Making a belt?

[TheOfficialBren]

Hello, rabble! I have a question for some of our leather artisans.

I would like to make myself a belt for wearing with and without a kilt. I have belt blanks, chicago screws, a proper punch, tooling kit, and ecen a buckle blank intended to be covered with tooled leather. How do I get started?

I don't want it to be too plain but I want it to be a good beginner's project. I intend to use some antique finish on the leather, too.

Many, many thanks!!

[A Hay]

Bren,
Congratulations on taking on a new challenge.
As you might imagine from our previous dealings, Leatherworking is one of my hobbies.
A leather belt is a good starting point. It is a little difficult to begin offering comments without knowing a bit more about any previous experience you may have, what kind of materials and tools you have to work with, and what level of detail you want to put into your belt.

Did you purchase the belt blanks at Tandy Leather? Sounds like they might be unfinished, light tan in color. If so, then you can carve or stamp a design into the leather before applying a finish. A design can be as simple as a line or two near each edge, or a repeating celtic knot or repeating stamped designs using special stamps.

If you have little to no experience, there are many videos and pages on Google or You Tube if you search for "Basic Leatherworking" Tandy Leather also has a nice series in the video library but that costs about $10 for a month's subscription.

I'll send you my regular email by PM so you can write me more with specific questions if you like.

Best Wishes.

Tom

[Tobus]

I have belt blanks, chicago screws, a proper punch, tooling kit, and ecen a buckle blank intended to be covered with tooled leather.

What is a "tooling kit"? Is it some sort of starter kit with a mallet and some basic stamping tools? Can you tell us a little more about this kit? It's kinda hard to know what you can do to that belt without knowing which tools you have.

Personally, for a beginner, I'd recommend a basic basketweave or similar repeating pattern if you want some texture on the belt but don't have enough experience to do custom tooling. You should practice on some scrap leather first to understand how the pattern repeats, and get used to keeping it straight as you move across the leather. But once you master a simple basket stamp (of which there are many, many variations), you can make some really nice stuff. And it looks even better with antiquing on it.

*edited to add: Visual examples are always good. This is a gunbelt my wife made a few years ago. Aside from the custom floral work on the back, the majority of it is a simple basket stamp. This could look really good on any belt, even if you're not going for a western motif. Also shown is a leather wrap that I made, showing how a simple basket stamp can really visually "pop" with antiquing on it.

[TheOfficialBren]

Here are some of my tools.
Thank you, guys, for your advice.

Tom, yes, I have some blanks from Tandy. They are light tan but I would like to darken one to match the sporran you made. They are rough so I know that I will need to do the edges. A repeating Celtic knot or Pictish weave would be most desirable. I sent you a pricvate message a few days ago but I will look for your new message.

Tobus, that is some awesome leatherwork, sir! You and your Mrs are a talented lot.

Yes, I have a mallet and many stamping tools.
Am I missing anything before I get started?

[A Hay]

Bren,
It looks like you have a good selection of basic tools. The only things I didn't see that I use frequently is a stylus with a point on one end and a spoon on the other. The other thing I didn't see is an edge slicker. The stylus is useful in rounding over the edges of the cuts in designs to make them look smoother. The edge slicker (either a round wheel with a groove or a similar device) is used to smooth the edges of belts or sporran flaps. BTW the dye I used for the sporran is called USMC Black with coats of acrylic RESOLVE applied when the dye is dry. I had to use a cloth to rub the leather down after applying the dye which dried to a dull finish but the cloth took the dullness off.

Tandy has some belt craftaids which make it easy to apply a specific design to belts, including, I think, celtic knots.

What is the width of the belt blank you want to use?

Tom

[Oberu]

Great advice all around! First thing I'd recommend if I were going to start tooling is that you make sure that swivel knife is pretty sharp, the sharper the better. The kits will give you patterns and you basically cut the lines and press, either with a shaping tool like the assortment you've got or with a stylus like Bren has suggested and create a contrast of depths. That's the the basics of it. I wish you luck and enjoy yourself, that's the most important part : )

[TheOfficialBren]

Awesome! Thanks, Tom. I poked around and I think I found a stylus and an edge slicker in my box.
Btw, PM sent to you, Tom.

What is my first step to making my belt? Edges? Tooling??

[Tobus]

Good pics - looks like you have a decent starting point for tooling. Other items I'd think you need are a good piece of marble or other heavy, solid block for tooling on. Do not use any surface that will bounce or otherwise detract from your mallet strikes. And make sure you keep that swivel knife super-sharp. This means keeping a strop nearby with jeweler's rouge.

What is my first step to making my belt? Edges? Tooling??

First thing is to decide what pattern/design you want to put on it. Draw it out on paper, full length. This, of course, requires that you go ahead and measure out the length you'll need for your belt (including planning out the ends). You stated that you're using a buckle blank, which I assume is a traditional bar/tongue buckle, and not a kilt waistplate. Is this correct? If so, then you'll only have one folded-back end, and the other will be a billet end. I'd go ahead and plan all that out first, cut it to length, and mark where your holes will need to be. Taper down the billet end or do whatever other trimming-to-shape you'll need to do.

Then you'll transfer the pattern to the leather by overlaying your paper pattern on the belt and tracing it with your stylus to imprint it on the leather. This needs to be done firmly enough to leave an indentation in the leather so that when you case it, it won't disappear. Once you've got the pattern traced on there, case it and start your swivel knife cuts. Then do the tooling. One tip I would share: it's useful to back your leather with stiff craft paper or something that will help keep it from stretching out as you tool it. Nothing's more annoying than starting with a perfect belt blank and ending up with a crooked wavy belt, due to the leather spreading out unevenly as you tool it.

Edging (both the cutting of the edge with your edging tool as well as the burnishing) generally comes last, as a final finishing step before applying dye/finish and punching holes.

[Tobus]

By the way, do you have a backgrounding tool? I don't think I see one in your tool holder. A good textured background around your tooling will go a long way in making the pattern stand out. And of course, you can always dye the backgrounding (carefully, using a small paint brush) for even more contrast. It just depends on how bold you want the pattern to appear. But a good textured background, even un-dyed, will give a nice 3D appearance to your tooling for a more professional look. It just adds visual interest.

Once again, some visual examples. Look specifically at the texturing between the raised areas of the tooling. One photo is of my own kilt belt, the other is of a saddle my wife made (showing how it can look when dyed in the backgrounding).

[TheOfficialBren]

Wow! Thank you for your tips and advice, Tobus!


I really got a lot out of this.