Kilt belts?

[frank_a]

Sold my 1st sporran strap, probably got another to do, and maybe a kilt belt too! Making lots of belts for the family as well, just use old belts and the buckles off them.

Frank

[Urbane Guerrilla]

I've made a few assorted belts in my time; never a dirk belt as it happens. Like Tobus, I'd recommend a half hide over a double shoulder -- you want that kind of length which you can cut, and you want to cut belts only from the uppermost half of any half hide anyway -- this is where the leather is densest and strongest. A belt from there has a modicum of stiffness to it that is handy in belts -- the soft floppy leather from down in the belly regions is suited better to soft-feel things like pouches, sporrans, wallets -- anything that doesn't need to be at all stiff but is better if really flexible. Nice soft cuarans, say -- and their thongs or laces. There's a leather tool specifically for cutting leather lace from bits of otherwise unusable leather scrap.

Double shoulders are for things that don't need to be as long as a belt -- or else you're going to end up piecing your belt together by skiving, gluing, and sewing pieces together. But you can do better.

A half hide, dividing a full hide lengthwise down the spine in a long clean cut as it does, makes a superb starter, with that StrapCutter, for a good stout belt of simply any likely length, and sporran straps too. It's more expensive, but it gives you a leather supply for many years for a remarkable lot of stuff.

Leathercrafting's a fun craft too. It even smells good. The tooling and carving give artistic expression even to somebody who's in a lifetime habit of downplaying his own creativity (phooey to that). Though the dyeing will stain your fingers something awful -- likewise anything permeable your wet dye-covered fingers might happen to touch. It doesn't so much wash off as wear off -- it is intended, after all, to color dead epidermal cells, and that is exactly what's on your skin.

Finish any belt's edges with an edge slicker or else a bone folder. Teamed with an edge beveler tool, which knocks the corners of the leather off to then be rounded over and glazed with the slicker or folder, this finishes the otherwise raw-looking edges of the belt and completes the look of the thing.

[Urbane Guerrilla]

A good complete lining with suède, stitched on, makes a good high-friction lining for a dirk belt to prevent it sliding around and getting out of place, and of course can be a handsome coordinating color too -- some nice medium or light gray behind a black belt, for instance. Edge-finish and dye first, then assemble with adhesive and sewing. Use a saddle stitch -- that "needle at each end of the thread" method. Looks good and it's stronger than Laphroaig 10-year. There are saddle-stitch tutorials on YouTube if you want to check -- taught me a couple things myself, and they give you a standard of workmanship to shoot for too and lots of info on how to get there. About any appropriate stitching pattern will do for these belts, right up to Sam Browne-ish police pistol-belt stitching -- cops' Sam Brownes ride well on kilted waists. They got macho, y'know. They even help the cops hide their offduty (items Steve Ashton doesn't want us talking about, not yet anyway if ever -- I've asked and may get a reply) in kilts, in down deep. The additional layer of sort of hard leather conceals even more.

[TheOfficialBren]

Nice work, mate. I made myself a casual belt with a Tandy blank. Not a 3-inch. It's a 2 1/2-inch.

Where did you find the buckles?

[Urbane Guerrilla]

You might find that this set is too small for the Chicago screws you bought. I have both the "mini" and "maxi" punch sets (as well as other types of hole punches and tools). . .

Second that on Mini- and Maxi-punch sets. They work better on belt weight stuff than rotary punches do; those haven't the oomph. Minis and Maxis are also easier to sharpen. They do dull -- but you can fix 'em with a stone. You can see if a punch has dulled: you look at its end under a light and if you see a silver circle, you're seeing metal that is bigger across than a cutting edge is: this /]\ instead of this /\.
And as Tobus says, oval punches. Pretty holes.

Since you're making belts that use a bar/tongue, you'll want to use an oval punch for the holes in the belt where the tongue goes through. You can fudge it by punching two round holes next to each other (or overlapping) and trimming out the rest with an Xacto knife, but it's usually a cleaner job if you just invest in an oval punch.

Oh, and you mentioned dye. I'm sure you know that once you dye the leather, you'll need to finish it with something or it'll bleed onto everything it touches. I tend to use Neat-Lac, but there are other finishes out there you can experiment with. Think carefully before dyeing the back side (rough side) of the leather, since it will be touching your kilt.

If you dye back there, keep it light -- a tint, and in damp leather to soak the tint well into the leather. Then seal the heck out of it. Or see above about suede or wallet interior (really light leather) as a lining. Sealer upon dye is the only way to live with DIY dyejobs. Fortunately, a couple coats of neutral shoe polish seal well too. Even if it makes your belt smell like your shoes -- of Kiwi's best.

[TheOfficialBren]

I used an antique styled dark brown dye (two coats) and after it dried I did a once-over with some black Kiwi polish to seal it in. Yes...dark brown and then black. It made for a nice, deep, nmcient-looking patina. The waxy nature of the polish locked in the dye but the black really sat well with the tooling without over-powering. Just a thought when dyeing.

[rscow]

Musings on beltmakiing.

Buying a double shoulder would yield a bunch of belts. Be sure to buy either 7 or 8 oz leather or thinner if you plan to line the belt. I make most of my belts lined. I like a thick stiff belt.

True, it is hard to get longer blanks...and even harder to find long blanks in widths above 1 1/2 inches. If you decide to go this route: You need the leather, of course. You need something to cut the straps with, and a strap cutter is a pretty good way to do it. They don't cost much. And they will cut a nice straight/parallel strap. You can ask the leather supplier to ship it with a straight edge cut on it. Otherwise you have to make a straight edge to work from.

If you are going to put any stitching on it, especially if you line it, you need stuff with which to do it right. The best method is the saddle stitch. So, needles, a means to mark the stitch line, a way to make stitch holes, waxed linen thread, and a way to mark where you want the individual holes/stitches.

I like to use a pair of metal dividers. Run it down the edge of the leather, and you can mark your stitch line. Set it for the width of your stitches and walk it down the stitch line and you have your holes marked. You can also buy separate tools for this.

You need a stitching awl. This makes your holes.

An edger is a good thing to have. A #2 will take the edges off the leather, and aid in the edge treatment you use.

Dye...use a decent quality one. I like the alcohol based ones. They seem to penetrate well. And you need something to seal the dye or it will rub off/run/stain your clothes/kilt.

Chicago screws work really well. Don't buy ones that are too long, though. the 1/4" or 3/8" ones are about right. I've never had one come unscrewed, but some loc-tite would take care of that.

Sources? Sometimes I shop Tandy. But my preference is Springfield Leather, in Springfield, Missouri. http://www.springfieldleather.com They have a good selection, are really good to work with. I don't work for them, etc.

Sporrans: I use 4 oz leather. It is flexible. Doubled up it is stiff enough for the front and back sides. A little hard to carve, though, since it's so thin.

Belt making tutorials?
https://plus.google.com/photos/11548...441?banner=pwa

And of course, the classic on sporrans for the leatherworker...sure it has been posted here lots of times:
http://ssa.nls.uk/film.cfm?fid=0958

Roger