Belts

[mikecch]

zissous' RoyXCone belt,new,from 20. january

a month later:

Nice belt - time for a feed

hwj mike, how would you compare the Quercus belt to the Joe Hill (?!)

Mmm, an interesting and very tough question.

I haven't had the Joe Hill long enough to make any definitive statements yet, but so far, the main differences are:

* The Joe Hill leather is thicker (by around 0.6 mm), more flexible and is a slightly more finished leather (due the the light hand-stuffing done by Jim Moser).

* The Quercus leather is slightly more dense, and has more character due to it's longer, more gentle tannage.

* The Quercus has the mellow yellow of a pure English oak tannage, whereas the Joe Hill has a peach tinge, the result of the combination of mixed/concentrated vegetable tan and hand-currying.

* Both leathers have great growth on the grain, but the Quercus leather has a deeper, more vertical growth, which I attribute to its longer tannage (not sure whether I'm right on this one, Baker's pulled a special trick to emphasis the grain growth on the Quercus, and I don't know how they did it).

* Both leathers eat up leather conditioners quite well, but the Quercus is slightly more responsive at first with more marked grain changes.

* The hardware on the Joe Hill belt obviously trumps the standard buckles that comes with the Quercus in terms of the artisan steel and the hand-made nature of the hardware (I mean, Jeff Decker helped out with it, and his art buckles cost around $400!!!)... although some people like it, some people don't.

* The threading on the Joe Hill (the hand-made sinew thread) is a notch above the linen thread on the Quercus.

* Both belts are made to very high standards.

Scott and Terry have different ways of burnishing the sides and finishing the back - I'm not really sure which is better.

Sorry for the rant

I can't say which is better right now...but I can say that both are fantastic, and I have not come across many belts which are in the same league as these two belts.

Although I must say that The Joe Hill project was a more exciting ride, and Scott has really outdone himself in sourcing novel materials and experimenting with new methods, not to mention the nice little touches on the coasters, paper tags, home-made conditioner, etc. Many aspects about this belt is a first for Scott, I and many of the participants I reckon - the customised nature of the leather, the use of thick sinew threads, Damascus as buckle, the buckle-fold design, and so on...it's all very new and exciting!

[not too tight]

Bought this IHB-01 to go along with my Contest 811s but the waist is so tight that sometimes I can't wear it. About 2/3 months wear with no treatment done to it.

[davichan]

??? how often would you oil/treat your everyday belt ???

(in this case, my Samurai curved natural)

once a season?

[mikecch]

^ I do a light oil about every 30 days of effective wear for very 'raw' leathers.

Sometimes I get bored and do it once every couple of weeks...very lightly though.

IMO frequent & gentle maintenance is much better than doing a huge lathering once every year.

[mikecch]

Finally a day resting at home

Gave the threads on my sword-tip belt a re-emu-waxing:

The leather at 4 months use (colour is actually quite a bit darker in real life)

[ranonranonarat]

the texture on that belt is beautiful mike. that sword tip, yummy!

[mikecch]

^ Thanks ran!

Concept stolen from Kawatako

Buckle imprint for giggles

[kimhwan92]

I have narrowed down my options..

Tanner's 13oz golden with brass roller

or

Hollow's leather... not yet considered the specifics... but if possible, 14oz will be perfect..

which one would you prefer? What are the significant differences between these brands that will ultimately make you choose one over another?

One thing to know is that I'm a newbie... so I will have to learn how to work with leathers...

[smittybat]

Hollow's is very easy to work with and makes great stuff. Send him an email with what you want to get a quote before you decide.

[undcvrsm]

Must spread Mike!! It's really the Flathead of belts!

[kinkbmxco]

What is the consensus on the Naked and Famous belt? Saw one in person and it seemed pretty nice, but I don't know 2 shits about leather.

[LC_Miey]

^^ save the buck..for the same dollar you can get far superior belt from Terry Dear or spend a little bit more on familiar brands ( SC, Samurai, FH or Redmoon) which will make you more satisfied.

I own the N&F belt , the leather , the stitching, the buckle is subpar standard than what they describe them to be . I was especially disappointed with the stitching, they use very thin thread to sew the thick leather which makes no sense to me..

the leather eventhough is thick but it feels light and 'spongy' as in the leather is not compact..

Too bad you cant really tell the quality from the pictures on internet, the worst $70 i ever spent...

[mikecch]

which one would you prefer? What are the significant differences between these brands that will ultimately make you choose one over another?

I think this depends on what type of leather you could get Hollow's to work with.

Buy both, and find out

Must spread Mike!! It's really the Flathead of belts!

Cheers~

the leather eventhough is thick but it feels light and 'spongy' as in the leather is not compact..

I saw a pic of the cross section of the N&F belt leather over at another forum...does indeed look very loose.

Also, not a fan of how the buckle fold is stitched.

Two many holes punched through the two vertical lines, with very thin threading, no grooving or tension adjustment (sits very superficial) - recipe for disaster, and perhaps a fold break some time down the track.

[Guest nooblet333]

Kimhwan: Go with the Hollows belt! You won't be unsatisfied, I love my belt that hollow just made =) its also cheaper then tanner goods

[LC_Miey]

ha cheers mikecch for putting my explanation in belt-expert terms

[mikecch]

ha cheers mikecch for putting my explanation in belt-expert terms

Haha, thanks LC, although "belt-expert" is a very generous overstatement

[DocBlue]

the Zissou Belt, 2 months old. Constant wear. will get a wonderful patina.

Cheers

[Ord]

^^ save the buck..for the same dollar you can get far superior belt from Terry Dear or spend a little bit more on familiar brands ( SC, Samurai, FH or Redmoon) which will make you more satisfied.

I own the N&F belt , the leather , the stitching, the buckle is subpar standard than what they describe them to be . I was especially disappointed with the stitching, they use very thin thread to sew the thick leather which makes no sense to me..

the leather eventhough is thick but it feels light and 'spongy' as in the leather is not compact..

Too bad you cant really tell the quality from the pictures on internet, the worst $70 i ever spent...

I Totally second LC's opinion on N&F belt. I saw it in person at Pronto, in BKK, and despite its thickness, the definition spongy is absolutely appropriate to describe it. Edges are unfinished/unburnished and are pretty ugly.

I think it's exactly the same leather they use for the elephant denim patches (which i immediately removed from my pair of skinny guys)

If you're after a great belt that has plenty of character and will last you a lifetime, get one from Unlucky

[jlaz93]

I got my n&f belt on karmaloop when they had it on sale for 35 then i used a 30% off code so it ended up being pretty cheap. It was well worth it for that price, wouldnt say the same if I got it for 70.

[mikecch]

^ 25 bucks is pretty cheap

But a bit of money here and there will add up to a Red Moon belt eventually

I reckon if you're gonna invest months or potentially years of wear in a belt, it's best to start off with good quality leather and construction.

$75 (which I believe is the retail for the N&F belt) will get you something very nice from many of the private label craftsmen that are popular here!

[Guest nooblet333]

I recommend Hollows, easy guy to work with and friendly

[Ord]

evo pics at 5 months of Unlucky's thick leather belt. I engraved the letter myself.

Awesome leather, and top dude to deal with. highly, HIGHLY recommended

[Arsenal!]

A lovely horsehide belt Unlucky made for my brother (its going to be a gift; so currently unworn) on top of my cherished Joe Hill. As to the Joe Hill, Im truly stunned at how quickly the leather became supple, especially for its absurd thickness. In the short time I've worn it, the grain is already coming alive as well (more shots later). Hope everyone loves theirs as much as I do.

[TheNorthern]

x post from the Tanner Goods thread.

patiently waiting for my cardholder to arrive..

my four month old tanner goods belt

13oz gold brass

i really love the work you guys do!

[mikecch]

Damn nice belts (lovely colour there Ord!)

Edges looking a bit rough there, might want to bring on the burnish with a sandstone and some wax.

[Ord]

Damn nice belts (lovely colour there Ord!)

Edges looking a bit rough there, might want to bring on the burnish with a sandstone and some wax.

Thanks Mike! I take yours like a big compliment. It started very pale, with a classic natural tan color, and evolved into this with two applications of neatsfoot. One out of the box, the other at 4 months. 2 hands each time.

For the records it stretched out one full inch. And i can tell for sure because i have a "sister" belt, with same measurements. I've got a third, bridle leather belt (about 9oz, also treated twice with neatsfoot), and despite it had quite a bit of wear, didn't stretch at all, which is quite surprising, being much softer and thinner than the Unlucky one.

[lazybum]

Thanks Mike! I take yours like a big compliment. It started very pale, with a classic natural tan color, and evolved into this with two applications of neatsfoot. One out of the box, the other at 4 months. 2 hands each time.

For the records it stretched out one full inch. And i can tell for sure because i have a "sister" belt, with same measurements. I've got a third, bridle leather belt (about 9oz, also treated twice with neatsfoot), and despite it had quite a bit of wear, didn't stretch at all, which is quite surprising, being much softer and thinner than the Unlucky one.

Bridle leather is not supposed to stretch. Bridle leather is leather hotstuffed with a formula of waxes with the purpose of creating stretch resistant leather suitable for making durable bridles. Hence the name "bridle leather".

[TheNorthern]

good call, i was planing on it.

Edges looking a bit rough there, might want to bring on the burnish with a sandstone and some wax.

[mikecch]

Thanks Mike! I take yours like a big compliment. It started very pale, with a classic natural tan color, and evolved into this with two applications of neatsfoot. One out of the box, the other at 4 months. 2 hands each time.

For the records it stretched out one full inch. And i can tell for sure because i have a "sister" belt, with same measurements. I've got a third, bridle leather belt (about 9oz, also treated twice with neatsfoot), and despite it had quite a bit of wear, didn't stretch at all, which is quite surprising, being much softer and thinner than the Unlucky one.

Mmm, interesting!

What kind of leather was yours made of? Skirting/saddle?

The skirting leather belt that Scott made for me has stretched maybe a bit less than 1 cm after 4 months effective wear.

good call, i was planing on it.

Show us some pics once you're done

[Ord]

Bridle leather is not supposed to stretch. Bridle leather is leather hotstuffed with a formula of waxes with the purpose of creating stretch resistant leather suitable for making durable bridles. Hence the name "bridle leather".

I knew about the hot stuffing process, but not knowing what the characteristics of a good set of bridles should be, i thought wakes and oils made it more pliable and soft (which is a typical trait of bridle leather), and therefore more stretchy.

I was then right on the first part, and quite wrong on the latter part of the reasoning

Thanks for the clarification. In practical terms, though, not having in mind to ride or own horses anytime soon, i only relate saddle and bridle leather to belts to hold my denims up