3 Vintage Horse Bits

3 WESTERN HORSE BITS - SLIESTER-BIT OF CALIFORNIA IN SURGICAL STAINLESS STEEL WITH HAND-ENGRAVED SHANKS - PLUS AN OLDER HAND-FORGED LOW-PORT CURB AND A SILVER-MOUNTED CURB WITH COPPER CRICKET ROLLER Three western curb bits out of the same tack room, and one of them carries a maker's name that working horsemen still pay money for. The first is a hand-engraved curb bit stamped SLIESTER-BIT with a registered trademark symbol, and stamped SURGICAL STAINLESS STEEL with a registered mark on the reverse of the shank - the shanks are hand-engraved on the outside face with deep floral and scroll work, the top bar is engraved with a scrolled leaf pattern, and the mouthpiece is a smooth arched low port in loose-jaw construction. It is the brightest and best-preserved of the three. The second is a heavier, older, hand-worked solid steel curb bit with a low ported mouthpiece, straight cheeks, a small slotted loop centered on the port, and the number 2 stamped into one cheek - dark blackened steel with a genuinely old look. The third is a silver-mounted curb bit with a curved top bar, scalloped conchos set with nickel-silver dot trim at the mouthpiece joints, and a fluted copper cricket roller mounted in a ring on the mouthpiece - the most decorative of the three and also the roughest. Flaws to know about: the second and third bits are both used, dark, and dirty; the third has substantial rust, brown pitting, and flaking corrosion across the mouthpiece, cheeks, and rein rings, with green verdigris on the copper cricket; the second shows light rust, pitting, and whitish residue; the Sliester shows light scratching and dull spotting on the polish. Sold as a lot of 3 bits. Description Bit 1 - SLIESTER-BIT hand-engraved surgical stainless steel curb. Bright polished stainless curb bit with a gently arched top bar between two headstall loops. The top bar is hand-engraved with a flowing scrolled leaf and vine pattern across its face. The shanks are hand-engraved on the outside faces with deep, crisp western floral work - flowers with radiating petals surrounded by acanthus-style leaf scroll - and the shank edges are shaped and scalloped. Construction is loose-jaw: the mouthpiece attaches through a square hinged sleeve at each shank with a ribbed or fluted block on the outside, riveted top and bottom, so the mouthpiece swivels. Mouthpiece is a smooth solid arched low port with no roller and no joints. Rein rings at the shank bottoms are shaped loops rather than round rings. Marks - the inside of the arched top bar is stamped SLIESTER-BIT followed by a registered trademark symbol. The reverse of one shank is stamped SURGICAL STAINLESS STEEL, also with a registered trademark symbol. Size - approximately 7.5 to 8 inches in overall height from the top of the headstall loops to the bottom of the rein loops Bit 2 - older hand-worked solid steel low-port curb. Heavy, plain, blackened steel curb bit with the look and feel of older hand work rather than modern factory production. Straight tapered cheeks with a single round loose ring hung at the top of one cheek and the second top loop present on the other, teardrop-shaped rein loops forged at the bottoms. Mouthpiece is a solid low ported bar with a small forged and slotted loop centered on top of the port - an open slot through a raised tab, which on bits of this pattern typically carries a mouthpiece attachment or roller element. Nothing is mounted in that slot now and no missing part is claimed, but a bidder should be aware the slot is there and empty. All joints and forge welds appear sound. Marks - a numeral 2 is stamped into the cheek at the mouthpiece junction. No maker's name, no other numbers, and no other mark was found on either cheek, the mouthpiece, or the rings. No maker is claimed. Size - approximately 7 to 7.5 inches in overall height and approximately 5 inches across the mouthpiece from cheek to cheek, per the tape-measure photographs. Bit 3 - silver-mounted curb with copper cricket roller. Dark aged steel curb bit with a curved top bar between two headstall loops, the bar accented with a row of applied silver-colored dots or rivet heads near each end. At each mouthpiece junction there is a scalloped, shell-edged concho plate set with a border of small silver-colored dots, mounted over the cheek. Mouthpiece is a solid low bar carrying a raised ring at center, and mounted inside that ring is a fluted copper cricket roller that spins freely. Rein loops at the shank bottoms are elongated teardrops. Marks - no maker's name, no metal mark, and no legible mark of any kind was found on this bit. No maker or origin is claimed. Silver content - the concho plates and dot trim read as nickel silver or a silver-colored plating over steel. NO STERLING OR PRECIOUS METAL CONTENT IS CLAIMED and nothing on this bit is marked or tested as silver. Terms Sold as-is, where-is, with no warranty expressed or implied. All sales final. Please ask any questions before bidding. Buyer