Faire Leather kilt belt....review

[cloves]

so awhile back I was surfing through ebay listings, looking at a bunch of different types of leather goods, and stumbled upon a vendor (Michael) who made heavy leather belts for SCA fighting.
On a whim I emailed him and inquired about custom work/ kilts belts etc.
He emailed me back right away and said yes he did in fact do custom work and wanted to know what I had in mind.
After numerous emails back and forth, and many bad photoshop attempts to express what I was thinking of, as well as a final drawing, we settled on a design....

I liked his buckled belts, but wondered if they perhaps might be too costume-y for regular wear, so decided a two-pronged roller buckle would make the belt look more utilitarian. Like that of a weight lifter, or the Sam Browne type belts that hold pistols and accessories.

So two pronger, what next? I wanted it wide but not too wide. So three inches max. It needed rivets. Chrome to go with the chrome buckle.
I liked the "speartip" end on some of Michaels other belts so I requested that detail. Color....hrmmm...black...and mahogany.

A few weeks later, and a few emails of updates (with pictures) of the progress, a totally custom Faire Leather kilt belt showed up in my mailbox.

REVIEW

the belt itself is very hefty. I don't know how much this thing weights but it's the heaviest belt i've ever lifted. Feels pretty good wrapped around your waist though. Great for the back support.
Leather is supple and smells good. Color is great, just what was requested, however the back is unfinished and sheds a bit. You can tell the belt was cut by hand as it is very, very slightly irregular in width, however I actually LIKE this. It adds character and reminds me this thing was crafted by hand.
One thing that bugs me just a bit, is that the back panel isn't quite centered with the buckle once it's done up. That is to say, you can either have the raised panel centered on your back OR the buckle centered on your navel, not both. While it bugs me.....it doesn't bug the person who it was made for much at all, as she wears her buckles punk rock style, off to the side.
Yep, that's right, the belt isn't even for me. It's for my partner who has her first kilt on the way as you all read this.
Would I buy from Michael at Faire Leather for myself? Heck yes I would! Not only did he deliver an awesome product, he was a real pleasure to work with.
Here are a couple pics
the front


the back


check out his website, and let him know I sent you.
We'll post better pics of it actually being worn with her kilt once it arrives.

Cheers!

Cloves

[Mountainman]

Very nice!! If you don't mind my asking what did it set you back?

[cloves]

it was quite expensive but I'd prefer not to say how much it cost, as prices are negotiatied with Faire Leather on a project by project basis.
Send Michael an email. He is great to talk to and would probably give you a quote on something similar if you're interested.

[Mountainman]

thanks maybe in the next month i will be able to afford one! right now i am having trouble getting together 20-25 for a leather work belt from lowes or some hardware store to use as a cheap kilt belt.

[Dirk Skene]

If someone had discribed it to me without a picture I probably would have thought that the brown & black together would have looked tacky, but it is very nice. If I get one like that I would not need to keep any other kilt belt. And BTW thanks for the link.

[Kid Cossack]

That would look wicked cool with an R-kilts distressed bronze and black Tasmanian Devil sporran.

[cloves]

you think? I'm not even sure if you can get a 2" belt into the loops on an RKilt, let alone this 3" wide monster.

[turpin]

Cloves, that is one attractive piece of leatherwork. I've always iked the combination of red-browns with black, just not the more natural browns.

[ccga3359]

Very nice Cloves. Wish you hadn't have included the link though. I just saw the Surcoat. Now where did Fearnest leave his wallet?

[pdcorlis]

Very wonderful leather work indeed - I'm a sucker for black & golden tan or black & chestnut leather work. Now I wonder what's going through Turpin's head...