Belts

[Duke Mantee]

Kinda old school with the pattern - 10oz English bridle leather, overdyed cobra panels, vintage 50s glass jewels, Japanese repro buckle and vintage brass hardware …

 

[Duke Mantee]

More bridle leather- this time a 4th belt for @meaterball2020 on IG - a much more straightforward affair in that there’s no pattern, but it’s been burnished black and edge painted and it’s an odd sized width (36mm) to accommodate a hand forged sterling silver buckle

 

Edited November 24, 2022 by Duke Mantee

[Duke Mantee]

Old school on a roll now - this for @RFO 

Buffalo leather, aniline dyed cobra overlays, vintage 50s glass, antique brass hardware and Japanese buckle and vintage coin

 

Edited December 5, 2022 by Duke Mantee

[Duke Mantee]

… and a second belt for my friend Jill on IG - this for her husband and made from J&FJ Baker bridle in Russet with brass spots making up his initials at the buckle end, and solid brass buckle with that sewn on using MeiSi superfine linen thread (0.45mm) at 8SPI to give a clean unobtrusive finish

 

[Duke Mantee]

A guid new year to ane an' a' an' mony may ye see …

The first belt of 2023 - the second for @coastal_file on IG

J&FJ oak bark bridle (still with the tallow coating), with custom patina brass buckle, antique finish spots and vintage Japanese coin:

 

Edited January 4, 2023 by Duke Mantee

[Duke Mantee]

For @ifthe_bootfits on IG … Chimayo based design in Sedgwick bridle and lambskin with antique brass hardware and real turquoise and tiger eye gemstones 

 

[Duke Mantee]

Simple but super heavyweight - J&FJ Oak Bark Tanned Harness about 5.5mm thick - left ‘as is’ with tallow 

 

[Duke Mantee]

J&FJ Baker Oak Bark Bridle, Russell’s Viper Skin Overlays with hand painted marquetry centre panels, Jeffrey Fritch hand engraved sterling silver buckle, sterling silver Hong Kong 1902 10 cents coin minted in Tower Hill, nickel plated hardware and 1950s vintage glass … I think that covers it …

Edited January 24, 2023 by Duke Mantee

[Duke Mantee]

Overdyed J&FJ Baker Oak Bark Bridle, Harrison Bitsue sand cast sterling silver buckle set with Kingman turquoise, a completely random stud pattern that’s supposed to have a slow but not supposed to look planned (and absolute c-nt of a thing to design - no lines are parallel, no curves are replicated etc), and because the pattern needed an 1 ½” strap and the buckle fits an 1 1/4” strap the belt is a hybrid ranger setup

Edited January 24, 2023 by Duke Mantee

[Flash]

Soooooo cool 

[Duke Mantee]

2 hours ago, Flash said:

Soooooo cool 

It’s some buckle eh?

[Duke Mantee]

… and another iteration of the ‘Brooklyn’ - this for @vintagefeatherr on IG

Wickett & Craig harness, solid brass hardware and real turquoise gemstones

Edited January 25, 2023 by Duke Mantee

[Duke Mantee]

… and yet another iteration of the ‘Brooklyn’, again for @vintagefeatherr on IG - different curves and a small flower stud instead of petals or leaves - Walpier Buttero Rocky with nickel plated brass hardware and prehnite (with epidote inclusions) gemstones 

Edited January 25, 2023 by Duke Mantee

[Duke Mantee]

D-ring cinch belt in 9-11oz Wickett & Craig harness with solid brass saddlers rivets to secure the buckle fold and the tail cut off, ends skived and then sewn back on reversed to ensure the finish side is always face up when worn

[Duke Mantee]

Sedgwick bridle in 9-10oz with hand patinated Japanese brass buckle, heavily burnished edges and a few extra layers of polish

[Duke Mantee]

8-10oz Hermann Oak bridle with U.S. military / law enforcement issue nickel plated brass buckle, with nickel plated steel spots and polished quartz jewels with sterling silver backers in the jewel ring

[Thanks_M8]

18 minutes ago, Duke Mantee said:

D-ring cinch belt in 9-11oz Wickett & Craig harness with solid brass saddlers rivets to secure the buckle fold and the tail cut off, ends skived and then sewn back on reversed to ensure the finish side is always face up when worn

Beautiful!

[Duke Mantee]

52 minutes ago, Thanks_M8 said:

Beautiful!

Thank you 

[Duke Mantee]

Overdyed veg tan with overdyed snake skin, 1950s glass jewels and antique brass hardware completes the 2nd belt for @mister_stantastic on IG

[julian-wolf]

Really like the effect of the color matching between the leather & the snakeskin

[Duke Mantee]

For Jerome on IG - he wanted a belt that looked ‘vintage’ - all the brass hardware (buckle, coin, spots) has been given a bronze patina … which reacts differently to the varying brass compositions; and the the bridle leather was a mid brown then overdyed black - which gives a nice antique colour. The gems are Chinese turquoise with very little in the way on matrix or inclusion just to allow the colour to ‘pop’

Edited February 10, 2023 by Duke Mantee

[Duke Mantee]

A second belt for @beautiful_FrEaK - this time a more sensible 10oz veg tan bridle that started out satchel tan and has been overdyed black. The hardware was given a custom patina too

[beautiful_FrEaK]

Thanks a lot mate! It looks stunning and exactly like I hoped for :)

 

 

[indigoeagle]

Nice- a chashin one, no?

[Duke Mantee]

1 hour ago, beautiful_FrEaK said:

Thanks a lot mate! It looks stunning and exactly like I hoped for

 

Thank you T - it was my pleasure. Really grateful for you coming back to me too

Some of the original brown is showing through, just a little, over time it’ll become more prominent - but I think it’ll be a nice natural evolution 

[Duke Mantee]

58 minutes ago, indigoeagle said:

Nice- a chashin one, no?

?

[indigoeagle]

42 minutes ago, Duke Mantee said:

?

Tea core

[Duke Mantee]

13 minutes ago, indigoeagle said:

Tea core

Yeah I knew the word but wondered why you asked - a) because I already said it was overdye; b) because pretty much all leather that isn’t struck through is ‘tea-core’

[Talan]

3 hours ago, Duke Mantee said:

A second belt for @beautiful_FrEaK - this time a more sensible 10oz veg tan bridle that started out satchel tan and has been overdyed black. The hardware was given a custom patina too

Mike, I'm having a hard time figuring out if the prong mounted correctly?

[Duke Mantee]

11 minutes ago, Talan said:

Mike, I'm having a hard time figuring out if the prong mounted correctly?

Bonus points!

No it’s not mate - I was trying to get a pic done before the rain came on and I slung the buckle on back to front … I thought ‘fuck it’ and took the pics anyway