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Book clasp :
volume with alchemical treatises (bound in Strasbourg around 1568, collection of the Chemical Heritage Foundation , Philadelphia) |
Chain
clasp : Closed clasp of a jewelry chain |
A clasp is a mechanical locking element made of a metallic material that is used to secure small moving parts. In the case of belts , it is also referred to as a buckle , in so-called buckles (waist straps and belts in the military sector or other uniforms) as a belt lock .
In jewelry chains , the clasp is used to connect two ends. Book covers were closed with a book clasp , especially in the Middle Ages and the early modern period , and thus protected from blocking and the ingress of dust and light.
Pin buckles are often found on belts, wristwatches and luggage tags . Old forms of the clasp are the fibulae (also called clasps ) and the “hook and eye” principle (see Haftel ).
Buttons serve the same purpose but are not called clasps . Modern forms such as the zipper or the Velcro fastener are also not referred to as a clasp , but rather as a fastener .