a couple of belts

[rancid badger]

I was asked by a lad at work where I had bought my belt ,so I explained that I had, in fact, made it myself.

He asked if I could make him one, so I I've knocked one up-
nothing special just a one and a quarter inch wide strap of veg tan 3.5mm with a solid brass double roller buckle and a cast brass D loop. parallel saddle stitched (along the length of the belt, rather than across)
It's turned out ok but may be a little stiff in use, we'll just have to see!
this is it:

I also thought you might like to have a look at one I did with stuff from the "waste" box at L.P.
This was a piece of 5mm veg tan,tapered at both ends, which I thought might make a strop or two.
I ended up using some 3mm veg tan, again from the box, to make a couple of ends to form a fairly heavy belt.
Then I thought, "hmm, looks a bit plain" :thinkerg:
so I doodled on it. All just freehand, no stamps, but it was a good exercise in scrawling on leather without it costing much money.

the dye was left over from a guitar strap commission-hence the colour

it makes a comfortable "hanging" belt for wearing over your jacket when working.

I can hang knife, pouch, saw frog or axe no bother at all and still use it to strop if I want.

great fun and inexpensive
cheers
R.B.

 

[John Fenna]

Very nice work RB!
I realy like your "doodles" which remind me of African carving/beadwork - very "ethnic"...

 

[Draven]

Doodles?
Doodles?
Blimey, when I doodle, I wind up with little drawings of knives and stick men waging tiny wars, scrawled across an envelope - that, on the other hand, is a work of art

VERY nice work!!

 

[Still Waters]

I adore that green one

Does it have a price or trade value?

 

[fishfish]

i love the green one!!!!!!!!!!! fab! ime yet to do any proper stamping,but i will!

 

[rancid badger]

i love the green one!!!!!!!!!!! fab! ime yet to do any proper stamping,but i will!

I didn't use stamps on the green one, I used the BACK-( very important) not the edge, of my chip knife, a small electricians screwdriver, 2 allen key's; a 2mm and a 3mm-both smoothed and polished on the ends, an extremely cheap set of wax carving tools ( amtech-so cheap they actually bend if you press too hard and have to keep straightening them!) and the tip of an old propelling pencil fixed into a wooden file handle.

Actually,now I come to look at it, it sounds like a list of bits for a "last of the summer wine" project!

Basically, you can use more or less anything that will leave a mark in the leather without cutting into it. Wet the leather with a sponge then start working on it. The cheap wax tools were in fact quite good.

As for the colour, well I did a guitar strap for a really good friend of mine and he wanted emerald green incorporating in to the decor but I had half a bottle left over otherwise the belt would have been "utility broon"!

Since I made the "bit's and bob's" belt, I have invested in half a dozen modeling tools which are much better to work with.

I still use all of the improvised tools, in particular the prop pencil one.

I'm pleased you like it anyway.
thank you , and if you need advice-just ask, I'll be happy to try to help.
Regards
R.B.

 

[rancid badger]

Doodles?
Doodles?
Blimey, when I doodle, I wind up with little drawings of knives and stick men waging tiny wars, scrawled across an envelope - that, on the other hand, is a work of art

VERY nice work!!

Thank you very much, but you can do stick men on leather as well you know?:

if you look along the top edge of this one you might just make out a stick man hunting party?

Thanks again
R.B.

 

[Draven]

if you look along the top edge of this one you might just make out a stick man hunting party?

Genius, I saw the thread but didn't notice that You have a new fan!

 

[fishfish]

hey RB,ime amazed tht you used all those improvised tools,excuse my ignorance but what is a prop pencil? i have in the rcnt past carved embossing tools from bone and wood,i tried using them on a bit of leather,but it didnt work,turned out that the leather was too wet.

 

[rancid badger]

hey RB,ime amazed tht you used all those improvised tools,excuse my ignorance but what is a prop pencil? i have in the rcnt past carved embossing tools from bone and wood,i tried using them on a bit of leather,but it didnt work,turned out that the leather was too wet.

It's a propelling pencil I use the end, it's basically a chrome plated, brass cone with a tiny hole in the middle for the "lead". You just press it into the soft, wet leather and you get the effect seen on the small pouch.

it can be a bit tricky getting the moisture right, I normally use a sponge or kitchen paper and go over the "job" a couple of times-a bit like applying the dye really.

practice on odd bits to start with, is the best advice I can offer on that

Cheers
R.B.

 

[Mirius]

Great belts, but it raises a question that I hadn't thought of before. Why the saddle stitching along the belts? Is is 'just' decoration?

 

[rancid badger]

Great belts, but it raises a question that I hadn't thought of before. Why the saddle stitching along the belts? Is is 'just' decoration?

Yes, in this case it's simply for decoration, actually except for a couple of inches next to the buckle, all it is, is a gouged line which is then moistened and then run over with the overstitch wheel.

If you were making, for example; a studded dog collar, then you would need to cover the tags which fold over and hold the studs in place. you can do this by using thin suede or calf leather on the inside of the collar which you could glue in place then saddle stitch.

I recently made a guitar strap for a mate and this was lined with fine suede, glued and then hand saddle stitched!-
never again mind you, it took about 15 hours to get right the way round the thing! not all at once mind you!

cheers
R.B.