3 Vintage Horse Bits
Updated September 5, 2026
| Lot number | 397 |
| Auction | Hancock Estate Auction |
| Date | September 25, 2026 at 9:30 AM CDT |
| Auction house | Harrison Auction & Realtor |
| Location | Gracemont, Oklahoma |
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 p
Register & bid on this lot at Bidspirit →
