Thursday, April 08, 2010

A bit more than I need just to hold pants up

This, is my new belt.

I needed a new kilt belt for JohnOCs wedding, and a new faire belt for that matter; and I couldn't find one I wanted, so I decided to make my own.

My wife grabbed a six foot length, of 3" wide, 12oz tool leather (just under saddle leather in weight, thickness etc..) and I went to work.






I actually managed to kill two punch dies in the process, thats how tough this stuff is.

The hardware is solid brass, with brass Chicago screws holding everything together.

The design of the belt is such that when fastened, there are three full layers of leather over the front of my body (four, around the buckle attachment and adjusting loop); and never less than two layers forward of the midline (the inner ends wrap under each other, and the buckle, clasp and adjuster are another layer, starting at about the midline of the body).

The whole thing took me about an hour (not including the edge dressing and dry time), and I'd say the belt weighs well over a pound.. probably two pounds with the buckle.

I jokingly slapped it into my hand to test the weight, and had to shake off the sting...

I wonder what the TSA will make of it?