Show us your leather

[exaptavist]

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Edited October 10, 2015 by hoggreaser

[exaptavist]

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Edited October 9, 2015 by hoggreaser

[bbcapone]

hog thats also equus, correct? Very nice.

edit- yeah unlucky can do ANYTHING for you! Very professional and easily top 5 leather artisans that caters too and more importantly understands our hobby. He also greatly undercharges for his quality imo. Think about it, you see a stupidly expensive japanese belt you like and go to scott and he can remake it better, with amazing leathers (think wicket/craig, horween, fqhh and shell, pig, ostrich, cxl, ect.), add in any custom details you may want and then slap a custom buckel made of fucking damascus steel. All this for 1/2 the price you pay for an extremely boring me-too japanese belt (which people seem to buy for the thickness i assume because i see no other redeeming qualities, besides maybe competent craftmanship)

Sorry guys im ranting. Ive just had fantastic experiences with scott.

Edited January 15, 2013 by bbcapone

[Cold Summer]

Some Japanese belts are overpriced, but it depends on the features. Ones costing 20000 yen that only have a bolt fastener instead of real stitching are a ripoff, yes, but belts like Flat Head and Redmoon that actually stitch on the buckle are justified when you consider the labor with the expense of getting such thick, high-quality leather.

Out of the Japanese brands I'd say that Sugarcane's belts are a very good value. They're hefty, the buckle is stitched on, and the leather is really nice.

Edited January 16, 2013 by Cold Summer

[exaptavist]

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Edited October 10, 2015 by hoggreaser

[Crat]

Any of you familiar with Kreis' leather? His stuff is of this world imo, especially the shell wallets. Prices are too though unfortunately.

[bbcapone]

Some Japanese belts are overpriced, but it depends on the features. Ones costing 20000 yen that only have a bolt fastener instead of real stitching are a ripoff, yes, but belts like Flat Head and Redmoon that actually stitch on the buckle are justified when you consider the labor with the expense of getting such thick, high-quality leather.

Out of the Japanese brands I'd say that Sugarcane's belts are a very good value. They're hefty, the buckle is stitched on, and the leather is really nice.

I would have to respectfully disagree considering I can get the same leather (or better since the japanses belts that I have handled seem to be focusing on the thickness rather than the quality of leather) and level of craftsmanship for 1/2 price, plus I get to support american craftsman which is important to me on some items. Also no matter what decent quality leather you are using for your belt, with the exception of crazy shit like octopus leather or rose tanned, there isn't THAT much of a variation in price for the amount of leather you would need for a belt. Now if youre talking about having to order 100 cows worth of cxl, then yeah there would be alot of variation in price, not for a strip though.

However its your money and their is no problem with how you choose to spend it. Some people like rocking an ironheart belt with thier ironhearts or an oni with thier onis.

I scoff at people paying that much for a belt and on the same token I know people scoff at me spending a grand on a pair of boots or a jacket because of small details. With our collective hobby its most definitely the details that we look for and shoot the price up. I hate having to explain why I want period brass buckels and cats paws and why I care about the leanght of the instep strap or why I like the heel leather to hang or blah blah blah blah

Maybe it's just my tastes in belting are not as nuanced as with other garments.

[Cold Summer]

Flat Head and Redmoon seem to pride themselves on using Japanese leather, and after handling a fair variety of stuff from them, as well as other brands like Hollows, Angelos, and Obbi Good, I can say that there is a dramatic difference in the leather, it's not all hype. This is more related to wallets and leather goods in general than belts in particular, but the feel of those Japanese leathers is a lot different from the American cattlehide ones I've handled; the Japanese leather feels extremely soft and buttery, for lack of a better description.

Whether or not this is really worth the money (or even desirable, some people probably want harder leathers) is entirely up to the potential buyer, but I think it deserves mention. Probably the nicest leather of anything I currently own would be the Baker's leather on my Equus belt; that thing was a seriously good value.

[tigerpac]

In Re the belts: It starts to come down to that age old question of relative value. If you can get a thick, high quality handmade USA belt for say 75 bucks vs a high quality handmade Japanese belt for say 150 bucks that may be superior, its highly subjective if the little extra is 'worth' twice the price.

Personally for belts I go USA mostly (big fan of leather goods connection). But for several other items I end up taking the other side of that deal, just depends on the particular items.

[bbcapone]

I hear you. In the end its just a cotton bush or a damn cow, two of the most common lifeforms in our solar system. We are paying for what these craftman do with those materials.

Like you said its completely arbitrary value wise. Some people pay hundreds of millions of dollars for an ugly ass (imo) Rembrandt painting, when to me my best friends pencil doodles of lizard men fighting dragons are infinitely more valueable.

[bbcapone]

In Re the belts: It starts to come down to that age old question of relative value. If you can get a thick, high quality handmade USA belt for say 75 bucks vs a high quality handmade Japanese belt for say 150 bucks that may be superior, its highly subjective if the little extra is 'worth' twice the price.

Personally for belts I go USA mostly (big fan of leather goods connection). But for several other items I end up taking the other side of that deal, just depends on the particular items.

Gotta check out Leather Goods Connection btw. Thanks!

[exaptavist]

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Edited October 10, 2015 by hoggreaser

[hollowsleather]

It's like US veg tan, except with a secret blend of hype added during the tanning process.

[exaptavist]

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Edited October 10, 2015 by hoggreaser

[Double 0 Soul]

You have to take into account the cost of living in Japan, It has to be reflected in the products they produce otherwise they would go out of business. If you want a cheap belt buy one from China.

Cost is irrelevant if you like it. If you take care of a well made belt it should last you a lifetime. $250 spread over a 30 year period is negligable.

Pass it down to the grandkids.

[bbcapone]

You have to take into account the cost of living in Japan, It has to be reflected in the products they produce otherwise they would go out of business. If you want a cheap belt buy one from China.

Cost is irrelevant if you like it. If you take care of a well made belt it should last you a lifetime. $250 spread over a 30 year period is negligable.

Pass it down to the grandkids.

Naw I'll buy them new, raw leather and let them enjoy the process like I did!

[Double 0 Soul]

Thats pretty mean spirited of you dude, Wot you doing with your leather goods when your too fat and old to pull it off?

[bbcapone]

Just look like a stylish, fat, old fool. Haha

But really I have passed a few things on, mostly to my nephew. Lets see a wallet and 2 belts.

[Double 0 Soul]

Some Japanese belts are overpriced, but it depends on the features. Ones costing 20000 yen that only have a bolt fastener instead of real stitching are a ripoff, yes, but belts like Flat Head and Redmoon that actually stitch on the buckle are justified when you consider the labor with the expense of getting such thick, high-quality leather.

I have never seen a Pepsi challenge between bolt/stitched so i can not comment on which is the better,

What i would comment on is McCoys hold a massive vintage collection in there vaults which is constantly studied, There dedication to the product detail is remarkable.

Buco produce arguably some of the finest biker belts on the market, They use a bolt. JMC use stitch they are made in the same factory. In order to recreate a certain aesthetic bolts are used thats all.

Its a myth to say that McCoys would do this to save a few measly yen. The RMC customer respects the work that has gone into producing the product and pays the price.

Like Denim high stress areas use rivet. I dont think they do it to "rip people off"

[exaptavist]

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Edited October 10, 2015 by hoggreaser

[Double 0 Soul]

The Japanese have lived on a diet of mainly fish for generations, And with leather being mainly a byproduct of the meat industry i would suggest that the Japanese meat industry would not produce nearly enough product to supply its leather needs.

Furthermore land is at a massive premium in Japan (Golf course membership is insanely expensive because of the land requirement) and the meat industry is notoriously land intensive.

This is why they concentrate on small herds of Wagyu and try to make a luxury Beef product rather than going for land intensive high yield lower quality meat product.

This philosophy is found in many Japanese industries.

[beautiful_FrEaK]

totally off-topic. but...Joseph Buegeleisen? Really? You guys know what that means in German?

This:

[exaptavist]

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Edited October 10, 2015 by hoggreaser

[Double 0 Soul]

^^What is it?

[beautiful_FrEaK]

sorry, I forgot we like vintage things...quality things.

There you go

[Double 0 Soul]

Makes perfect sense now.

[exaptavist]

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Edited October 9, 2015 by hoggreaser

[Crat]

More off-topic:

I've really started noticing how much more friendly and humorous sufu denim generally is compared to other fora.

[Double 0 Soul]

Opposed to importing US Cow Hide the Japanese tend to use there own native Horsehide which seams to be in surplus due to it being a by product of the ice cream industry.

You have not lived until you have tasted Basashi the rare delicacy of raw horse flesh icecream.

[hollowsleather]

It's interesting that Samurai use US hide.

"US hide" can be misleading. Samurai likely means that the hides originated in the US but are tanned in Japan. Tochigi uses mostly US hides due to the size of the cattle industry in Japan, as you suggested.

As far as the whole chicago screw vs stitch thing, it's mostly a matter of pride for leatherworkers. We like nice details, so if a buckle swap isn't in the cards, stitching is usually preferred.

Stitching (by hand, a machine stitch is another story) is theoretically stronger, but there are so few real life scenarios that would ever test that. A riveted or screwed belt could conceivably wear out a few years sooner than a stitched belt, particularly if the screws don't fit well or use cheap metal...but with either method, if we assume that the belt is well made, it's going to be your grandkid's problem, not yours.

Edited January 20, 2013 by hollowsleather