Need advice on making buckle billets

[TarasEquineDesigns]

I'm not a leather worker but very crafty.  I would like to make leather billets like the ones in the attached photo.  What type of leather should I use (I don't want anything too heavy or thick) and what other materials/tools do I need?  They will need to look well made since they will be added to products in my business.  Any help will be appreciated.  Alternately, if anyone would like to make them for me I'd consider purchasing and attaching them myself.

[Bob Blea]

Hello and welcome to the Forum!

The answer probably depends on what they are being used for.  Are these belts for people or horses?

[TarasEquineDesigns]

They will be used for hatbands, bracelets and maybe eventually belts.

 

[Bob Blea]

If it were me, I would use a thin vegetable tan leather, around 2 oz thickness, for hatbands.  You can easily crease or tool that kind of leather with very little in the way of tools.  I'm not sure what you are planning to attach those billets to, but it looks like a braided or beaded band in your picture.  With that thin of leather you could probably machine sew with a home machine assuming it's not a really cheap one.  You could certainly hand sew that without much trouble, but with some practice.  The only other required tool would be a punch to make the holes for the buckle tongue.

If you up size to belts, a thicker leather would be in order but the process and tools wouldn't be much different, though sewing would become more work.

Bob