Friends of the good old leather-belts!

[Carlos840]

The best way is to make them yourself!

With a few basic leather tools you can put together a belt yourself, that shouldn't cost you more than £20 of material.
The basic saddle stitching needed to do that is really easy to get. I think my first one took two hours, i made my last one in around an hour.

Natural leather (around 4mm thick), they are now much darker:

The top one was my first one, stitching isn't the straightest, second one is much better:

My dad's old belt getting a new Horween strap:

Stitched in belt keep:

Cool thing about doing this yourself is that you can make belts with only one hole.
I don't need the belt to be tight, and don't need to adjust it, so i just make one comfortable hole, and have a custom fit belt.

 

[Edward]

Nope, it's a Yugoslavian National Army officers belt. I've heard from foreign collectors that these guys used to make the best paratrooper army boots ever made, and one of the best and most sought after army binoculars (two TFL members actually contacted me out of the blue if I could find one). Don't know if that's true, but their belts are super high quality. I've had mine for literally 20 years.

Ah! Looks interesting. Yeah, the Eastern European stuff you don't see so much of in the West, but a lot of it is just superb.

If you are interested In a durable belt I highly recommend looking at belts that come from the concealed carry firearms industry; the best are thick double leather stitched together to support a handgun/holster/magazine carrier combo which rely on lateral support in order to keep things in place and guns concealed.

Interesting idea - not something I'd have thought of (for obvious reasons, this is not something we see on general sale in the UK). Are these fairly narrow dress belts? The thing I find about most of the nicer belts widely available is that they're typically much too wide for a lot of dressier trousers... I guess a lot of belt guys only wear jeans. I'm quite the fan of 1" belts, myself.

I have had cheap belts that fell to pieces. Usually, it's a case of, if its bonded leather, the glue comes apart - that's when you discover that there's cardboard layered in with some flimsy leather. The other thing is the buckle is made from cheap, brittle metal that snaps unexpectedly.

I had one years ago that broke in two while wearing it - back when I was at school. It was a cheap, cardboard-like belt that came "free" with school uniform trousers in those days... Otherwise, I've found in the past that bonded leather tends to separate over time. Works fine for a few years, then it splits, and isn't the same after that. My first really decent belt was a 3mm thick one with embossed Harley logos on it - my parents bought it for me one Christmas when I was about seventeen. If I wasn't sixteen inches bigger(!) round the waist now than I was then, I would still be able to wear it. That's the one that convinced me of the value of a decent leather belt. I tend to buy them for about thirty quid; there are legion stalls that sell them in Spitalfields market, plus I picked up a couple of great, bridle leather belts recently from an eBay seller for about the same price. The most expensive belts I ever bought were the SJC Warpath collab belts - they're going to be my 'reward' for getting my waist down another couple of inches.... Not too far off now.

The best way is to make them yourself!

With a few basic leather tools you can put together a belt yourself, that shouldn't cost you more than £20 of material.
The basic saddle stitching needed to do that is really easy to get. I think my first one took two hours, i made my last one in around an hour.

Cool thing about doing this yourself is that you can make belts with only one hole.
I don't need the belt to be tight, and don't need to adjust it, so i just make one comfortable hole, and have a custom fit belt.

Nice job. I looked into it myself a couple of years ago, though for me the tooling I'd have to buy meant it wasn't really worth it once I added all that in. The one-hole belts look pretty cool. I've never had a belt in natural before, though I was put on to the idea by my B3 (which has natural straps). I need to pick up a couple more belts over th Summer; I think a natural may well be the next. Also keen on a slim, embossed Western belt in the same style as the one Bogie wore in The Big Sleep.

 

[feltfan]

I have worn two of these belts for years: http://www.leathergoodsconnection.com/rangerbelts.html
Excellent leather and work. I sent them my own buckles. Both belts are still going strong.

 

[RMF308]

Edward-
Yes, gun belts come in all widths but typically 1.25", 1.5" and 1.75" Some also are made in 1" and look like dress belts from the exterior. The proper gun belt is the fundamental aspect of carrying a concealed handgun safely and discreetly. The are incredibly durable and substantial, perhaps too thick for some that are used to normal dress or harness belts. Here is a link to the Kramer horsehide belt that I pictured above:
http://www.kramerleather.com/productDetail.cfm?productID=34&categoryID=2

And here is a double thick cowhide option from one of the legends in gun leather
http://www.miltsparks.com/belts.php

 

[Trenchfriend]

Is someone wearing old-fashioned military-beltbags, underways or on hobby, to stow little useful things?

Or classic fieldjackets, to stow things?

 

[navetsea]

I carry belt pack sometime when I don't wear jacket since I need extra pockets for stuff (stuff that modern android phone can not substitute= several satchets of coffee, pocket tissue, mint candies, inhaler stick, measuring tape).

It came with its own strap easier to remove without fiddling around with my pants belt can can be worn in several configurations across chest, around waist, as shoulder hanging bag. not military grade, just a simple thin flat and square in thin leather with eyelets on each top corner to hook on the belt strap can be worn undetected inside the jacket when you're tourist or carrying more important stuff.

cheap stuff, so I don't recommend for someone with real active outdoor living or require robust construction, but works well for me. But when this one expires I will order locally to make similar thing in better leather and zipper, then it will be something more hard wearing.

 

[Trenchfriend]

Sadly, I've got always not much to stow.
To my classic handkerchiefs in the back-pocket, I'm wearing a package paper-tissue with me, normally stowed in one of my jackets breast-pockets or in one of the coat-pockets. And additional a little metal-noticeblock with own ballpen, for any eventuality, and partly my plastic sunglasses-case and other documents. That's all.

 

[samo]

Some interesting informations concerning a leather belt durability can be found here:
https://www.kickstarter.com/project...o-last-a-lifetimetwo-if-you-count/description

Beside Kendal and Hyde i also recommend thirteen50 belts
https://thirteen50leather.com/collections/1-5-full-grain-leather-everyday-belts

and Victory leather craft belts
http://oakbarkbelt.com/

 

[Carlos840]

Nice job. I looked into it myself a couple of years ago, though for me the tooling I'd have to buy meant it wasn't really worth it once I added all that in. The one-hole belts look pretty cool. I've never had a belt in natural before, though I was put on to the idea by my B3 (which has natural straps). I need to pick up a couple more belts over th Summer; I think a natural may well be the next. Also keen on a slim, embossed Western belt in the same style as the one Bogie wore in The Big Sleep.

Seriously, do it, it's a lot of fun. Tooling is actually just little hand tools, all you need is an awl or some diamond chisels , needles and thread, a burnisher for the edges and some punches and a hammer for the holes.
All in all you can get all this for around £40, a belt then costs around £15 a piece, £10 for a quality leather strap and £5 for a regular brass buckle and takes around an hour to make.

I have belts that cost me more than £100 (IH, Saddleback) and honestly, my stitching is just as nice as the IH one, and the leather strap blanks you can buy on eBay are just as nice as either of these brands.
Most of the riveted belts that have been posted before are literally £10 worth of material and a sold for more than £100...

 

[Monitor]

I just noticed something... Has this belt been stuffed with something to make it appear thicker? Why are the sides even stitched like that in the first place? Wouldn't it actually be cheaper and much less work to just get a single piece of hide, like on the other quality belts posted ITT?

 

[Carlos840]

Here are some evo shots i just took, after a year's worth of wear or so:

The natural ones are 4mm bridal leather, the black one is bufalo.

I have tried other stitching patterns, like going perpendicular to the strap like IH does, but this way is IMO the most solid and nicest way.
I could have done a single strap and used Chicago screws or snaps to swap out buckles, but i have one belt per pair of jeans, and they only get removed from their jeans for washing.

 

[Carlos840]

I just noticed something... Has this belt been stuffed with something to make it appear thicker? Why are the sides even stitched like that in the first place? Wouldn't it actually be cheaper and much less work to just get a single piece of hide, like on the other quality belts posted ITT?

This could be two things, either the middle raised portion is filled with some sort of cheap bonded leather or plastic, which is what you see in cheap belts.
Or it could just be an actual piece of nice thick leather that is just encased in thinner finer leather.
If you use thin, soft pliable leather on the outside you want nice solid leather on the inside for structural integrity.

Think of it as a leather sandwich, with a tough part in the middle and some nice facings on the outside.
It is definitely more work to do a belt that way, but you can get away with using cheap leather for the inner portion that no one will see, if you chose to do so.

Keep in mind that if you don't do that your belt will be unlined, with a rough side and a slick side.
Doing this allows you to have a slick side on the inside of the band.

 

[Monitor]

This could be two things, either the middle raised portion is filled with some sort of cheap bonded leather or plastic, which is what you see in cheap belts.
Or it could just be an actual piece of nice thick leather that is just encased in thinner finer leather.
If you use thin, soft pliable leather on the outside you want nice solid leather on the inside for structural integrity.

Think of it as a leather sandwich, with a tough part in the middle and some nice facings on the outside.
It is definitely more work to do a belt that way, but you can get away with using cheap leather for the inner portion that no one will see, if you chose to do so.

Keep in mind that if you don't do that your belt will be unlined, with a rough side and a slick side.
Doing this allows you to have a slick side on the inside of the band.

Right! Most people might not prefer the inside, rough side of the hide, especially not worn on a suit, so they would naturally want their belt lined in some way. Same as not everyone would appreciate an unlined jacket... That makes sense. Cheers, Carlos!

Vader belt is really cool but I dig the middle one most! Don't know what's that called, though. I remember you had it on on a few of your jacket threads. I know you say it's simple to make one but I don't think I could do it anywhere near as nice as that...

 

[Carlos840]

Right! Most people might not prefer the inside, rough side of the hide, especially not worn on a suit, so they would naturally want their belt lined in some way. Same as not everyone would appreciate an unlined jacket... That makes sense. Cheers, Carlos!

Vader belt is really cool but I dig the middle one most! Don't know what's that called, though. I remember you had it on on a few of your jacket threads. I know you say it's simple to make one but I don't think I could do it anywhere near as nice as that...

Thanks, the top one is made by Tech Ether, apparently it was a hippie collective in the 70s that made sandcast objects.
It's from 74 and is a very nice buckle.
The middle one is bronze, made by Rainbow Metals, they are still in business, it's a Haida bear, alaskan art.
The Vader one is solid brass and is from 77, year the first movie was released.

All the straps and buckles there were bought on evil bay, apart from the bear one that i bought straight from the manufacturer.

http://www.rainbowmetals.com/nwcoast.htm

And seriously it is pretty simple.
I had never done anything like this before, and all i used was this video and a small off cut to practice a few stitches.

 

[A-1]

Wow! @Carlos840 this is really nice work! Now I want to do it as well. Can you recommend an online shop where to get the tools?

 

[Carlos840]

Wow! @Carlos840 this is really nice work! Now I want to do it as well. Can you recommend an online shop where to get the tools?

Thanks,

Can't really recommend, i have bought all of it from various sellers on eBay.
Germany is very good with online shopping and eBay, i am sure you will find it all easily in Germany.

To get started you will need 2 harness needles and some thread (the ritza 0.8mm is the best there is for that application), and a leather awl, a hammer and some hole punches.
That's the most basic.
If you want to make your life easier buy yourself a leather diamond chisel, i use a 4 pronged one. It allows you to make evenly spaced holes.
A wood burnisher and an edge beveler (i use size 3) really help if you want rounded finished edges.

Most of these tools are available anywhere online.

Leather wise, i bought most of my straps from an eBay seller called Leatherworld. (thickness wise, stay between 3 and 4mm, i have tried 5mm and it is too much to be comfortable.)
My nice buckles (the ones above) came from the US, eBay seller called Galaxyvintage.
The simple classic buckles square, round, you name it, can be bought on eBay for a couple pounds.

 

[robrinay]

If you are in the UK there's a good shop in Matlock that runs courses and sells practically anything you'll need to make stuff in leather. They are reputed to have supplied tools and leather to the armourers who made the props for Game of Thrones. My daughter took me on one of their 'gadget case making courses' for a birthday present and it gave me the confidence and taught me the skills to make patterns cut out stitch and finish leather. Since then I've made bags and belts. Check them out- you don't have to visit - they have a website:
http://www.theidentitystore.co.uk
Another good source of buckles and straps etc etc is Abbey leather
http://abbeyengland.com

 

[Trenchfriend]

I just noticed something... Has this belt been stuffed with something to make it appear thicker? Why are the sides even stitched like that in the first place? Wouldn't it actually be cheaper and much less work to just get a single piece of hide, like on the other quality belts posted ITT?

I looked at the belt again, and I think, there are two layers of usual split-(buffalo)leather, which makes the belt 5mm thick.

 

[Gav]

My Samurai belt. pictured in 2007, worn 90% of days since then.
(very) thick cowhide, solid brass buckle

 

[Monitor]

My Samurai belt. pictured in 2007, worn 90% of days since then.
(very) thick cowhide, solid brass buckle

That's a really nice belt!