$30 Leather Belt vs $450 Leather Belt
Here are some of the main differences between a cheaply made leather belt and a high quality, full grain, vegetable tanned leather belt! I apologize if this video seemed like it turned into a slight plug for Girty Leather Co. I genuinely wanted to just help show what separates a belt like me and many other makers build, from a store bought belt that was cheaply manufactured. Regardless of designs and style, the key difference is the leather! There are many products out on the market that sport the tag "genuine leather" which is a very misleading term. To the general public, this term almost seems synonymous to high quality. The truth is, "genuine leather" actually means the product contains only a small amount of authentic leather. It doesn't disclose what type of leather, where it came from, or how it was tanned. These types of products are not built to last and are mass produced to supply as many consumers as possible.
There are many businesses and small shop makers, including myself, that still work with high quality full grain and top grain leather. Full grain leather is the highest of quality and is the outer layer of the hide that still features the natural grain and texture and has not been altered. Since it has not been altered, full grain leather will usually show signs of scarring, brands, and other blemishes. To some, that may sound unattractive; however, it just proves that the hide is a natural product and is continuing to serve a purpose rather than just being thrown away. Top grain is leather that has had some of the original grain removed to get rid of scars, brands, or other blemishes. Top grain leather is still a better quality, but most of the strength and durability in the original grain has been removed.
Another key difference, especially in western designed items, are the patterns etched into the leather. Most mass produced products will feature embossed patterns, not hand carved or tooled. Embossed leather is generally meant to replicate hand tooled designs or make a less expensive piece of leather look like an exotic or more expensive cut. Embossed patterns are premade stamps that are usually machine pressed into leather. Hand tooling leather actually involves hand tools such as a swivel knife and various stamping tools. Hand carving and stamping is pretty self explanatory and as you can guess, very time consuming! But the designs will generally be deeper in the leather, and are a lot more unique coming from the maker and his or her personal style of tooling. Hand tooling is not something you see every day and it can make a leather project increase quite a bit in price. I understand not everyone can afford custom handmade items, but there is a market for it and the only way to keep traditional trades alive is to keep supporting artists and craftsmen who work at them.
As I said in the video, a regular store bought belt might be all someone wants, needs, or can afford; however, I think it is important to understand the differences that separate a higher quality belt, or any other leather item, from a cheaply manufactured item. If I didn't cover anything properly or skipped over anything please let me know! I don't claim to be an expert or know everything, but just as I said earlier, even I was completely ignorant to the information I mentioned until just a few years ago!
If you would like to browse some of my handmade products then tap the link below!
girtyleatherco.com/
Follow me on Instagram to enjoy more behind the scenes content and view pictures of finished products!
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Пікірлер: 27
Bring awareness to the public... Time ain't cheap nor free...
@Girtyleatherco
6 ай бұрын
That’s correct! I know my prices seem very high from an outside perspective, but they have to cover more than just labor and materials if I want to stay in business and continue to grow
What quality and craftsmanship, beautiful!
@Girtyleatherco
6 ай бұрын
Thank you, I really appreciate that!
This is gold. No one explains this better than you!
Beautiful belts. Video backstitch. That rough out with buck stitch is pretty rad style. Thanks
@Girtyleatherco
6 ай бұрын
I have a full video over buckstitching on my channel! It’s one of my first videos, so it might not be the best, but feel free to give it a look!
What are the Essential Barry King Tools Video?
Nice tooling 👏
amazing work
@Girtyleatherco
2 ай бұрын
Thank you!
Great video. Thank you.
I'd love to have a belt like that, it's hard to justify as hard as I am on them. My Leatherman and the wet dirty conditions usually twist mine up
@Girtyleatherco
6 ай бұрын
I try to keep some plain work belts in stock on my website if you’d be interested in something like that! Nothing fancy, but I still make them double layered with Hermann Oak!
Genuine is a grade like top grain, full grain... it is the lowest grade leather. Usually the last split, then it gets pressed, sanded, buffed, and finished. A lot of times embossed like this belt.
@Girtyleatherco
6 ай бұрын
That is true! I probably could have done a better job at diving into the processes and explaining each type better. Thank you for clarifying that
@maddawgnoll
6 ай бұрын
@Girtyleatherco it's a very good marketing ploy. Anyone who is unaware, reads genuine, and automatically makes them think it's higher quality because it says genuine. The video especially lets people know why we charge what we do for the work we do. There's a lot of people that just don't know that we can charge and get as much as we do for a belt or anything else made with quality in mind. Just had an argument a few days back about this very thing with a few stating I couldn't get $175 (starting point) for a leather belt without branding (like LV) or using exotic leather. I'm sure this video would've helped at the time. They don't understand the difference between a store bought genuine leather belt and a custom shop handmade one.
@norastorvik4155
6 ай бұрын
@maddawgnoll are you saying the belt he built is low grade?
@maddawgnoll
6 ай бұрын
@@norastorvik4155 not at all. The belt he bought is.
@Driplal
6 ай бұрын
I personally don’t think the genuine leather belt you showed in the video in anyway provides less durability than the veg tanned belt compared in the video. On the contrary the belt you made is a sandwiched belt which itself may be less durable than the embossed one ( unless you used a very high quality of adhesive ) you were talking about. The belt you made is actually hand tooled which is great but you too know that you charge way higher for that belt.
anyone who pays $70 for a "genuine" leather belt is getting scammed you can get very well build single and maybe double (if machine sewn) layer Full grain leather belts for that price or slightly more but they will last many times longer.
If the edge is burnished and looks perfectly slick then its probably that composite leather/genuine leather garbage. REAL leather, like top or full grain, will have rougher edges. It can still be burnished or lined, but it wont typically be rounded and slick...especially with store bought belts. And also the back side or rough side will clue you in. The garbage belts will again look perfect, and have some laminated liner, whereas real top grain leather will have a slightly rough and imperfect character to it. And most importantly, the good leather is usually much more supple feeling.
Недостатки данного ремня за 450 долларов как мне кажется это плохо закрепленная пряжка. Не достаточно качественно обработанные урезы, слои кожи на них не должны быть заметны. Лента кожи по периметру ремня скорее всего будет цепляться за сумку на лямке или например за одежду и может в связи м этим довольно быстро потерять свою презентабельность.....! Плотность кожи ни как не связанна с тем хорошая кожа или плохая.....!
I wish people would take as much pride in belts as the do other items. Your work is top notch. But.....please stop saying I 'built' this belt. You build a house not a belt. You made the belt.
@Girtyleatherco
6 ай бұрын
Thank you, I guess I can sharpen up my grammar some 😂
@user-be8it8zy3v
3 ай бұрын
Don't worry about your grammar!!!!! You cut the the belt out of raw leather and the backing strip as well, Glues it as well as tapped the leather to help the glue stick. Then you had to trim, sand, and burnish it, Then cased it, tooled it, finished it, and stitched it. plus other time consuming things I left out. Building a belt is a process a person goes through and so is building a house . Some have a gift for it and others don't. @@Girtyleatherco