Lined and Raised Dress Belt - Full-grain Cowhide Men's Belt - Sedgwick English Bridle
This bespoke full grain cowhide leather man's belt lined with full-grain leather promises to satisfy. It is fashioned from only hand selected imported full-grain Sedgwick English Bridle leather. This exceptional leather is of the highest quality! A solid buckle highlights this belt that utilizes unique sizing for added flexibility. This ensures that you get the best strength and character possible in a belt. It will inspire conversation for years.
Leather - Only full grain cowhide leather is hand selected. It is hand cut from one single piece of full grain leather. Your belt will not be made from, nor pieces of, genuine or bonded leather and certainly not vinyl, plastic or faux leather. Those products do not pass quality standards for the true leather connoisseur. Your belt’s durability is magically hidden in the secrets of full-grain leather. Most other belts are made from bonded or genuine leather of inferior thickness. This item is hand finished to a beautiful, mellow glow. And since full grain leather is used you are rewarded with the remarkable character and story of that piece of leather. The scratches, marks, brands and tattoos are undisturbed to provoke conversation and inspire appreciation. Exceptional markings are exclusive to my Private Stock and are individually listed for your consideration of purchase since they are sensational. Each piece is hand treated with creams and waxes in multiple layers with hand buffing between each layer of protection.
Leather lining— Your belt will be lined with English Bridle.
Polyester thread—I use only exceptional imported polyester thread. Polyester surpasses nylon and certainly cotton for strength. Parachutists trust their lives with it. It is the most expensive thread anyone can buy because of its tinsel strength and engineering. If you choose saddle stitching, the single strands of your polyester thread are also braided and weaved not twisted like most thread used in store bought belts. This design is engineered to add strength. Additionally this special import is waxed to shield it from the elements. I use over 35’ of polyester thread making your belt.
Saddle stitch—No stitch is superior to the classic hand saddle stitch used on your belt. A machine (locking) stitch, not used on your belt, will pale in comparison to a saddle stitch. Once there is thread failure with a machine stitch, likely because it uses an inferior, and less expensive, thread like cotton the whole stitch line will certainly unravel because of the stitch design. We have all experienced this with clothing. You pull one tiny thread but two feet of stitching comes out. In the unlikely event your high tinsel polyester thread tears or fails in your saddle stitch it will only fail in that specific spot. The stitch line will not unravel as there are two passing threads in each and every hole, locking the thread in place, something machines cannot duplicate. In preparation of stitching I carefully mark a stitch line with a chisel built specifically for this job. This chisel marks a location for each intended stitch. I then pierce each stitch hole by hand with a diamond shaped awl for stitch integrity. This awl is specifically designed to delicately open the stitch hole without cutting the leather to allow it to shrink back around the stitch for added strength and durability. The awl’s diamond shape leaves a hole that brings the stitch line together for appeal. Your belt will be set with 7 stitches per inch. I chose 7 to allow the stitching to showcase the belt without stealing the show. In high stress areas of your belt I add stitches and wrap them around the leather. To wit I illustrate your buckle where I wrap two threads around the edge of the leather to add strength. Also at the end of every stitch line I add a backstitch to make certain the thread stays where it was intended, locking it in place. Where possible the excess thread from the end of the stitch run is placed on the back of the belt. I then cut the excess thread and burn it. This process bonds the wax adhered to it to the adjacent thread. After stitching is complete, I then set the stitch into the leather by tapping it with a cobbler’s hammer. This process anchors the stitch and nestles it into the leather so that the thread realizes little wear. There are approximately 550 stitches on this belt. A monumental task but the reward is durability.
Belt keeper—I make your belt keeper (the small strap of leather across the belt near the buckle that holds the strap end near the belt) from the same side of leather as your belt. I finish it in black, as well. I also hand bevel, crease and finish the edges of your belt keeper in the same fashion used on your belt. If Saddle Stitch is chosen, I then hand stitch it in the buckle end of your belt between the skived pieces that double over on your belt. I stitch across the belt keeper, perpendicular to the long edge of the keeper and parallel to the edge of the belt. A machine stitch cannot accomplish this as it would then stitch through your belt keeper. I am able to hand stitch behind the face of your keeper by passing the needles behind the keeper. Most store bought belts take a short cut with a machine and stitch in the keeper with two lines of stitching on each side of the keeper, perpendicular to the edge of the belt and parallel to the long edge of the keeper. This shortcut saves enormous time but actually ruins your belt. Those two lines of stitching degrade the leather by acting as two lines of perforation along your leather, not unlike perforation in paper. This shortens the life of your leather and belt.
Buckle – To set the buckle, I carefully hand skive the buckle end of your leather belt to a thickness that allows the leather to be doubled over without being noticed. I take no shortcuts with hardware. I do not forge the hardware but I will not put an inferior product on my hard work. This buckle is only solid heavy duty stainless steel or brass. Its brilliance highlights your belt’s class. I inspected your buckle for any remnants from the forging process. I removed any roughness left from the forging process and hand polished your buckle with jeweler’s rouge and metal polish as a final touch to your belt before I carefully packaged it for you. Buckle pictured may not be the actual buckle used.
Edge finishing—I hand bevel, round and finish the edges of your belt using a color that complements the color of your belt, but the deeper purpose is to add comfort to your belt and seal out the elements keeping them from penetrating your leather. I then add another coat of gum tragacanth, a special finish used by saddle makers to seal edges, on top of your edge finish. Additionally, I add a final coat of local beeswax to seal these edges. I hand burnish these edges between each coat with hard wood tools to a beautifully sealed finish. This process, called burnishing, utilizes the heat created by the friction of the hard wood tools on the leather to set and cure the edge finishes, ensuring the longest protections for your belt
Edge creasing—Where possible, I will crease the edges of your belt and belt keeper with a hand fired heat creasing iron for appeal, but more importantly to assist in sealing out the elements and moisture from the edges of your belt and ipso facto the rest of the leather in your belt.
Sizing –This belt will be tailor made to your size. I uniquely engineer 9 belt buckle holes in this belt at ¾” apart rather than the standard 5 holes at 1” apart of most other belts. This affords you added flexibility in the belt sizing. Your belt will be made to fit you at the middle hole, the most ideal location. I am happy to plus size belts. For more than a 40” waist please contact me for additional pricing to accommodate for leather. I am sensitive to all needs and all conversations are confidential. Dimensions (approximate) – 1” to 1 1/4" (38mm) wide. The length depends on you!
Guarantee – This item is engineered and custom made with the care of using only the finest materials and workmanship. I ensure this by not shipping you something I would not personally enjoy or have confidence in. This item is not imported and then passed off as handmade. This is not a resale. If you are not satisfied or you perceive flaws in the craftsmanship, just send back the item to me and I will bring the product to your satisfaction, remake the item or refund 100% of your purchase price minus shipping costs.
Lead time for shipment is 4 to 6 weeks on most items. Larger items are longer, like bags and briefcases.