yoke and back belt thickness?

[hickok55]

I'm just about to get my leather for the yokes and back belt on my chaps and I'm not quite sure how thick the leather should be. I was thinking 3.5-4mm as the body of the chaps are 1.6-2.0mm, but let me know what y'all think

Also, if you have any suggestions on a color that would complement this. Let me know.

Edited January 18, 2023 by hickok55

[bland]

Are you tooling the yokes and back=belt?  For me I like a tooled yoke in the 5oz to max 8oz range or about 2mm to 3mm.  When you sew them to the body it will make them in the 3.5 to 4.5 mm.  I don't want them to be too stiff as it makes them a little uncomfortable.  For the back belt I would line it and be up in the 10 to 12oz range or 4mm to 5mm.  I also like them to come apart in the event I get hung up so the front belt is single ply 2mm to 3mm.

Some people like them heavier so...

As far as color I would go with a light oil finish and antique if you like.  

 

[hickok55]

11 hours ago, bland said:

Are you tooling the yokes and back=belt?  For me I like a tooled yoke in the 5oz to max 8oz range or about 2mm to 3mm.  When you sew them to the body it will make them in the 3.5 to 4.5 mm.  I don't want them to be too stiff as it makes them a little uncomfortable.  For the back belt I would line it and be up in the 10 to 12oz range or 4mm to 5mm.  I also like them to come apart in the event I get hung up so the front belt is single ply 2mm to 3mm.

Some people like them heavier so...

As far as color I would go with a light oil finish and antique if you like.  

 

I might do some very simple tooling on the yokes but i'm not very good at tooling