Belts
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The leather on my belt was soft and the edges were fraying and bleeding color terribly. I took it to a repair shop that tried to burnish and wax the edges but it didn't help.
I contacted Giles and was going to send it to him to check out and see what he thought, but he just straight up replaced it for me. He really was under no obligation to me. The replacement leather he sent me was very different, stiff, smooth shaved edges, no problems.
The impression I got was that the belt I had was too soft for such a thick belt, as if it were treated (oiled?) a bit too much but I don't know. I still have it, it's just sitting in a drawer…
Giles stood behind a product I didn't even buy from him. He's earned my business for life. I'm gradually trying to repay him by buying way too much Iron Heart from him...
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Brand Belts vs. Custom belts
Hello guys,
I have a couple of belts from Unlucky, now looking at photos of samurai, Ih and strike gold belts, japanese brands in general, they seem more refined in the edges. I dont know if this may be a photo effect, any experience comparing brand belts vs. custom like unlucky, hollows etc? do brand belts maybe have a factory machine that cut them cleaner?
cheers!
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Brand Belts vs. Custom belts
Hello guys,
I have a couple of belts from Unlucky, now looking at photos of samurai, Ih and strike gold belts, japanese brands in general, they seem more refined in the edges. I dont know if this may be a photo effect, any experience comparing brand belts vs. custom like unlucky, hollows etc? do brand belts maybe have a factory machine that cut them cleaner?
cheers!
Do you mean that they bevel the edge?
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Wow, that's a good looking albeit pricey belt. If Scott Willis is the same person I have dealt with, the price of the belt would be much, much cheaper.
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i ordered one in tan
the reason for me to get this belt-Heavy duty stainless steel roller buckle made from 316 marine grade steel.(not cheap and rattling die-cast buckles
like most belt….expensive IH, DRY BONES,SHUGAR CANE or Samurai belts too-(1/ 3/4 inch) 44mm bull hide...particular the 44mm
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Good reasons enough. I agree, heavy duty buckles are very hard to find.
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Ive been busy and haven't taken the time to switch over these buckles yet… turns out the hardware on these things wont accommodate my tanner belts because the metal loop that swings down that you slide the belt through tapers inward up towards the buckle so... its too tight a fit. Won't even insert past an inch or so. I spoke to the guy that created them and he said he had some ideas that would work, but i havent heard back from him in awhile now.. he told me he has to keep going out of town (my buckles even initially shipped way way later than they were supposed to)
Does anyone have experience making modification to belt buckle hardware? I feel like if i got some pliers and pulled that little swing bar apart and put a bigger one on it, they would be fine? But i dont really know how to do it or a good place to get the parts?
Ok… super belated update on this hardware issue. Mark Joiner apologized that the hardware wouldn't fit even though he told me they definitely would prior to ordering... after i contacted him and explained everything he asked me to send photos showing him the issue then turned around and said he could fix it no problem... he had me send back a brand new tanner belt i had along with both of his buckles so he could fix it for me. It took him FOREVER to reply... several months. Finally he replied and said that he couldn't fix it with the hardware he had and that he would figure something out. Several months more passed before i heard from him again and that was only after i eventually emailed him again after getting tired of waiting. Finally after like a year and a half he said he was embarassed and that he would send back my belt and issue me a refund ASAP. It took him an extremely long time to ship back the belt and he forgot to ship back the roller buckle with it... never issued me a refund. Kept promising me the refund. Never came. Now his e-mail and phone numbers he gave me recently do not work. Even he admitted that i had been very patient and that he had been unprofessional. I am extremely disappointed in this guy and i only bring it up now so it doesnt happen to any other forum members that might see this thread and think... "whoa, those are cool buckles!" haha
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I have to second Splattered's comments about Mark Joiner. I purchased two buckles from him that never showed, up, the resulting correspondence was painfully slow. When I did get communication with him he claimed the postal service had let him down, I don't doubt this but he did not manage the situation very well at all. I waited for feedback on the missing belts and got nothing back from him. In the end ( about 4 months after the initial purchase ), I asked for a refund and got no reply.
I have written this purchase off as a bad mistake. I would urge people to be wary when dealing with this guy, in my experience he managed to re-define the word "unreliable"
On a more positive note, I managed to pick up a beautiful IHB-03 from Seul. I am looking to replace the belt as it is slightly too small for me.
I would like to use a UK based leather shop / craftsman to help save on logistical headaches ( I am UK based ).Does anyone have any good recommendations for good leather artisans in the UK?? I have made a few internet searches but have struggled to find any real strong candidates. To do the IHB-03 buckle justice a really good quality belt is required.
I had thought about getting a belt with a press stud style fixing at one end, thus allowing me to use different colour belt straps with the buckle.
I am not sure if this style of belt will suit the IHB-03 though. Having a couple of press studs close to the buckle may not look as nice and clean as having the belt strap properly stitched around the buckle?? What do you reckon??Any feedback would be most welcome.
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Heard really nice things about Terry Dear, particularly his Quercus belt. Never had any dealings with him personally, but I believe his prices are reasonable and the quality is excellent. He's supposed to be pretty willing to work with customers on special orders and requests.
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Got a Quercus on order at the moment.
I sent him my buckle and he's gonna work with it and make the belt I want.
1 week turnaround.
Really easy to deal with although he does tend to email about 1 o'clock (UK) in the morning. -
Heard really nice things about Terry Dear, particularly his Quercus belt. Never had any dealings with him personally, but I believe his prices are reasonable and the quality is excellent. He's supposed to be pretty willing to work with customers on special orders and requests.
backed…
I know terry through a group order some sufu guys did with him and he handled things like a pro. great craftmanship, big bang for the buck and definitely the way to go when you're looking for a MTO belt (besides a few more gret gentlemen!)...
good things tend to take their time, but you can be damn sure about you being stunned about the item as soon as you open that package...it's like when opening a package from IH.co.uk, trust me
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i ordered one in tan
the reason for me to get this belt-Heavy duty stainless steel roller buckle made from 316 marine grade steel.(not cheap and rattling die-cast buckles
like most belt….expensive IH, DRY BONES,SHUGAR CANE or Samurai belts too-(1/ 3/4 inch) 44mm bull hide...particular the 44mm
let's see the finished product lad
