My latest concealed carry belt.

[Grunt]

I recently finished this belt. This kind of pre-production model as I am trying a few new features and finishes.

This belt is basically a concealed carry belt. It is constructed from two layers of leather which I saddle stitched by hand. The top layer is 8oz. Wickett and Craig Chestnut bridle leather lined with 8-10oz. Wickett and Craig Natural saddle skirting. Both Buckles are brass and will be included with each belt. The keeper is kept in place with two rows of double stitching.

Thanks for looking and questions or comments are always welcome.

Regards,

Nick

[Noah]

You did a fine job on this. Are the 2 screws through by the keeper chicago screws? I know that's most likely a dumb question but was making sure.

[Grunt]

You did a fine job on this. Are the 2 screws through by the keeper chicago screws? I know that's most likely a dumb question but was making sure.

Thanks for the kind words! Yes those are chicago screws, I like them better than snaps!

[Don101]

Grunt that is a nice made belt, and hand stitched too, i like the color and finish you have, very profesional looking,

i noticed on the last pic though that you have stitched across the belt is that to hold the keeper is so stitch it along the belt as i could cause a weak point like a perferated stamp, or stitch the keeper together and slide it over the belt and secure it between the posts it wont move, Don

[Noah]

Thanks grunt. I have made a few belts and used decorative rapid rivets. I have regular and decorative chicago screws thought so may try that. I mostly make dog collars {spike or whatever someone wants} & horse tack. I'll have to post a pic of the parade breast collar I made to match a friend's vintage parade saddle. I'll put it in the show your work off section I guess. I also re-fleeced that saddle with real shearling golden fleece. I had never done that before and although it wasn't perfect, it worked well. Watch for the pic. Her son is about 9 I think and autistic. He was so proud to be in the parade with us.

[ArtS]

That is one sturdy belt Nick. That will last a life time. Nice clean job.

ArtS

[Shorts]

Great belt Grunt! Love the style!

I also wanted to echo Don's comments about stitching across the width of the belt. It'll be a bit stronger area, and quicker to just stitch along the edges of the belt to secure the keeper.

[Bree]

I'm new here but I just wanted to say that is one fine looking gunbelt. Great work. You will be able to support any handgun with that belt... no doubt about it.

I was wondering... do you ever skive the tongues of your belts? My other question was did you glue the two layers before sewing and if so what glue did you use to bond the layers?

I also wanted to say that Don's comment about stitching across the belt snapped me right to attention. What an excellent observation! I never noticed that or even thought about it. I don't think those particular holes across will cause any problems but Don's suggestion is certainly an eye-opener. I have a gunbelt very similar to the one you made in process right now for myself. I have cut the two strips of leather and I am getting ready to bond them. I am going to rethink the attachment of the keeper as I planned to do it basically the same way.

It's funny because I often tell my patch customers that every hole put into leather is permanent and creates weakness in the leather. So I always remind myself to be real careful about how many holes, their angle (using leather needles), direction, and placement to avoid excessively weakening a garment's leather.

A little aside about holes in leather... I had a guy a couple of weeks ago who brought in a leather vest which his girlfriend tried to sew a patch on with a home sewing machine. She is a seamstress and she set the stitch length to something like 16 or 20 stitches per inch. In some places the holes bunched up and the stitch length was even less!! He had removed the patch because it was crooked and he wanted it properly aligned.

My first reaction was "Wow! This looks just like computer paper perf." I was afraid that the whole piece of leather might just punch right out especially if I resewed the patch near the existing holes. We finally decided to put a much larger patch over that whole area and bond it all with glue to help allow the patch to reinforce the damage that she had done to her boyfriend's vest.

Anyways... great job on the belt. I like it a lot.

[Grunt]

I was wondering... do you ever skive the tongues of your belts? My other question was did you glue the two layers before sewing and if so what glue did you use to bond the layers?

Bree,

Thanks for the kind words. I am sorry I didn't see this sooner, been busy with work.

I use Barge cement to bond the two layers together then sew. I have used it in several belts to date with no problems. If there is a better solution then I would like to know about it so that I can make an even better belt.

As far as the stitching across the width of the belt, I have read Al Stohlman's Hand Sewing book also. Even though I am going to use another method of attaching the keeper on future belts, I went with this method for this belt after some thought. One was that the stress being placed on a belt, even one being used to carry a large handgun in a holster, spare magazines, cell phone and possibly a pair of handcuffs, would not be from such a direction as to cause a tear "like a postage stamp" where it was stitched. Secondly if you look at mens leather belts in most clothing stores they are stitched across the width of the belt to hold the buckle on. I have owned several cheap store bought leather belts for long enough for them to wear out and none of them has ever torn in the stitched across area and these were single layer belts. Either way I am going to use another method in the future. Besides I am going to be wearing this belt myself so if it does fail it will be while I am wearing it. And if that happens all I will be able to do is grin and bear it, that's why it is a pre-production model.

I do appreciate peoples comments especially when they are constructive like the ones posted in this thread. I have learned a lot from folks here and I hope to one day be helpful as well.

Regards,

Nick