Choosing Strip Thickness For 2 Piece Gunbelt

[husker]

I am ordering some leather strips to make a gunbelt and am trying to figure out what thickness to go with for each section. This is just a basic 1 1/2" casual gunbelt. I was thinking along the lines of 4-5 oz per strip for a total 8-10 oz thickness but didn't know if this would thick enough or if the standard chicago screws would fit this. What size strips do you use for your gunbelts. Thanks

Edited November 9, 2011 by husker

[mattsh]

Typically a gun belt for carry is two strips of 7-8oz for a total of 14-16oz.

[Ethan]

Typically a gun belt for carry is two strips of 7-8oz for a total of 14-16oz.

I've read some makers saying on this forum that they do two layers of 6-7 oz. Presumably it depends on the weight of the gun, among other factors. Also, again just based on what I've read, using horsehide for one (or both) of the layers allows one to reduce the thickness somewhat, due to the greater stiffness of horsehide.

[lws380]

I use two strips of 6-7 oz. After glued and sewn it is good and stiff and close to nearly 1/4 inch thick. I offer 1.25 and 1.5 inches wide. The bigger the gun the wider the belt for extended carry. I wear a 1.25 inch side and it works fine for me even when carrying a larger gun. One thing about a 1.5 inch wide belt, it will not fit as many belt loops as a 1.25 inch belt. Typically, after a belt is secured and it goes through the keeper, the end of the belt goes through the first belt loop on the pants. When you have a quarter inch belt, now that loop has a .5 thick belt x 1.5 inches wide. That will not fit lots of pants, or at least it did not for me. 1.25 fit in more pants for me and I liked that it was a little more diverse than the 1.5 wide belt. If you use thicker leather, it will be even harder to fit!