Buckingham Replacement Gaffs (Dowel Style)

These Buckingham replacement gaffs fit Buckingham spurs that use the dowel style attachment. Gaffs wear down with sharpening and use, and swapping them is how you keep a good set of spurs biting cleanly.

When to replace gaffs

Each time a gaff is sharpened, a little metal comes off. Eventually it is too short to reach through bark into solid wood, and that is when cut-outs happen. Replace gaffs when they are below the maker's minimum length, cracked, bent, or will not hold a proper edge and shape.

Check your spurs are dowel style before ordering; Buckingham has used more than one attachment design. Screws, guards, and straps are in our replacement gaffs and parts section.

Look at both gaffs side by side when you inspect. If one is noticeably shorter or a different shape, the spurs will bite unevenly and feel unsteady. Replacing both at the same time keeps them matched and is the usual practice for working climbers.

Installing and maintaining

Install gaffs following Buckingham's instructions using the correct screws, and make sure they seat fully with no play. Sharpen only the way the maker recommends, keeping the original profile. Grinding the wrong faces or overheating the steel changes how the gaff bites.

Inspect gaffs before every climb and keep them covered when off your legs. Spur work should only be done by trained climbers on removals, with a flipline in place, under ANSI Z133.

Keep the old gaffs out of the parts bin so nobody reinstalls them by mistake.