Belts

[Duke Mantee]

My take on the ACE Western 955 which is their take on the 1930s Millar Stockman 955

ACE make fantastic replicas - which means they use top grain leather, roller embossed and machine stitched; just as it would have been in the 1930s. They make their own buckles which are superb and on the 955 they use vintage jewels and antique mini playing cards

My belt is deadstock full grain mellow tan leather from a now defunct tannery in Englandshire, it is hand stamped - my carving skills and patience weren’t up to replicating the roller embossing (embossing takes seconds, stamping takes hours, carving can be even longer) - and it is hand stitched (saddle stitched). I usually provide vintage jewels but this time the jewels are high domes under which I’ve slipped a sterling silver blank to create a high reflection. The cards are the same antique mini playing cards seen on the original and ACE belts. Finally you can see I’ve used the ACE buckle.

Edited December 9, 2025 by Duke Mantee

[LazyS]

2 hours ago, Duke Mantee said:

Great to see good leather given good use

Did Seiichiro make that for you mate? I know it’s ACE Western embossing and buckle but the man has skills in a lot of areas, and I don’t immediately recognise the stud pattern

Yes, He told me it’s a copy of Sushi’s belt.

[mlwdp]

Random question but I’ve always been worried that the back of the studs on belts like that would tear up the leather patch on denim.  Does that not happen?

[LazyS]

Nope, so far so good, my paper patches have been fine too

[julian-wolf]

I’ve never had that issue, but also so what if they did? Isn’t that part of the fun?

[Double 0 Soul]

The belt goes under the patch dummies!!

[Maynard Friedman]

All my pairs have belt loops on the inside of the waistband so the belt is hidden and doesn’t ruin the aesthetics of the denim. This also means it doesn’t obscure or damage the patch.

[Duke Mantee]

22 hours ago, mlwdp said:

Random question but I’ve always been worried that the back of the studs on belts like that would tear up the leather patch on denim.  Does that not happen?

 

Strangely, the prongs on studs set by a machine are actually more prominent than how I set studs, but it’s not an issue

[JDelage]

Duke & Warehouse…

 

[MJF9]

New brown boots MUST have a matching leather belt

Top class work from our very own @Duke Mantee in picking the belt leather to match the boots and a great job all around... very happy he picked this one up for me

The boots: Brother Bridge Henry in brown cow "Vachetta" leather, a particular method of veg tan exclusive to Tuscany - lot of animal fat is added to the leather so it's super supple and succulent (as Mike told me)

The belt: Walpier Buttero leather in ‘foresta’... equally juicy leather, buckle fastened with dark brown stitching, keeping the look minimal; Duke gave the buckle a chemical wash to avoid the shiny-new-belt look and add to the patina; 1.25 inch as I like the slimmer belts these days

Edited February 8 by MJF9

[Lorcan]

Codina x Himel with NOS North & Judd copper buckle (feat. SCSC)

[okimoto]

@Lorcan beautiful belt but Matt Codina’s instagram is full of people saying he’s ghosted them after paying for custom orders. He’s 3 months late on one for me and has only responded to me twice over 4 months and made excuses both times. He’s deleted comments where people have mentioned this too

[Lorcan]

2 hours ago, okimoto said:

@Lorcan beautiful belt but Matt Codina’s instagram is full of people saying he’s ghosted them after paying for custom orders. He’s 3 months late on one for me and has only responded to me twice over 4 months and made excuses both times. He’s deleted comments where people have mentioned this too

Damn that sucks, I had no idea. The lead time on the Himel collab was shorter than his mto usually is I think, and he's been doing stuff for Standard and Strange too. Maybe bitten off more than he can chew.

Sometimes being a good craftsman and good at the business side doesn't go hand in hand unfortunately... I also have a belt from Equus Leather here in the UK who did great stuff (the bags in particular looked amazing) but he went bankrupt and left a bunch of people with unfulfilled orders a few years back.

[Double 0 Soul]

It's a story as old as time.. same shit happened with Black Acre

[mlwdp]

That’s disappointing.  I follow Matt as well.  Seems that movie he made belts for got to his head?

[Lorcan]

1 hour ago, Double 0 Soul said:

It's a story as old as time.. same shit happened with Black Acre

I missed that one. I was around for the Temple of Jawnz saga however 

[okimoto]

@mlwdp I’m sure he’s just busy with the collaborations he’s been doing with Himel, Standard and Strange, Brogue, etc. but he’s left several people on the hook for months with poor communication. Love to see someone with great skills succeed but not at the expense of others like this

[ATWM]

There are a few stories of makers I won’t defend, CSF and whatever that jackhole Ranch guy was, for example. Anyone who demonstrably should know better after a year or so and yet still can’t get it together to do basic communication. 

However, I can say that it is no easy task to have a small, handmade sort of product and then get blown up on social media with requests. Without knowing this particular situation, it’s easy to get inundated and have stuff fall through the cracks - to have demand you didn’t expect and really didn’t know how to deal with, to lose emails, requests, etc. At some point a maker needs to just come out and say something like “can’t take more orders” - but that’s hard if you’re living hand to mouth off of your internet avatar. For some people not experienced the anxiety of it can really be overwhelming and cause them to shut down. I’ve seen it happen in the arts.

Back in the early days of Kickstarter I ran a few (small) campaigns to help with my photography work and while I did what I said I would do and fulfilled everything it was a lot more stressful than I’d anticipated, and I think I had my shit pretty well organized from years of solo business experience at that point. I got to a point where I was like, I really need to hire help, but I can’t afford it and it will undercut the funds for the work I am trying to do. 

It is true, being good at a craft or an art or whatever and then running logistics for it are two totally different skills and sometimes one doesn’t learn that until it’s too late. After having played that game even at a small level I have no envy for someone making a killing that way. You never sleep, you never get a day off, even if you do physically - mentally you don’t - it’s makes a regular 9-5 where you leave your work at work start to look really tempting and like a better path than this found personal branding world. 

Edited March 22 by ATWM

[Double 0 Soul]

The Black Acre thing predated social media so it wasn't a massive influx but is was how you describe above.. best i can offer as an explanation is this reddit post

he did come good in the end, i think The Black Acre brand was sold and is still in existence but Ray isn't involved.

Same shit happened with Masterson's .. the shirt guy, he took pre-orders and pocketed the cash.. the shirts were great by all accounts, all he had to do was the work, which he enjoyed but decided to cut and run.. i can understand these grifts when it's a few hundred grand.. like those stories that came out of The Silk Road but when it's less than a couple of grand.. what's the point? ..you've done the hard work, you have the skills to make something you enjoy making and folks are queueing up to buy it.. most folks happily waiting years all you have to do is pull you finger out and do the work and/or close your books to future orders..

 

[indigoeagle]

15 hours ago, Lorcan said:

Damn that sucks, I had no idea. The lead time on the Himel collab was shorter than his mto usually is I think, and he's been doing stuff for Standard and Strange too. Maybe bitten off more than he can chew.

Sometimes being a good craftsman and good at the business side doesn't go hand in hand unfortunately... I also have a belt from Equus Leather here in the UK who did great stuff (the bags in particular looked amazing) but he went bankrupt and left a bunch of people with unfulfilled orders a few years back.

Just a few days before Equus stopped their business I had received my belt from them.

 

[Well27]

On 5/28/2025 at 8:37 PM, Well27 said:

I was lucky enough to have @Duke Mantee make me a belt before he closed up shop.

Really enjoying the belt.

Easy to wear and has softened up nicely.

Most wear is from my ID card which is clipped to my pocket, but only superficial scratches. This belt is gonna last for decades

 So very nice of @Duke Mantee to make it for me

[JDelage]

When you walk past a sunny window wearing one of @Duke Mantee’s bejeweled belt…

 

 

[cheapmuthafukr]

On 5/12/2010 at 7:01 PM, cheapmuthafukr said:

some tanner golden natural pics... since the beginning of the year.

taken on a hell of a curve... which is why i always thought it was silly that samurai made a curved belt... a belt naturally does it.

http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/6719/dscf6146.jpg

with a natural leather keeper, you can really see the change in the color.

http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/5954/dscf6160.jpg

leather porn

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/2002/dscf6152i.jpg

Update: still the only belt I wear. Chrome is worn off the top of the buckle. Will post pics soon.

[Duke Mantee]

On 3/22/2026 at 10:46 PM, ATWM said:

There are a few stories of makers I won’t defend, CSF and whatever that jackhole Ranch guy was, for example. Anyone who demonstrably should know better after a year or so and yet still can’t get it together to do basic communication. 

However, I can say that it is no easy task to have a small, handmade sort of product and then get blown up on social media with requests. Without knowing this particular situation, it’s easy to get inundated and have stuff fall through the cracks - to have demand you didn’t expect and really didn’t know how to deal with, to lose emails, requests, etc. At some point a maker needs to just come out and say something like “can’t take more orders” - but that’s hard if you’re living hand to mouth off of your internet avatar. For some people not experienced the anxiety of it can really be overwhelming and cause them to shut down. I’ve seen it happen in the arts.

Back in the early days of Kickstarter I ran a few (small) campaigns to help with my photography work and while I did what I said I would do and fulfilled everything it was a lot more stressful than I’d anticipated, and I think I had my shit pretty well organized from years of solo business experience at that point. I got to a point where I was like, I really need to hire help, but I can’t afford it and it will undercut the funds for the work I am trying to do. 

It is true, being good at a craft or an art or whatever and then running logistics for it are two totally different skills and sometimes one doesn’t learn that until it’s too late. After having played that game even at a small level I have no envy for someone making a killing that way. You never sleep, you never get a day off, even if you do physically - mentally you don’t - it’s makes a regular 9-5 where you leave your work at work start to look really tempting and like a better path than this found personal branding world. 

I had the misfortune to deal with Matt and I’ve been told a few stories about customer care which, at best, created a poor image. His belts are pretty good though - almost on par with ACE. 

During my short time trying to be a ‘maker’ I faced difficulties I didn’t anticipate. Mostly it centred around explaining to interested parties what could and couldn’t be done (in practical terms), the time involved could be excessive - far beyond the time taken to actually make a belt (or other item); but the most disappointing aspect came from other ‘makers’ - in one case I was directly threatened with legal action, in another that same threat was used as the platform for bullying and intimidation.

It’s a huge challenge trying to start a business and more so trying to earn an income from that business. I never really set out to do that, I always envisioned it to be a non loss making hobby … I more or less succeeded in that respect.

[Cold Summer]

On 3/22/2026 at 4:00 PM, Lorcan said:

I also have a belt from Equus Leather here in the UK who did great stuff (the bags in particular looked amazing) but he went bankrupt and left a bunch of people with unfulfilled orders a few years back.

This is the first I've ever heard Equus had unfulfilled orders, that sucks. I got several great belts from Equus over the years.

Little different category from small craft leather makers, but I've seen people dislike how Rain at Indigo Proof handles her repair queue process, which is a bit complicated with quarterly applications opening up and a bit of a process for getting repairs done. I believe that this is part of an effort to manage exactly the sort of small-brand difficulties described in the posts above, so it's never really bothered me.

[JDelage]

I have a lot of experience commissioning craftspeople for a variety of things (mostly custom, hand forged knives). Stories where the maker gets into financial trouble are legion. Most craft people have zero interest in or understanding of accounting. What often happens is that a maker will take deposits and eventually use the deposits to fund current ops. It's just a weird form of Maddoff fraud, that takes place with the best intentions in the world (most times).

Edited July 23 by JDelage

[vlad_III]

Do ace western belts stretch a lot? They seem really thin.