Kilt belt "loop" dimensions please

[cavscout]

I've been searching for someone who can supply me with these little "loops" that are used to fasten a typical kilt belt buckle to the other end of the belt.



The company that makes these is apparently in the witness protection program, so I've decided to make my own. Illegitimis nil carborundum

Can someone with one of these provide me some dimensions of the bulge area at the top and the width of the narrow area were the belt passes thru. I know the overall width is about 2-1/2" for a standard kilt belt.

Thanks gentlemen.

[sjrapid]

Can someone with one of these provide me some dimensions of the bulge area at the top and the width of the narrow area were the belt passes thru.

OK, for my 58 mm wide belt (somewhere between 2.25 and 2.5 inches wide), the straight part of the bulge is 18 mm wide and it's 20 mm centre-to-centre between the long bar through the belt, and the short bar in the bulge.

Looking at my collection of 4 buckles, all have hooks about 15-16 mm wide (which engage with the bulge when the buckle is worn) and the hook is always 20 +- 1 mm from the edge of the buckle.

Hope this helps

(later...)

Reading this back, I'm not sure that I've been clear here. On the principle that a picture is worth a thousand words, here (hopefully) is a dimensioned image which will make things clearer....



Note that the 58 mm dimension is the length of the straight bar excluding curves. Width across the edges of the curves is about 64 mm

Is this what you wanted?

Best regards

[cavscout]

That's perfect Steve. Thank you very much.

[cavscout]

I'm still working out the process but here's the first go at making my own, I'd say it turned out pretty good. Now to slip it on my belt and buy a buckle to test it with.



The weld is probably not needed so that was a one time thing. This is probably a heavier gauge than the typical loop but NO WAY will this bend out of shape It's stainless steel rod. The inside dimension is just over 2-1/2".

[sjrapid]

...here's the first go at making my own

Looks like you're going firmly in the right direction!

Here is another photo of the one I measured.


..and with a solid pewter buckle with a cast clip (Clanart)


...and with a pressed buckle with a welded clip (Glen Esk)


...and the whole ensemble from the front


You can see that the buckle hides the edge of the belt and the loop entirely when worn. I'd guess if the loop was visible, it would need to be japanned (matt black lacquer or paint) so as not to detract attention from the buckle.

I hope the photos are helpful.

When are you going to be in production? I'd like to think about a matching belt and sporran strap when you feel the design is perfected.

Best regards

[cavscout]

It will probably be after the holidays as I've still got to decide on the structure of the belt as to how it will join with the buckle (velcro, buckle or something new). In the military we would just fold the belt back thru the buckle and slip the keeper on to hold it in place but I'm not sure that will suffice for all wearers. I want to maintain the visual integrity of the belt if possible. Once I get that worked out though it will be available.

Thanks for all your help Steve the pics have been a huge help.

[sjrapid]

It will probably be after the holidays...

Let us know when you're ready!

...I've still got to decide on the structure of the belt as to how it will join with the buckle (velcro, buckle or something new)

Well, I'm sure you know already, but I've found that there are two basic ways of doing this on the belts I've seen iun the highland wear shops I visit in London. I'm not sure what the formal designations for these are, but for convenience, let's call them 'velcro' and 'trad'.

Both velcro and trad have more-or-less the same treatment to join the wire loop to the belt - a short length of leather doubled over, and then stitched, glued or riveted (or more than one of the above) through both layers - yet another photo of the same belt - this time with the keeper moved out of the way shows that the true purpose of the keeper is to hide the rivets!



The other end of my velcro belt is simply a 'hook' section, then an 'eye' section of velcro. On my example, the hook section extends over about 100 mm (4 inches) and the eyes extend over 510 mm (20 inches) so the same belt can be adjusted to various different girths of gentleman - here's another pic with my steel rule holding the belt flat -



The 'trad' form of belt is a bit more complicated - the buckle end doubles back on itself (being held flat by the keeper) then has a narrower tapered section and an interior buckle for length adjustment - this can be seen reasonably clearly on this photo:



I chose a velcro belt because I wasn't sure of my precise girth - and because I didn't fancy the idea of the adjuster buckle digging into my side. However, I've since learned that my kilt stays up by itself and doesn't need tension in the belt to hold it on - so I needn't have been worried about the adjuster buckle digging in.

Best regards

Thanks for all your help Steve the pics have been a huge help.

Glad to have been able to!

[cavscout]

I am very torn between which method to utilize. There is a assumed quality and strength that goes with having a metal buckle holding the belt but as you say is it really a benefit to add that much labor and expense to the belt there by raising the overall cost of the belt.

With velcro, many will assume the product is cheap or of poor quality even though velcro is truly the more logical method to balance cost and structural need. I'm trying to explore any other option I can devise before making the choice on velcro but I've a hunch that is what I'll end up doing.

I also did a bit of searching about Clanart who made your buckle and they have some excellent products. I really like their Hounds set of Cantles, buckle and tassel bells. It would look awesome with a belt design I am waiting to release that has a very similar hounds embossing in the leather

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/s...ad.php?t=20792

[cavscout]

Here's the fruits of this project.



I opted to go for the velcro adjustment to maintain the visual integrity of the belt design.

[turpin]

Beautiful work, Steve. That toolwork is excellent!