First Gun Belt

[Steven Kelley]

I make holsters as a second full time job. I've had many belt requests, but just do not have time to add them to my offerings. However, I needed a new belt to go with a holster I'm making for my new DW VBOB, so decided to make it myself. It's a true 1/4" thick x 1.5" wide with full shark on the front, cowhide on the back. I laminated the shark to some thin leather (maybe 3 oz), to get the overall thickness I needed. If you see something that needs improvement, please let me know, this is my first belt.

[Phatdaddy]

Please send it to me for a thorough inspection, I'll give you a full assessment in 3-5 years

Very nice!

Cheers,

Kevin

[Rayban]

I would say you hit a home run with it....very nice.

[malabar]

Very nicely done. Good edges, clean stitching. The buckle appears to have some texture to it -- but that could be the photo.

You would probably get more feedback posting in the holster forum.

Where did you get the sharkskin?

tk

Edited March 11, 2012 by malabar

[Steven Kelley]

Very nicely done. Good edges, clean stitching. The buckle appears to have some texture to it -- but that could be the photo.

You would probably get more feedback posting in the holster forum.

Where did you get the sharkskin?

tk

Thanks. The buckel does have some texture. The shark skin came bro Roje Leather.

[Rayban]

Steven, looks like the shark skin goes right to the very edge....does it burnish well along with the cow hide?

[Steven Kelley]

Steven, looks like the shark skin goes right to the very edge....does it burnish well along with the cow hide?

Yes, it did burnish well. This is the first belt I've made, but I've used a lot of shark in the past as trim on holsters. On many of those hides, the wrinkles were raised a lot more than this piece. The taller wrinkles make edging and burnishing a lot harder. This hide has smaller/shorter wrinkles, and everything I've used it for has been very easy to edge and burnish. The only problem with shark is you never know what you are getting until you open the box. The Shark is laminated to a 3oz piece of cowhide, then that is laminated to a 6/7 piece, so the total thickness is right at 1/4". Roje Leather has quite a few pieces of shark right now.

[Rayban]

Roje Leather has quite a few pieces of shark right now.

Are most of them long enough to make a belt with?

Thanks for sharing your knowledge...I've been asked to "consider" making a shark skin belt.

RG

[Steven Kelley]

Are most of them long enough to make a belt with?

Thanks for sharing your knowledge...I've been asked to "consider" making a shark skin belt.

RG

Some are and some aren't. The hide I used was approximately 12 sqft, and it has 2 long "arms" that are about 60" long x 7" wide. Several strips can be cut from each of those arms. I have had some hides that were not long enough for a belt. Usually Roje posts pictures of the actual hide you are buying, and you can gauge by the shape whether it will work for your needs or not. They have several listed on ebay, which is where I purchased this particular hide.

[antipaladin]

Nice!

[Dallas Cowboy]

How did you laminate it to the cow hide?

[Steven Kelley]

How did you laminate it to the cow hide?

Sorry for the late reply. I haven't checked this thread for a while.

The shark is laminated to a thin piece of cowhide (approximately 3-4 oz). Once the shark is laminated to the thin cow, that strip is laminated to a strip of 6/7oz. I use Weldwood contact cement (regular, not the "gel"). Once all 3 layers are together, trim the edges, stitch, etc.