Tried my hand at a tooled belt... What do you think?

[AzShooter]

Very nice job.  Tooling looks great.  

[YinTx]

18 hours ago, Scootch said:

Really nice job.  

I've tooled one belt for a 36" waist and have about 15 hours of work in the belt including 7.5 hours of hand stitching.  I might could move a little faster now but the dread of hand stitching has prevented me from making another.  I'm not sure how anyone could come out selling products with much sewing without buying a sewing machine.

Again, nice job.

Scootch

thank you, and what you say is true, lot of time goes into hand stitching.  No real way to make volume profit without a sewing machine!

3 hours ago, AzShooter said:

Very nice job.  Tooling looks great.  

Appreciate it!

YinTx

[Dwight]

On 4/20/2020 at 4:51 PM, YinTx said:

As it says, I finally sat down and got over my fear of tooling belts.  It was a whole lot of tracing, cutting, beveling etc etc.  Not sure I enjoyed the process, but I'll have to try it again to make sure.  

I had originally planned to line it and stitch it, but the tooling got a bit close to the edge on the tip, so that got ruled out.

Wickett and Craig leather, Montana Silversmith buckle, all made in USA!  What do you all think?

YinTx

 

If we lived close enough we could make a good living together, . . . I'd sew, . . . you'ld tool, . . . and we'd share the profits.

Seriously, . . . really good looking work, . . . far, far beyond my present or anticipated skill level.  Making holsters,  . . . CCW   belts, . . . that's my game.

May God bless,

Dwight

[YinTx]

21 minutes ago, Dwight said:

If we lived close enough we could make a good living together, . . . I'd sew, . . . you'ld tool, . . . and we'd share the profits.

Seriously, . . . really good looking work, . . . far, far beyond my present or anticipated skill level.  Making holsters,  . . . CCW   belts, . . . that's my game.

May God bless,

Dwight

I've admired your work for some time, so your compliment means a lot, even if it is somewhat undeserved, I sincerely appreciate it!

I've been wanting to tool a holster for some time now, but no one has asked so far... just would be for my personal collection.  Would be cool to have a matched holster and belt combo!

YinTx

[bryan4christ]

great work .....can you turn this into a business?

[YinTx]

3 hours ago, bryan4christ said:

great work .....can you turn this into a business?

Thank you, and considering I can't even sell an English Bridle leather belt with a polished Italian stainless steel buckle for $35, I'm guessing for now that spending 10 hours on a belt that may or may not sell is not exactly the best recipe for a successful business.  Perhaps if I find a market and clientele for it, yes.  However, I think a better recipe is to find the market first, then create a product to suit it.  Not there yet.

YinTx

[LumpenDoodle2]

 

People are too used to buying cheap.   All you can do is put your stuff out there, and push the quality.   I say this as someone who regularly gets customers complaining I don’t charge enough for my stuff.

Strangely,  they alway add, “charge extra, but not for my stuff”.   But I pay my bills, so not too bothered.

And you are right, find your ‘niche’, and the rest follows.

Edited April 26, 2020 by LumpenDoodle2

[chrisash]

I like that belt design, is it available commercially, I am looking for a floral design without the flowers and already have Oak leaves but all craftaid ones don't seem to fit the bill

[YinTx]

On 4/26/2020 at 10:26 AM, LumpenDoodle2 said:

I say this as someone who regularly gets customers complaining I don’t charge enough for my stuff.

Can't say I've had that experience here.  Mostly they are afraid to pick up a $20 wallet, and when they pick up a $125 item and then see the price they drop it like a hot potato because they don't want to have to afford it if Heaven forbid they damaged it while observing it.  I must say I get it, I don't exactly go shopping for expensive belts, wallets, phone covers, purses etc. myself!  I sell enough to keep busy, and the rest of the stuff I make keeps piling up in the corner, dreaming of an owner...

8 hours ago, chrisash said:

I like that belt design, is it available commercially, I am looking for a floral design without the flowers and already have Oak leaves but all craftaid ones don't seem to fit the bill

I believe if you go to Don Gonzales Saddlery website, you will find he sells a lot of belt patterns and other patterns as well.

YinTx

[LumpenDoodle2]

46 minutes ago, YinTx said:

Can't say I've had that experience here.  Mostly they are afraid to pick up a $20 wallet, and when they pick up a $125 item and then see the price they drop it like a hot potato because they don't want to have to afford it if Heaven forbid they damaged it while observing it.  I must say I get it, I don't exactly go shopping for expensive belts, wallets, phone covers, purses etc. myself!  I sell enough to keep busy, and the rest of the stuff I make keeps piling up in the corner, dreaming of an owner...

I believe if you go to Don Gonzales Saddlery website, you will find he sells a lot of belt patterns and other patterns as well.

YinTx

Keeping busy is good.