Okay, here's what will likely be an imbecilic question, but I could use some practical tips from guys who have had to mess with this annoyance before:

How in the heck do I keep my sword hanger's buckles secured and tight so that it doesn't slip up my scabbard, up over the risers and reaching the hilt, as the day continues?

Is this an issue of the leather being new and not broken in? Is it my big, fat fingers?

I ask because I'm having a bear of a time getting these things tight and staying tight so they don't come loose after a while.

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Apologies about the poor quality indoor phone camera photo.

From what I can tell in historic hangers of this sort the buckets are not attached to the sword.
It's just a matter of tension. If your leather is too think or too thin you might experience problems with the tension. I usually use 3 oz veg tan leather lined with goatskin for my hangers. 2oz is too thin and the buckles slip, anything over 4 or 5oz and the leather is too thick. If I had to choose between too thin and too thick I'll choose too thick any day.

That being said I have a couple of hangers I use for my late 15th century longswords and my 16th century swords that are not rapiers, and a few others that I use for my rapiers and I've never had a problem.

My advice is to take the scabbard out the hanger, tighten the loops down and then force the scabbard in. That usually works for me at least.

Good luck

This is always happening to me with this type of suspension. I have found that conditioning the leather straps helps hugely. I used to spend a fortune on mink oil to condition leather, until a man who makes fine whips told me to save my money and use good unscented hand lotion. (What is leather anyway, but skin?)
Once the leather is supple and stretched, I am able to really tighten the "loops" or belts very well. Usually newer leather or poorly conditioned leather is too stiff to be able to get the belt to conform to the shape of the scabbard. It makes it very hard to buckle the belt on the "right" hole.
You won't be able to fix the leather up overnight, but if you keep it supple and work it into flexibility by working it a couple of times a week, it will be "problem solved".
By the way, it keeps your hands in great shape, too!

Pull the buckles and straps very tight further down the scabbard where it is smaller, so that you have to really force the straps up to the riser. A small stitch through the back of the scabbard and first loop also helps.

Tod