Members pogue44 Posted April 12, 2016 Members Report Posted April 12, 2016 Does anyone know anybody who can make custom Damascus steel belt buckles? Looking for artisan/ high quality rather than off the shelf types... Found one source here http://www.snmetalworks.com/belt_buckles.html and a couple of these buckles look about like the style I am looking for. I have e-mailed and waiting for a response now. Just thought I would check here to see if anyone knew of any knife makers, etc... that might also be able to produce buckles as well. In addition to 1 1/2" and 1 1/4" belt buckles I might also be interested in commissioning some 1" buckles for satchels/ messenger bags. I only need a couple so not looking for a large quantity for now. Thanks in advance for any help. Quote
Members Martyn Posted April 12, 2016 Members Report Posted April 12, 2016 There's probably quite a few who could do it, but I'd be sitting down when you get the quote, it's likely to be into the $100's per buckle. Something to consider is that the majority of Damascus is carbon steel - it'll rust. You can get stainless Damascus, but welding stainless steel is tricky and those who can do it, will charge more for it. You might get something more affordable by looking at Damascus made in India. It tends to be a mixture of carbon steel and mild steel and is generally much cheaper than Damascus made in the west. Quote
Members pogue44 Posted April 12, 2016 Author Members Report Posted April 12, 2016 Hey thanks a lot. Your input really helps. The fellow from the link e-mailed me back and said he charges approx $350 for a 1 1/4" belt buckle. That is pretty much way out of my budget. Probably cheaper to buy sterling silver buckles. The fellow over at Equus leather seems to have a Japanese source I will probably contact him also to see if I might be able to get some further insight. Thanks again. Quote
Members Martyn Posted April 12, 2016 Members Report Posted April 12, 2016 Honestly, I think you'll be lucky to find anything under $200/buckle outside of India. Quote
Members Martyn Posted April 12, 2016 Members Report Posted April 12, 2016 (edited) 5 hours ago, pogue44 said: The fellow over at Equus leather seems to have a Japanese source I will probably contact him also to see if I might be able to get some further insight. Just looked at Equus, their basic 'West End' belts are £75BP and their Damascus belts look the same except for the buckle and are £240BP. Looks like you are buying a £75 belt with a £165 ($235 US) buckle on it. Equus probably aren't paying that much for them, but there wont be much of a mark-up in the buckles for them. You probably have to buy 20 buckles to get em for $100 each or something. Probably the cheapest way to do it, is to buy an annealed blank billet of stainless Damascus and make your own buckle. You could do it with some files, a blow torch and a Dremel. Edited April 12, 2016 by Martyn Quote
Members Matt S Posted April 12, 2016 Members Report Posted April 12, 2016 Or you could consider mokume gane. It's the nonferrous equivalent of pattern welded ("Damascus") steel. Quote
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