The making process of a handmade belt

by One Skin a Day It’s been a long time since I took a photo of the process, mainly because one person usually has to make orders, so it’s a bit troublesome to take photos, which will slow down the entire production process. After all, for craftsmen, time is money. So I hope that friends who read this can be grateful for any sharing, and be less sarcastic and more grateful for encouragement. If everyone is willing to share, then there will be more gained. Okay, let’s stop talking nonsense and let’s get to the point. Recently, a customer happened to want to customize a raw-color belt. After several discussions, he finally chose to use Italian saddle leather backing material to make it. Yi'an has always been my favorite leather material. Although it is not a top-grade leather material, it is much better than ordinary domestic white vegetable tanned leather. Especially for beginners, it is easy to get started and get results. I have always said that it is easier to increase interest in handmade leather crafts if you use better leather to practice your skills. Uh... I almost digressed again, lets talk about the belt. The reason why we choose the back material is that cowhide has the highest density on the back. Although density is not the only criterion for judging the quality of leather, high density determines its durability and makes it easier to polish to create a beautiful edge sealing effect.

The introduction begins below The production process starts with the tools. I put together the basic tools used to make the belt and took a photo, which is the picture below;

I won’t talk about straps, buttons and screws. I will introduce the tools in order from left to right: sharpening Thinning knife, edger, triangular grinder, round punch, oval punch, straight punch, sandpaper (280 mesh and 600 mesh). The thinning knife can be replaced by a wide shovel. The triangular grinder is not a necessary tool, so if you don’t have it, you can It doesn't matter;

First of all We need to shovel the lead thinner. Why do we need to shovel it thin? Because it needs to be folded back. If it is not shoveled thin, it will be difficult to fold it back. Even if it can be folded back, it will be very hard. After all, the thickness of the original leather is at least about 4mm. When folded back, it will be 8mm. Not pretty either. Remember one thing when using a thinning knife, a very, very important point! Do not put your hand in front of the blade under any circumstances. I have witnessed manyMultiple serious stab wounds.

When shoveling Don't be anxious, you can shovel off the fleshy surface bit by bit like a plane.

After shoveling If it feels flat enough, you can use a triangular grinder or other sandpaper tool to smooth it.

As for shoveling The thickness can be determined according to the length of the screws. Don't prepare screws with a full height of 7mm. If the screws are only 6mm after shoveling, the gain outweighs the loss.

Give pinhole For positioning, the needle refers to the needle on the belt buckle.

Press lightly first Make a mark and measure to see if the position is correct.

Knock it down hard , don’t shake your hands.

Start measuring the waist circumference below. It is not recommended to measure the belt based on the waist circumference of the pants, otherwise it may be a little different. It is recommended to find a used belt and measure it from the top of the needle to the most suitable That hole is the appropriate waist size.

Position the waistline. Generally, casual belts need to drill 5 holes. This hole is the third hole in the middle (oo●oo);

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Then position the tail end. The length of the tail of a casual belt is generally the middle. The distance from the 3 holes to the tail end is 18cm.

Cut a tail out. Because the shape of the button is very square, it is best to design the tail with some edges.

Turn over the meat side and use bed treatment agent to treat it so it looks smoother.

Use a glass plate for the painted area Or any smooth object is polished repeatedly.

It’s best to apply one section and polish one section, otherwise the front part will easily dry out if you apply the whole strip.

Smooth meat The overall look is great.

Use chamfering Use a tool to chamfer the edges of the front and back sides respectively. As for the size of the edger to use, it depends on how round you want to grind the edges. I use the Da Chong No. 4 edger on the front (because it is specially customized, (may be larger than No. 4), the blue handle edger No. 3 is used on the back;

The shaved edge can be seen intuitively. It is actually very round, but it still needs to be polished;

Hold a small piece of sandpaper with your hand like this

First roughen the edges and paint them Wet, continue sanding.

After the shape comes out , change to 600 mesh and continue polishing.

For those who don’t have a wooden clamp, you can put the belt on the edge of the table like me and use it inside Hold a cutting board or other object against it and sand back and forth along the edge.

Belt