I Made A Belt! :o)

[dkbutcher]

Nope, I'm not going to post pictures, I don't need feedback, I had a great time and it was a wonderful learning experience. It looks ok-ish from a distance but it is not pretty up close (and was the most simple you could make a belt in the first place). It was my first ever leather project and I was learning (and making mistakes) as I went so it was really a culmination of a bunch of small to medium errors.

But, it doesn't look too bad from a distance and it works and it's mine... so I love it! Anyhoo, I have a couple of questions that I think I've seen information about in snippets here and there in the past but I can't seem to find what I'm looking for (or more likely I'm using the wrong search terms).

The leather was some slightly discounted 7-8 oz. veg tan from Tandy. I did my best trying to find something that looked ok but I'm really pretty clueless. I couldn't tell you if it was good or bad or somewhere in the middle for quality.

There are two things that I would like to improve upon as far as the leather is concerned:

1. There are some areas on the belt that it is stiff and stays fairly straight and takes a bit of effort to bend while other spots want to bend all the time and are bordering on floppy. Generally, I would prefer that the belt be fairly flexible but also much more uniform in stiffness along the length of the belt. Do I use neatsfoot oil before doing anything to make it less stiff? Is there a way that I should cut it, a certain treatment, or a certain area of the hide that will make it uniform in stiffness to begin with?
   
2. All that I have done for treatment is Sno-Seal and it seems that it is prone to getting little dents when I put it through the buckle. What sort of final treatment would help to surface harden the belt without making it stiff? I would like to minimize the number of easy scratches and little dings if possible.
   

Thanks in advance for help/advice. I'm hooked... it felt magical to see the transformation when I applied the dye, did the burnishing, etc. I had to look over my shoulder to see if there were unicorns and rainbows in the room too

Dave

[mlapaglia]

You forgot to post pictures of your belt. How can we heap praise upon you with out a picture?

Sounds like your leather is cut from the belly or the neck. The shoulder, and back are great places for leather for belts. Good firmness and no floopy parts. Have you put any neetsfoot oil on the belt at all?

Michael

[dkbutcher]

I'm going to save picture taking for later efforts (but it's nice to have a group at the ready for praise heaping)

Hmmm, it was probably down close to the belly. I will have to start from the other end on my next one (I have a strap cutter that should be here today). And no, I didn't put any neetsfoot oil on it at all but it is in the package that is supposed to arrive today too so I'll have to put some on before I put anything else on (I guess). The whole treatments/finishes thing is a bit overwhelming and frustrating because there doesn't appear to be much consensus on what works, what to use for different desired results, or what is best.

Dave

[Ski]

No pics = it didn't happen

[dkbutcher]

No pics = it didn't happen

That's what I'm counting on... hiding the evidence

[Dwight]

dkbutcher, . . . the first thing you want to do to "learn" the belt craft, . . . is go to Tandy and buy a belt blank.

You obviously bought a "cheap" piece of leather, . . . and as mlapaglia said, . . . probably some neck or butt and some belly, . . . maybe was cut around the cow instead of the length.

Start out with their blank belt straps, . . . punch your own holes, . . . don't use snaps (it's a bad habit to break), . . . put em together with Chicago screws, . . . buy good buckles, . . . measure it so the middle hole to the outside of the belt buckle is the dimension of your waist or your customer's waist.

Also, . . . punch 7 holes for adjustment instead of 5 (like at Walmart), . . .

Very few belts need neetsfoot oil to start with, . . . dye it and use one of the Tandy finishes, . . . I personally prefer Resolene, diluted to a 50/50 mix with water.

Ask questions, . . . challenge yourself, . . . practice, . . . have fun.

May God bless,

Dwight

[Ski]

That's what I'm counting on... hiding the evidence

haha!

Pretty much all leather will dint and scratch really, but you will find it will buff out. The stiffness will eventually disappear too. Obviously this is not as it should be, but for your first belt you can turn a blind eye to it. Everyone will tell you a different finish to use. Resolene might be best to stop the dints and scratches, although I find using carnauba crème gives me a very nice aged look that is not too shiny, and I like the dints and scratches. The first scratches hurt a lot, then by the time its all scratched up it looks the part, and when you re-treat the leather and buff it, usually its as good as new Sno-Seal is pretty over the top I think as its waterproofing, which may not be that necessary for a belt.

I too was drawn to this hobby because of a need for a real belt, something I could use as a strop in the field.

[dkbutcher]

Thanks for the feedback!

I'll probably keep making my own blanks for now and see if the leather improves as I move up towards the back area. If someone (a friend) wants a really good belt (if I'm still not getting good leather) then I'll snag a blank from Springfield (Tandy is a couple of hours from me so it's cheaper to pay shipping and shop in my boxers ). Any advice on where to get good buckles? I have a couple coming from Springfield tomorrow (I thought it was supposed to be here today but... newp) so I'll see how I like them but if you have a source that definitely has better buckles then I'm all ears. I'm definitely wanting to know where to find good quality tools and hardware. I'm in a flight towards quality.

Ironically I can get belts from work (we have uniforms) that are really pretty good pieces of leather and are basically the same as the plain one that I just made (but the leather is thicker). The belt that I made was about 1 1/4" wide to better fit in smaller belt loops on my hiking pants, the work belts are about 1 3/4". I'm actually going to SnoSeal my work belts because they take a lot of abuse out in the woods in Florida (heat/humidity/water/sweat/smoke from fires/etc) and yes, I have sweated a belt white before (salt from my sweat drying on the belt and on my boots). I've got carnauba cream and resolene so I'll try both of them on different belts and start figuring out what I like best.

I learned a lot from this first belt and I'm looking forward to my next one. The best part is that even with all of the little mistakes that I made in the first one it will still be a good belt to use and I'll wear it with pride for a long, long time.

Dave

[NicoleAlaine]

Hi Dave, congrats on your first project! It is exhillerating isn't it? You will definitely get lots of input on what kind of finishing to do. For myself, I like to do a VERY light neetsfoot oiling before dying, dye the piece, oil it again (more heavily this time), finish with Angelus Acrylic Finisher (I have heard great things about the Resolene too, I'm sure it's great), spray with something like Sno-Seal, and then apply another thick coat of oil to finish it (letting dry thouroughly between steps of course). I find that after the final coat of oil the piece should be supple and move nicely (I work it in my fingers to get it moving like you would a baseball glove) and the finish protects it from those minor dents. My projects are mostly dog collars that get a lot of abuse, and oily fur, so the color darkens considerably with time, but the condition only improves with use and regular cleaning.

As for the floppy and stiff parts I have had that experience too to a degree. I use double shoulders (not belly or butt) and still have had that problem. Usually for me I will have a stiff end and a floppy end. Usually the flesh side of the floppy end is very rough/soft, like carpet pile, and the flesh on the stiff side is very rough/hard, like sandpaper. I try to avoid using the really soft floppy parts of a hide on belts/collars if I can, usually only needing to use them for a 6' long leash or something like that where I need the whole lenght of the hide.

Hope that helps! Check out the Dyes, stains, etc forum section here for lots of opinions and TONS of helpful resources http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showforum=18

[mlapaglia]

FYI, The floppy part of a shoulder or double shoulder is the neck end. That part of the hide gets a lot of movement so it is more flexible than the area over the shoulder or rump. With experience and practice you can learn to avoid those area for projects you need the firmness on.

I have the same problem when I get a side. Had to learn what was what when looking at a side. easy once you figure it out.

Michael

[NicoleAlaine]

Michael, that is really good to know about the neck part of the hide, and it makes perfect sense. Thanks for sharing!

[dkbutcher]

Ahhhhh, that would make sense. Thank you both! Belt number 2 is this weekend and it is going to have pics this time... I promise