About once every 14 years I'm in the market for a leather belt – it's not often I'll admit and here's why. I got wasted one night on holiday in Padstow with a saddle maker - I threw at him a line from the film Fight Club "We'll wear leather clothing that will last us all our lives" and asked him if it could be done - is it possible to make leather clothing that will last a lifetime? He said it was - the sizing / stitching skills are available but the leather may not - leather is shaved and thinned into layers these days and you need to get your hands on the raw cut - right off the animal.
The best quality, most original leather, is found in horse riding tackle - particularly saddles - the following day we made two belts together in his workshop for me - one black - one brown - to my exact specification.
They are perfect to this day and I've worn either of them almost every day since then - I've handed them onto Child No 2 who has coveted them for a while as I have 2 replacements.
The guy in Padstow has ceased trading - there's only the faintest internet footprint of him from about 2002 so I knew I had to look elsewhere - after some research I settled on a chap in San Antonio, US and trades as Saddleback Leather who makes a lot of excellent leather wares and his corporate motto ( I kid you not ) is "They'll fight over it when you're dead". His belts are again tailored to your exact specification.
The belts arrived yesterday - they are epic - more robust than anything I have ever had before - the black one is just over 7mm thick leather, a single piece cast buckle for strength, it is so stiff it'll take about a year to wear in properly - but for me they are fantastic replacements.
Photo attached
Ratty
[attachment=7661]
The best quality, most original leather, is found in horse riding tackle - particularly saddles - the following day we made two belts together in his workshop for me - one black - one brown - to my exact specification.
They are perfect to this day and I've worn either of them almost every day since then - I've handed them onto Child No 2 who has coveted them for a while as I have 2 replacements.
The guy in Padstow has ceased trading - there's only the faintest internet footprint of him from about 2002 so I knew I had to look elsewhere - after some research I settled on a chap in San Antonio, US and trades as Saddleback Leather who makes a lot of excellent leather wares and his corporate motto ( I kid you not ) is "They'll fight over it when you're dead". His belts are again tailored to your exact specification.
The belts arrived yesterday - they are epic - more robust than anything I have ever had before - the black one is just over 7mm thick leather, a single piece cast buckle for strength, it is so stiff it'll take about a year to wear in properly - but for me they are fantastic replacements.
Photo attached
Ratty
[attachment=7661]