Belts

[mikecch]

^ I'm glad the folks I deal with have kept their prices honest (sometimes too good ).

@ lazybum: Thanks for the pics...nice evo on the Quercus! Quercus bros have grain growth for life :D:D

[Ord]

Jumping back to the "leather food" subject, I tried jojoba oil recently and I really like it.

Absorbed VERY quickly (as fast as neatsfoot), chemically pretty stable (according to my readings online), cheap, and doesn't darken the treated surface too much.

Has anyone else tried it and wants to share observations over the long term (as i've only been using it for 2 weeks and just on a couple of belts)?

On my next belt, which will be in the mail a week or so (Hermann oak leather) I'll try a mix of jojoba and emu (thanks again mikecch for the suggestion) for the very first treatment and will post some pics afterwards

[cheapmuthafukr]

do you really need to do that? i havent treated my belt with anything and it looks beautiful.

[mikecch]

^^ cheers Ord.

Should be interesting!

[mikecch]

do you really need to do that? i havent treated my belt with anything and it looks beautiful.

I guess Ord and I are interested in the finer details of grain evolution.

Looking at your belt (Tanner belt, couple pages back), the leather is an American bridle, heavily hot-liquored.

It does need much oil, and it doesn't really need special care to have the leather darken well due to the processing at the tannery (Wickett & Craig?).

A skirting/saddle leather is much harder to play around with, hence the need for slightly more specialised leather food - the upside is that with proper care, the potential for grain growth and patina development is unmatched.

We nerd too much I guess

[mikecch]

My beater belt for potentially leather-staining work.

Kyoto FreeMart craftsman for Atomic Wrap, 15 oz steerhide from Tochigi Tannery.

Before:

After 1 month effective use:

Ethanol stains from dye-preparation:

Stains from oil-based dye:

Rivet scratch from my RoyxCone jeans:

[Anders Helseth]

Here are a few pictures of me wearing my Hollows Leather hand-made belt. Outstanding quality delivered by Nicholas Hollows. Japanese-made garrison buckle in heavy brass. All in all a beautifully crafted product.

If anyone is wondering, the jeans I'm wearing are the 30th anniversary Studio D'Artisan SP 013s.

1

2

3

4

This belt has only seen 1 month of wear, mainly because I'm representing Warehouse in the Osaka Showdown thread, with my 700s.

The 700s, as is well known, is a cinch back model, and I'm using this function instead of a belt currently. Needless to say, I will wear this belt as much as possible in the future, as I'm certain the evo will be stunning!

[rkusmant]

some of my belts, all by Unlucky. Buckles from Tandy and KC's.

Thickness comparison (cm)

The left one is 'Joe Hill' belt for comparison, the black belt I have is standard thin belt, nothing special.

[LC_Miey]

the purple/blue belt is a beast being that thick

[mikecch]

^^ Interesting colour on that blue one...what shoes do you intend to wear with them?

[rkusmant]

yes, I was expecting the same thickness as the Joe Hill belt,

I think next time 6-7mm thickness will be my max, I hope it soften pretty soon

I tried brown boots and the color works, well, I don't have any black boots anyway.

I have several navy blue shoes too, will see how it matches up.

[nicolnicolnicol]

Here is a belt from OGL

[I.T.]

Some nice belts in the last few posts!

@I.T.

Don't worry about how "premium" those belts are. Having lasted so many decades of service and still looking great, you can bet that they are good stuff. They look incredibly long though, what's your waist size like?

I'm size 30 and they aren't too long. I guess it's the picture.

[akiyama71]

a new horse hide belt from Unlucky with dual prong Damascus buckle...

[Ord]

That belt is absolutely awesome! I'm not a fan of stitching decorations but they're particularly nice on this belt. How much did you pay for the damascus buckle, if you don't mind me asking?

Mikecch: I was reading about your new leather food recipe on your blog, and i read you added some sort of scent to it.

Since i have some pure essential oils, and i was thinking to add one drop to the emu/jojoba mixture next time i oil my stuff, i'd like to know what did you add (i understand the recipe may be a secret, though).

Some of them also have mild antibacterial activity (but i don't particularly like Eucalyptus), which could be a desirable feature when nourishing perishable organic material like leather (although i have to admit this is pure speculation and is really pushing nerding to the limit. But that's what we're here for, right?)

[mikecch]

^ I use eucalyptus and lemon oils, but it's really just personal preference.

Hoping to make one with a more 'spicy' smell in the short future...

[akiyama71]

That belt is absolutely awesome! I'm not a fan of stitching decorations but they're particularly nice on this belt. How much did you pay for the damascus buckle, if you don't mind me asking?

The buckle itself cost around $40 if I did not remember wrongly.

[jackandcoke]

Anyone know if tack shops will sell leather blanks out of their thickest leather? Just moved to a new city and saw they had one on my way to school

[Guest nooblet333]

Dam that OGL belt looks nicee!

[AFTRMTH]

Really nice!

My beater belt for potentially leather-staining work.

Kyoto FreeMart craftsman for Atomic Wrap, 15 oz steerhide from Tochigi Tannery.

Before:

After 1 month effective use:

Ethanol stains from dye-preparation:

Stains from oil-based dye:

Rivet scratch from my RoyxCone jeans:

[ronbiggles]

Just got my custom Quercus from Terry Dear and its wonderful, thanks mike for the help.

drying after a few layers of neatsfoot:

Quercus is the second one along, far left and 3rd along are the same leather, the latter after oil + wax and a few months of wear and tear.... If anyone wants the 1.75" 'A' belt cheap, feel free to pm me ('scuse the shameless plug but I need the $)....

[mikecch]

^ Nice belts!

Mmm, the Quercus leather seems a little different to the first few hides.

The grain growth and colour doesn't look the same; maybe it's just the pics or because you just oiled it?

For comparison, here it is from the first hide:

[lance]

Here's a double prong Willis & Geiger belt from c1995.

[ronbiggles]

Perhaps, it did seem to drink up the oil, I think I overdid it in places too. I had to wait a little while because Terry was waiting for more hide, so I hope it is the good stuff, although even fresh out the bag I'm sure it was less pink than the leather in your pic. I might ask him although I don't want it to sound like I am moaning, he sent it out before the money had even cleared my account!

Quercus on top, while still wet....

[ronbiggles]

Excuse the crappy quick snaps but heres a comparison of the unoiled/untouched belt loop and the other after 3 slightly overzealous layers of nf. Love how he did one to match the chicago screws on the belt (im guessing):

[Ord]

Rob, could you please post a picture of the buckle end (front and back) of your quercus belt? Thanks in advance

[marineabilly]

[edmond]

from where john?

[marineabilly]

I made those about six or so years ago. I've been itching to make more, but work takes up all my time.

[ronbiggles]

I definitely applied too much oil.

Would have liked the normal Quercus 'triple-stitching', but wanted the option of different buckles more....