names it had purchased over the years.

The 3 best makers of Cowboy Spurs The Big 3 Cowboy Spurs Makers The Big Three Cowboy Spur Makers Cowboy Spurs Makers – The Big Three Who are the Big 3 Cowboy Spurs Makers

There are 3 main makers of cowboy spurs and they are referred to as “The Big 3″. These 3 makers of spurs and also western tack, horse bits and saddlery are the people that are responsible for making the spur what it is today and also taking it to mass market. These are the 3 who made cowboys what we know them as today.

The first of “The Big 3″ is August Buermann. Buermann was born in Germany in 1842 and eventually travelled to America to be trained as a locksmith. His career took a turn when, at 22, he began working at a blacksmiths making cowboy spurs for the army as well as the locals. By the early 1900′s, Buermann’s spurs and name were on the heels of all of the US mounted cavalry, through an amazing commission he had been awarded.

Buermann spurs are easily identifiable by their Star Brand logo which is usually located under or near the buttons of the side of the spur. Despite his success and fame, the Buermann company and trademark was bought in 1914 by North and Judd, another large and established hardware company.

North & Judd are also one of “The Big 3″ makers who originally began life as a maker of saddlery and cowboy equipment. The company was started before 1800 and in 1878 became the North and Judd Manufacturing Company. At it’s peak they had over 500 people working for them making spurs and other equipment. North and Judd were responsible for equipping the soldiers of the American Civil War and the US army. All of the spurs and equipment was stamped with an Anchor mark which is the sign of North and Judd.

The last of the 3 is the Crockett Spurs company. Started by Oscar Crockett in the start of the 1900′s, Oscar had learnt to make cowboy spurs from skills taught by his brother. He started his company and soon began to design and make pairs of custom spurs to order. He was also making pairs of cheaper aluminum spurs for the public too.

After buying the Shipley Spurs Company in 1940, Crockett was selling over 170 different types of spurs from their catalog which made them the largest at that time. All of the spurs they sold were stamped with their makers mark – CROCKETT or C&G. The latter was probably the initials of a business partnership.

Another company to mention and perhaps the largest member of this group is a company called Renalde spurs. The owner of this company eventually ended up owning the other major spur making companies. He bought the Kelly Bit and Spur company in 1965 and the Crockett Spurs company in 1951.

Until the Renalde company closed in 1980, it was also making other saddles, buckles, horse tack and cowboy equipment and was the largest maker of spurs ever. When the company closed down it took with it decades of history of the manufacture of cowboy spurs from the smaller companies it had bought on it’s way to the top.