The Making of a Belt, pg.3

The Studio | The Artisan | The Storekeeper | Testimonials | Quote Archives

Making a Belt, pg. 1 | Making a Belt, pg. 2

Cutting in

One might expect that a belt would be ready for stitching about this point. But preparation for stitching is the most time-consuming part, and consists of many different steps, many are steps unique to Neil's belts. This is where each belt gets carefully custom-fitted to its intended buckle set. First, the buckle-placement is marked on the "head-end" of the strap, and a groove cut for the bail (metal "loop" for leather strap on the buckle) where it will be recessed into the leather. Right next to that, starter-holes for the billet-slot are punched, and the slot is cut out at the angle the billet will feed through at. The final shape of the recessed area for the buckle-bail, looks a bit like a dragonfly, so Neil calls it his "dragonfly trough."

The back of the strap next to the billet-slot, gets a ramp-cut to fit the shape of the head-billet-end, and the front of the billet gets a similar, but opposite ramp-cut. The ramp-cuts are carved with a very sharp wood carving tool. The ramps give the strap a slimmer profile where they will join behind the buckle, and this engineering is one of the steps that makes Neil's ranger belts unique. It is very common for ranger belts to be bulky, and awkward to wear for that reason, but these rangers are uniquely comfortable. An elongated hole for the buckle tongue is made by punching two holes slightly overlapping each other. On the the back of the strap a ramped groove is cut away from this hole, so that the tongue will fit nicely through the strap at an angle, and not fight the leather. Once the fit is good, the front of the billets are marked with a stitch-marking wheel, where they will be stitched onto the strap. The stitches are counted, and checked for symmetry.

Next, the spacing for attaching the pieces of the buckle set is marked, and the stitches are marked and counted in the same way as for the previous step. Every single stitch is punched and marked through to the layer behind, by pushing a sharp point awl through the front layer. Five holes for the tongue are punched in the "tail-billet" to accomodate a 3 1/2" (9 cm) size-spread for the belt. Each hole gets a ramped groove cut away from it on the back, so that when the belt strap is buckled, the tongue will lie flat against the leather, and not cause it to bulge on the front. This minimizes wear, as well.

If the buckle set has a tip, the "tail-billet" is shaped to fit it. Neil's buckle set tips have an extremely low, curved, lightweight profile. This allows the keepers to be lower, and also prevents the leather from dangling. At this point the final measurement of the strap is done, and the tail-billet's placement is determined. The billet is held in place while the stitching-holes are marked through with an awl. Then every stitch is punched through the main belt strap, as well. Wherever the leather is marked for stitches, the back is grooved along the stitch lines, so that when the thread is pulled tight, it will recess into the leather, and not be exposed to wear.

On the back of the head-billet, the leather is skived away to fit the width of the leather keeper, so that it will be recessed between the billet and the strap. The areas for edge-stitching on the sides of the billets are ramp-cut. This gives the billets a slightly "pillowed" look when the stitches are pulled tight. The leather keeper is measured and marked for a close fit around the two ends of the main strap. It is closed with a metal clip, and placed over a tapered piece of hardwood that is protected with electrical tape. It is stretched and shaped for a perfect glove fit, by tapping it with a hammer. There should be just a bit of friction. Before all the pieces are assembled, the areas of the leather that have been skived or ramped, are stained to match the strap color.

Stitching

First, every stitch is re-punched with a flat awl. This shapes the holes into tiny, angled, parallell slits, which guides the stitches into a consistent pattern. The hand stitching is done using a traditional stitching-pony. It is made of wood, and looks like an upside-down "T" from the front.

Before stitching, beeswax is worked into the thread by pulling it across a chunk of wax, and then pulling it quickly through the palm of the hand several times. This creates friction and heat, and the wax melts into the thread.

Neil uses whip-stitching and high quality leather-stitching thread for proper tension and consistent results. In whip-stitching, the thread crosses inside the leather with each stitch, so the stitching will not come loose.

Finishing touches

To finish it off, the area around the stitches is touched up with matching stain, and the whole belt is given a nice shine with a good boot polish. It is then gently buckled closed before it goes in the box.

There is no substitute for care and time.

Making a Belt, pg. 1 | Making a Belt, pg. 2

Order securely online, or by phone or mail.

On the web since 1997