First belt

[CruserC]

Hello all. This is the first belt I have made. It was cut from a side of Wicket&Craig 8-10 oz Vegetable Tan, which is very nice to work with by the way. I needed a belt to carry the weight of my full sized .45 and decided to go the double thick route. I do not have a strap cutter so this was cut out with various straight edges and my trusty Utility Knife. The Stitching Irons I used are the Tandy Leather Pro line and during the process I wished I had used some with a little wider spacing between the teeth. I used the irons on one side of the belt, glued the pieces together and finished the stitching holes with a diamond awl. I counted 5 stitches that I had messed up on but hardly noticeable unless someone is actually inspecting the stitching. It was dyed with Black Fiebing's Pro Dye, conditioned with Aussie Leather Conditioner and finished with 50/50 Rosolene/Water. Overall I am happy with it, since it is my sixth project in leather. 

@Edit: Forgot to add that I burnished the edges with water, then Beeswax/Parafine Wax/Neetsfoot Oil that I mixed myself.

Edited July 12, 2018 by CruserC

[alpha2]

Very nice! That should hold your gun, and another gun, and a couple of double mag carriers! How long did it take you to stitch it? 

You can see why strap cutters are so popular, now. 

Jeff

[garypl]

That’s a very nice looking belt and should last a long time!

Gary

[CruserC]

10 minutes ago, alpha2 said:

Very nice! That should hold your gun, and another gun, and a couple of double mag carriers! How long did it take you to stitch it? 

You can see why strap cutters are so popular, now. 

Jeff

Thank you kindly. I took my time while watching Gotham so there was not a steady workflow going. Eight hours of stitching with various distractions would be about what it took to complete it. I was pretty focused on the last quarter of it and took around two hours for that part. My stitching efficiency is severely lacking and probably only get about two stitches per minute.

[Handstitched]

G'Day, That looks ' noice '   A good quality belt that will last for ever. 

You mention an Aussie conditioner , does that mean you're an Aussie ?  

Don't worry about  messing up a few  stitches, I've messed up my fair share, and no doubt I'll mess up many more . I was told by a friend that made custom made quilts as  I was showing her  my sewing machine skills on a belt  and I said to her  that  "   a few stitches are a bit wonky " . She said, "Don't worry,  they're called ' humanity stitches '  "   

Our individuality is in everything we make.  

HS

Edited July 16, 2018 by Handstitched

[CruserC]

Thank you for the kind words all. Anyone have some insight on why the dye did not take to some spots on the edges where the two pieces of leather meet?
@Handstitched. Not Aussie, I am from America. Though I have always wanted to take a trip there... hah! The conditioner is Fiebing's Aussie Leather Conditioner and does a pretty good job of hydrating the leather, in my humble opinion. 
 

[Handstitched]

G'Day,

From my own experience on occasion, I have experienced dye not soaking in, or not taking for some odd reason in one particular spot, leaving a noticeable, almost shiny   " blotch" (?) Sometime the size of a match head or a 5 cent piece . Its either, something in the leather itself, or a stray  bit of oil  or sealer( from my messy bench no doubt)  has somehow got onto somewhere where  you don't want it. 

This is  a very crude way I've dealt with it. I gently 'rough up' the spot with the very tip of my sharp  knife,  not too deep, but just enough to remove the ' shine' , and then using a cue tip ( ear bud) or a small brush, dab a little dye on the spot, and finish of with  a bit of persuasive burnishing or polishing etc. .   

 

HS 

[Mattsbagger]

On edges a lot of time it’s glue you didn’t get sanded off. Glue makes a great resist for dye.lol

[CruserC]

That makes sense. I only sanded enough to even up the edges. Was getting edgy (pun intended) about finishing it hah!

[Lavinia]

Looks good!