CelticPrint Report post Posted January 20, 2019 (edited) Broke my old belt after 5 years of daily use. Wife found these new belts for sale at 4-5 bucks a piece, they say "Genuine Leather" but the cat quickly found something else underneath. After just a quick scratch I was able to pull a very thin ply of some synthetic black material off of what feels like some kind of press board, like what 30 pack beer cartons are made out of. At this point since I saved my old hardware I'm going to make a new belt for less than 10 bucks out of veg tan but I'm left wondering, what are these belts made out of? Edited January 20, 2019 by CelticPrint Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
benlilly1 Report post Posted January 20, 2019 Interesting...you'll be better off with your own redo! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CelticPrint Report post Posted January 20, 2019 Right, the hardware alone would have cost me the same but I'll save that for a future project. I have a different buckle off an old "Guess" belt that you can reverse the buckle to use both sides of the belt, I'll emboss one side of the belt and leave the other side gloss black. It's a cool option on a buckle, let's you get two belts out of one piece of hardware. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jcuk Report post Posted January 20, 2019 This is a family friendly forum so i won't tell you what i think its made from, and you know what they say buy cheap buy twice. Hope this helps JCUK Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DJole Report post Posted January 20, 2019 (edited) Cheese...I think they are made out of cheese! They do indeed have genuine leather, but it's just a thin cosmetic layer to hide the cheese. Edited January 20, 2019 by DJole Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fredk Report post Posted January 20, 2019 If its anything similar to stuff I was given about 20 years ago; its reconstituted compressed card spray coated with a PVC liquid. A factory in Belfast which made similar closed down about 20 years ago and I was given a van load of belts. They were all marked 'Genuine Leather'. I used a load on toy shields then had the remainder burnt on a bonfire Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CelticPrint Report post Posted January 20, 2019 1 minute ago, fredk said: If its anything similar to stuff I was given about 20 years ago; its reconstituted compressed card spray coated with a PVC liquid. A factory in Belfast which made similar closed down about 20 years ago and I was given a van load of belts. They were all marked 'Genuine Leather'. I used a load on toy shields then had the remainder burnt on a bonfire That's pretty much what these feel like. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Matt S Report post Posted January 20, 2019 1 hour ago, CelticPrint said: Broke my old belt after 5 years of daily use. Wife found these new belts for sale at 4-5 bucks a piece, they say "Genuine Leather" but the cat quickly found something else underneath. After just a quick scratch I was able to pull a very thin ply of some synthetic black material off of what feels like some kind of press board, like what 30 pack beer cartons are made out of. At this point since I saved my old hardware I'm going to make a new belt for less than 10 bucks out of veg tan but I'm left wondering, what are these belts made out of? Does it t say "leather" anywhere on the belt itself? It may be that the dangler tag is the only piece that used to moo. I've found this myself, on very cheap shoes. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
benlilly1 Report post Posted January 20, 2019 49 minutes ago, Matt S said: Does it t say "leather" anywhere on the belt itself? It may be that the dangler tag is the only piece that used to moo. I've found this myself, on very cheap shoes. Ha! Good point! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NVLeatherWorx Report post Posted January 20, 2019 3 hours ago, CelticPrint said: Broke my old belt after 5 years of daily use. Wife found these new belts for sale at 4-5 bucks a piece, they say "Genuine Leather" but the cat quickly found something else underneath. After just a quick scratch I was able to pull a very thin ply of some synthetic black material off of what feels like some kind of press board, like what 30 pack beer cartons are made out of. At this point since I saved my old hardware I'm going to make a new belt for less than 10 bucks out of veg tan but I'm left wondering, what are these belts made out of? If you really want to know how these are made then I can lay it out for you but suffice it to say that there is absolutely NO leather elements on these belts at all. Even though the thin top layer/cover feels, looks, and sometimes even smells like leather, it ain't and there is no changing that fact. I would hazard a guess that even the "dangler" is made from an artificial material. These types of belts are so cheap to buy that it makes it a bit tougher to try and get anyone to listen to you about the advantage of buying a belt that you make so I have several commercially produced belts, some leather but most not, that I have with me to every show and market that I attend and I have partially disassembled each one to show the buyer how they are made. I even have big designer names on my example rack and they are not made as finely as one would believe. Most of the time the example rack experience gets the point across and it is a great thing when you can finally see that "the lights are on and somebody is home" but there are also those who couldn't find the switch if you put their hand on it for them and these dimwits will continue to think that there is still value in replacing their belt that is made from recycled cereal boxes every few months. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LatigoAmigo Report post Posted January 21, 2019 34 minutes ago, nstarleather said: This isn't to say that the company didn't just outright lie and label a complete synthetic as "genuine leather." This reminds me of something I've learned in advertising, that the seller could contend that it is a "printer's error." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alexis1234 Report post Posted January 21, 2019 I once found a brand new harness made out of this stuff at an auction... black top was peeling off the compressed layers of leather straps(it was not supposed to be patent leather).It looked like they had been covered in garbage bag material Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ragingstallion Report post Posted January 21, 2019 this is why putting "genuine leather" stamped into your goods will really screw you over. anything that has this on it, such as everything at walmart (belts, wallets and more) is made from this plastic coated faux-leather. if it says genuine leather, don't buy it. that's my thoughts on it. doesn't matter how much it is. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nrk Report post Posted January 21, 2019 what a crap Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JLSleather Report post Posted January 21, 2019 In the US (and I assume elsewhere is likely) they are also "sized" wrong. Marked 38, might actually be a 41. People actually will go back and buy another one after that junk falls apart, because they want the one that says 38 ... don't want to admit they are a 42. Everybody should have this figured by now. The REAL crime here is that apparently, 30 beers are already GONE ... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
utah leather Report post Posted January 21, 2019 Full Grain leather is the top of the leather chain, the best leather you can buy, Genuine Leather is ALMOST the crapiest leather on the market, it is the worst of the good leather that they glue together and make it look great ( just like a Full Grain belt ) but it is just layers of scraps that are glued together. Full grain leather is all 1 piece , nothing glued together, it is the purest leather you can buy it hasn't been altered or changed in any way but most people see the word GENUINE LEATHER and they think it is the good ( FULL GRAIN LEATHER ) stuff and then they see the price and that is what gets them. EVERYTHING IS ABOUT PRICE. The difference between GENUINE LEATHER and FULL GRAIN LEATHER is like the difference between a YUGO & a MERCEDES I'll spend the money and buy the mercedes. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. PRICE ISN'T EVERYTHING but QUALITY IS . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JLSleather Report post Posted January 21, 2019 uhhh.. I think you're referring to "bonded" leather Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
utah leather Report post Posted January 21, 2019 nope, bonded leather is the worst you can buy, they are both crap Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CelticPrint Report post Posted January 22, 2019 Hmm, very informative, thank you. On the inside of the belt it say's Made in China and I'm pretty sure it's just PVC sprayed over a press board filler. My wife and I usually avoid products from China because of them notoriously claiming one thing for another but she knew I needed a belt and 4 bucks was worth it to not to accidentally moon the neighbors while I shoveled us out of this past storm. I am going to re use the old hardware of the Guess belt and just make a real leather belt. Even the Guess belt was just two thin pieces of top grain glued over a nylon webbing but that at least lasted 5 years of solid abuse. I think I'll just reuse the hardware and make just a standard plain black leather belt. If I'm not entering a fashion contest and just using it to keep my pants up, would it be wrong to just cut a strap of 8oz leather 40 inches by 1 1/4 inches, attach the re purposed hardware and call it a day? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
