Finishing The Backside Of Belts

[Paxton]

Paxton,

I use to get all my leather from the local Leather Factory store (owned by Tandy), but I would have to spend hours going through their stuff to find decent leather. I have also purchased good leather from a big saddle shop here in Chattanooga, but I have to also pick through it to get what I want.

The best suggestion I have gotten for smoother backsides came from a top leather guy (Chuck Burrows) from www.cascity.com . What he does is order his stuff from Wickett and Craig, but to insure that he gets a smoother backside, he orders a thicker piece than what he needs and has them split it to the thickness he wants. Chuck states that the backsides he gets by ordering this way are almost always perfectly smooth. I'm pretty sure that they split it for free.

Another trick I have used is to sand the backside with very fine sandpaper (sometimes as fine as 600 grit). This helps make it pretty smooth. This doesn't work if the leather is too furry to start with, though. After I put Stain Sheen on the backside, I buff it pretty good with a clean cloth and this seems to burnish it pretty smooth.

Mongo-

I super appreciate you posting back this information. This is exactly what I needed. Never thought of ordering a thicker grade and the fact that it could be split down to help with the fuzzyness. I already looked up Wickett and Craig and they look like a great source for ordering my leather. I am going to contact them later this week and see what they can do for me. I have also tried sanding but like you said when it is very fuzzy there is not much you can do. Again i appreciate the info!

Paxton---

[luke213]

Mongo-

I super appreciate you posting back this information. This is exactly what I needed. Never thought of ordering a thicker grade and the fact that it could be split down to help with the fuzzyness. I already looked up Wickett and Craig and they look like a great source for ordering my leather. I am going to contact them later this week and see what they can do for me. I have also tried sanding but like you said when it is very fuzzy there is not much you can do. Again i appreciate the info!

Paxton---

On leather I've had really great luck with Springfield Leather, you can get Hermann Oak there which should have a nice napp on the back of the leather.

www.springfieldleather.com They are also a sponsor of the forum but they have some of the best customer service I've ever received.

Good luck!

Luke

[Paxton]

On leather I've had really great luck with Springfield Leather, you can get Hermann Oak there which should have a nice napp on the back of the leather.

www.springfieldleather.com They are also a sponsor of the forum but they have some of the best customer service I've ever received.

Good luck!

Luke

Thanks Luke! I will definitely check them out also and look into the Herman Oak. Just browsed there site and looks like they have a good selection of leather. Thanks again.

Paxton---