Seeking hand braider for small production run — veg tan leather belts

[Guest Oliver Lyman]

I’m launching a small brand called Lyman Goods and looking for a skilled hand braider for an initial run of 50 belts, with the intention of an ongoing relationship as the brand grows.

The work:
Multi-ply hand-braided belt blanks from vegetable-tanned leather strips, approximately 1” finished width. The leather will be sourced separately (targeting Hermann Oak or Wickett & Craig) and supplied to the maker. Assembly and finishing — attaching the buckle, burnishing edges — can be discussed depending on your capabilities and interest.

What I’m looking for:
    ∙    Saddlery or braiding background — this is a traditional skill, not a craft project
    ∙    Consistent work across a production run; uniformity matters
    ∙    Ability to advise on strip width, ply count, and leather weight based on your experience
    ∙    Based in New England ideally, but open to the right maker anywhere in the US

About the brand:
Lyman Goods is a heritage goods brand. The belt is the first product. The reference point is the braided leather belts common in New England prep culture in the 90s. The goal is to make a version of that object with fully domestic materials and production.
First run is 50 belts. This is the beginning of something, not a one-off job. The goal is to produce additional runs subject to demand.

If this sounds like work you do or know someone who does, I’d welcome a conversation.

Oliver
oliver@lymangoods.com

[nstarleather]

You have pictures of the finished product?  How are you finishing the buckle and hole ends?  
Or are you wanting the design/prototyping work as well? “Burnished edges”on a braided belt is a little strange on the surface… are you wanting each strand finished and burnished?  If that’s the case you’re looking at absurd amounts of labor even if burnishing with machines.

[Guest Oliver Lyman]

sI don't have pictures unfortunately. I would be interested in design and prototyping work as well. There are no holes, the buckle goes through the braid itself. For the buckle end, I don't have a strong opinion; I was imagining a small piece of leather to wrap the bar and enclose the end of the braid, but am open to other approaches. Your point about having to burnish every strand is well taken, I don't think any burnishing is needed for this project.

[AlZilla]

Oliver Lyman, may I suggest you sign up for an account? Currently each of your posts require moderator approval, which slows things down for you. Also, if you have an account, you should get an email when someone replies to your posts. 

Just a thought.

[Oliver Lyman]

Thanks for the suggestion. Hopefully this works better.

[AlZilla]

6 hours ago, Oliver Lyman said:

Thanks for the suggestion. Hopefully this works better.

Nice. Welcome aboard. Now go look in your settings and be sure you're set to receive an email when someone responds to a thread you're subscribed to.

Good luck with the new venture.

This link should get you there and then play with "Mentions And My Content" and (I think) "My Content";

https://leatherworker.net/forum/notifications/options/

 

[nstarleather]

On 3/28/2026 at 4:38 AM, Guest Oliver Lyman said:

sI don't have pictures unfortunately. I would be interested in design and prototyping work as well. There are no holes, the buckle goes through the braid itself. For the buckle end, I don't have a strong opinion; I was imagining a small piece of leather to wrap the bar and enclose the end of the braid, but am open to other approaches. Your point about having to burnish every strand is well taken, I don't think any burnishing is needed for this project.

Cool, it's not my kind of work so I wouldn't do it but it's very very very hard to find the kind of multi-strand belt made to a high quality standard...It's partially because the "buckle through the braid belt" is just inherently not going to last.  There's a reason none of the big USA makers do braided belts like that (Hanks, Bullhide, etc).

This is the one I found that seems to have thick enough strands to actually last: https://atorie.com/products/braided-leather-belt-3-cm

Your best bet for longevity would be a mystery braid like this: https://www.yoderleather.com/products/braided-brown-casual-belt

Hanks also makes one.

However for mystery braid you'd be looking at roughly $1000+ per cutting die (per size) to make one that looks good. I did them at one point with the idea of leaving the "tail" extra long and sizing based on that but most people didn't like the lack of symmetry across sizes.  To do it right you'd really want each size to have a different length of braid so it's all the same for the buckle end vs the tail.  

Just my two cents.

[Oliver Lyman]

Thank you Mike, this is all very helpful information and I appreciate you taking the time to share your insights.