belts belts and more belts

[Wedgetail]

Made these dress belts for some customers. 25mm and 38mm.

The leather is vegetable tanned with a pigment coating. Looks really nice and consistent in finish, but won't be as durable as an aniline finish I know. Still, these belts were about price point.

[OLDNSLOW]

the belts look nice, however one thing that does sort of jump out at me, and others might comment on, is the size of the holes that you chose to use.  Just my thinking is that a smaller size would bring less attention to them as well as lessen the potential as a week point in the belt.  Now I do like the keepers and would like to know where you located those?  I have used some in the past as well with a high polish nickel plate and not the satin look that those have.  I have searched for them with not much luck.  Over all nice job but again just the size of the hole, maybe one size smaller would do the job and a little more brown dye on a q tip on the brown belt. 

[Wedgetail]

Hmm, I see  what you are saying. On the 25mm belts the holes do jump out at you. Hadn't really noticed it before. Haha

The buckles and keepers I got from Adelaide saddlery and  leather... took me a long time to find something I liked this much!

Their sales and service were great too.

http://www.adelaideleather.com.au/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=49

[Wedgetail]

The only downside is those  25mm keepers aren't an 'exact' match, their  plating is something different... but it works ok for the appearance.

[OLDNSLOW]

Ya I think I gonna need to keep looken for em it would probably just as bad as you fellers ordering from the states just in reverse. 

[Wedgetail]

Hahaha, worse I'd say... you'd have to pay the Australia tax, where everything costs 30% more than it does anywhere else in the world for the equivalent money.

Take tandy for instance. Convert the USD to AUD for the same product in the states, and you get an AUD equivalent. Then we add about 30% more on top of that. It holds true for a number of items there I have compared.

Then we add GST (another 10% tax)  and then finally we get to the shipping fee as usual.

Shipping from Oz is ludicrous too. I sent a bookmark to the UK a few weeks ago. Cost me $27 for standard post. And that  was the cheapest I could find.

[RockyAussie]

Just a note on the keepers. The smokey look looks OK when new but in my experience it is a paint type finish that does not hold up well against scratching. A proper brushed nickel finish holds up way better. Wedgetail I f your up this way I have a lot of buckles and keepers in this finish that I will not use and you can have if you want. They cost a bit more but check out Harry at Mr Buckleshttp://www.mrbuckles.com.au/index.html

If the quantity is a problem let me know. Oh for that thickness leather the holes are fine in my opinion.

[Wedgetail]

Thanks mate, I'm still experimenting with these things and trying to find products that I'm happy with both the durability and aesthetic.

I am always looking for more hardware though! So yes, that would be great. I can cover shipping costs etc to Brisbane if that's an option?

Thanks for the feedback, and the supplier details.

[AussieMade]

11 hours ago, Wedgetail said:

Thanks mate, I'm still experimenting with these things and trying to find products that I'm happy with both the durability and aesthetic.

I am always looking for more hardware though! So yes, that would be great. I can cover shipping costs etc to Brisbane if that's an option?

Thanks for the feedback, and the supplier details.

Crispin Leather at Wooloowin have a great range of buckles as well (Largest range in QLD or Australia, cant remember which one it is). Really nice people to deal with. Not too much in leather wise but they can order anything in, but heaps of precut belt lengths and heaps of tools. Spent another $45 on tools today. Only open to the public on Wednesdays (full day) and Thursdays (half a day).

[impulse]

Nice job, but I want to point out a common error when sewing on buckles and keepers.  You have stitched across the width of the belts which results in weakened points - a bit like perforations for tearing off stamps or part of a document. It is much better (but more difficult) to have the stitching in 2 rows parallel with the length of the belt. A top brand, R.M.Williams, is guilty of this now that RM has passed; he would be turning in his grave!

Regarding hole size, I agree with oldnslow. When choosing the right punch to use, find a size that will fit the tongue of the buckle, then use a size smaller as most punches have tapered profiles. Holes too big also endanger the strength of the leather.

Cheers, Lois

[Wedgetail]

9 hours ago, AussieMade said:

Crispin Leather at Wooloowin have a great range of buckles as well (Largest range in QLD or Australia, cant remember which one it is). Really nice people to deal with. Not too much in leather wise but they can order anything in, but heaps of precut belt lengths and heaps of tools. Spent another $45 on tools today. Only open to the public on Wednesdays (full day) and Thursdays (half a day).

Thanks mate, will be hard for me to get to at those times... but may be worth a shot!

I'll have a look.

[Wedgetail]

Thanks for the feedback, Lois.

How would you go about stitching in a metal keeper like this, if not across the width as I have done here?

I know I could rivet it, or use chicago screws, but I really prefer the aesthetic of stitching.

[AussieMade]

I stitch across the belt infront and behind the keeper, works good, but some dont seem to like stitching across the belt. but rivets either side and stick along the belt up to the keeper either side is the other way I have done it.

[Wedgetail]

Hmmm. I tell you what, I'd love to see if anyone has done some destructive testing to see just how much difference it makes to the strength.

[AussieMade]

2 hours ago, Wedgetail said:

Hmmm. I tell you what, I'd love to see if anyone has done some destructive testing to see just how much difference it makes to the strength.

I can say that mine are holding up really well against a dog the pulls like a freight train. and not even budged the stitching or rivets  

[Wedgetail]

On 23/09/2016 at 8:21 PM, AussieMade said:

I can say that mine are holding up really well against a dog the pulls like a freight train. and not even budged the stitching or rivets  

Hahahaha! Well that's positive

That's all the destructive testing evidence I need!

[AussieMade]

1 hour ago, Wedgetail said:

Hahahaha! Well that's positive

That's all the destructive testing evidence I need!

Yep, the dad has been tested to 400kg pulling strength, and the son is a lot bigger and has heap more strength. Going to make his collar this week while out camping.

This is the dad and the collar I made. (not the best pic will get a better one soon)

This is the son

[Wedgetail]

On 23/09/2016 at 8:21 PM, AussieMade said:

11 hours ago, AussieMade said:

Yep, the dad has been tested to 400kg pulling strength, and the son is a lot bigger and has heap more strength. Going to make his collar this week while out camping.

This is the dad and the collar I made. (not the best pic will get a better one soon)

This is the son

 

Yep, that's a good test case! Haha

Better than I could do swinging off the end of it from the clothes line!

Camping, now that's a great idea. Need to do that more often.

[silverwingit]

I'm a tad surprised no one has mentioned your edge treatments, or lack thereof.

Little touches like carefully finished edges are what separate a high-quality hand-made belt from those churned out in a factory somewhere offshore. For me, the glitz of fancy buckles are mere distractions from the absence of fine workmanship. I'd opt for good, solid construction and a simple buckle  Add the fancy buckle and keepers after you have nailed proper construction techniques. Look at Nige's belts for examples of what I'm talking about.

At least that's the way I see it,

Michelle

[Wedgetail]

14 hours ago, silverwingit said:

I'm a tad surprised no one has mentioned your edge treatments, or lack thereof.

Little touches like carefully finished edges are what separate a high-quality hand-made belt from those churned out in a factory somewhere offshore. For me, the glitz of fancy buckles are mere distractions from the absence of fine workmanship. I'd opt for good, solid construction and a simple buckle  Add the fancy buckle and keepers after you have nailed proper construction techniques. Look at Nige's belts for examples of what I'm talking about.

At least that's the way I see it,

Michelle

Good feedback Michelle, thanks.

The edges are bevelled and burnished with gum trag, though I did not edge dye them.

It was intentional, to see what the product looks like when finished with contrasting edges... which is similar to a lot of my other projects, where I take extra care to ensure the backs are left natural with no accidental dye marks or smudges, and finished with a waterproofing sealant. Then i burnish the edges natural as well for a seamless transition... with something like a phone wallet, the contrast looks really nice.

As for belts, it's an experiment... the brown belt, I like it in some ways, not in others.... probably not as much as my other projects! The black certainly could use a little more dye though.

Here is an example of some of my other projects with natural edges: