Equus Leather - English Handstitched Bridle Leather Belts - Official Affiliate and Review Thread

[RT282]

Hi there - did you ever decide on a wallet and buy one? Like you, I'm having trouble deciding on the colours/leather but like the rust and Bordeaux especially. I wonder how they would look together.

I'd love any advice or ideas from anyone who has an equus wallet, it's a rather special gift ...

thanks

Certainly I did. I suspect (fingers crossed) the rust/bordeaux piece on Charlie's work bench is mine. Can't wait to see how it looks looks and feels and start using it! Been more than 3 months now

I think the best way to make the decision on materials and colours is to order the samples. Nothing beats seeing the colour in the flesh and having actual tactile feedback handling the leather. It helped me eliminate options and confirm my preferences.

I shortlisted eventually to between CdR/chevre and 2 different full chevre colours combi and rotated laying the samples alongside over a few days viewing and comparing my choices multiple times a day to test how enduring my choices are.

It's easier for me to decide between the colour combination than the leather option. I love the texture and tonality and contrast of the CdR/chevre (CdR/bordeaux is really lovely!) but finally went with full chevre for the softness and supple feel of the leather on my fingers.

 

[Equus Leather]

Certainly I did. I suspect (fingers crossed) the rust/bordeaux piece on Charlie's work bench is mine. Can't wait to see how it looks looks and feels and start using it! Been more than 3 months now

I think the best way to make the decision on materials and colours is to order the samples. Nothing beats seeing the colour in the flesh and having actual tactile feedback handling the leather. It helped me eliminate options and confirm my preferences.

I shortlisted eventually to between CdR/chevre and 2 different full chevre colours combi and rotated laying the samples alongside over a few days viewing and comparing my choices multiple times a day to test how enduring my choices are.

It's easier for me to decide between the colour combination than the leather option. I love the texture and tonality and contrast of the CdR/chevre (CdR/bordeaux is really lovely!) but finally went with full chevre for the softness and supple feel of the leather on my fingers.

The anticipation is all part of the fun of bespoke

I would agree with ref to the samples - physical pieces of leather make a decision much easier. Our leathers are fully or very nearly aniline, so there will always be some variance between samples and a finished article, but they give a very good idea of what the finished thing will be.

It should be said, outside of a completely custom build (which is totally possible) the leathers in a wallet arent seen together a lot, you have the inside out the outside, which I think makes the consideration of colours a trifle different than if you had alternating coloured pockets, for eg. Thread choice is important too, the thread has to work with all the leathers chosen. Thats a sample option also

Heres (a bad pair of photos of) bordeax and rust - you can see why samples help see them together. FWIW I very much like CdR and Rust, which is the other variant of this variation

 

[Chris Waffles]

Just received my Stratfield belt (it's great!) and wanted to share my wonderful experience with Equus.

About a month ago I placed an order for the belt for my wedding (this weekend), unaware that the crafting time might take as long as 5 weeks. I checked in with Equus, and Dawn was gracious enough to make sure that the belt made it to me this week. Thank you to Dawn and the rest of Equus for helping me out of the hole I dug myself!

 

[Equus Leather]

Just received my Stratfield belt (it's great!) and wanted to share my wonderful experience with Equus.

About a month ago I placed an order for the belt for my wedding (this weekend), unaware that the crafting time might take as long as 5 weeks. I checked in with Equus, and Dawn was gracious enough to make sure that the belt made it to me this week. Thank you to Dawn and the rest of Equus for helping me out of the hole I dug myself!

Delighted we were able to help you need a special belt for a special day! Many congratulations on the big day!

Charlie

 

[am55]

Charlie, I know it's a busy time for you but if you have any pictures of the Carnaby, Berkley or Garrison buckles other than what is shown on the site, I'd love to see them. Tried a search but I don't have time to browse 225 pages here, and neither Google nor DuckDuckGo had these keywords indexed...

 

[am55]

I ordered my Shackleton last March, and it has served me as my default travel belt since, so it has developed the beginning of an interesting patina. Here it is after a very quick toothpaste shine of the corners and tip of the whatever you call the spike thing:

What is interesting is that this part developed a green marbling which is not seen anywhere else on the buckle:

Maybe hands have certain oils on them which causes frequent handling to lead to different reactions over time?

Debating the wisdom of the shine. There was something nice and casual about the dull patina. I begin to understand the appeal of the satin finish.

I like brass for the buckle enough I'm about to order two more... certainly steel is lower maintenance, but...

- edited to use screenshots instead of Google image links...

 

[kevenmee]

I ordered my Shackleton last March, and it has served me as my default travel belt since, so it has developed the beginning of an interesting patina. Here it is after a very quick toothpaste shine of the corners and tip of the whatever you call the spike thing:

What is interesting is that this part developed a green marbling which is not seen anywhere else on the buckle:

Maybe hands have certain oils on them which causes frequent handling to lead to different reactions over time?

Debating the wisdom of the shine. There was something nice and casual about the dull patina. I begin to understand the appeal of the satin finish.

I like brass for the buckle enough I'm about to order two more... certainly steel is lower maintenance, but...

Not sure if others are seeing the same thing, but your images aren't showing up.

 

[am55]

Not sure if others are seeing the same thing, but your images aren't showing up.

Thanks for the heads up. Instead of copying the actual image from Google Photos my clipboard had the image URL which the forum turned into an image that worked just for me, since I was logged in... @admin storage is cheap these days and if you downloaded and stored these linked images yourself you'd future-proof the site quite a bit! Remember Imageshack...

 

[Elderidge]

I ordered my Shackleton last March, and it has served me as my default travel belt since, so it has developed the beginning of an interesting patina. Here it is after a very quick toothpaste shine of the corners and tip of the whatever you call the spike thing:

View attachment 1066026

What is interesting is that this part developed a green marbling which is not seen anywhere else on the buckle:

View attachment 1066027

Maybe hands have certain oils on them which causes frequent handling to lead to different reactions over time?

Debating the wisdom of the shine. There was something nice and casual about the dull patina. I begin to understand the appeal of the satin finish.

I like brass for the buckle enough I'm about to order two more... certainly steel is lower maintenance, but...

- edited to use screenshots instead of Google image links...

It's a great belt. I got one and the leather feels amazing. Big and chunky but surprisingly soft.

Mine smells like smoked fish jerky though.

 

[am55]

It's a great belt. I got one and the leather feels amazing. Big and chunky but surprisingly soft.

Mine smells like smoked fish jerky though.

That smell... it takes me back to my riding days. Not the horses per se but the place where they kept the saddles and bridles.

I'm usually OK with it, might even call it quite nice on occasion, but on long haul flights, towards the end, it can be a bit nauseating to get a whiff. Can't help but wonder if one gets used to the smell when wearing it whilst everybody else is wondering why the guy over there smells so strong.

 

[Elderidge]

That smell... it takes me back to my riding days. Not the horses per se but the place where they kept the saddles and bridles.

I'm usually OK with it, might even call it quite nice on occasion, but on long haul flights, towards the end, it can be a bit nauseating to get a whiff. Can't help but wonder if one gets used to the smell when wearing it whilst everybody else is wondering why the guy over there smells so strong.

Probably, my brother was half asleep when i walked by and the smell woke him lol

 

[dopey]

The fish smell fades

 

[Equus Leather]

I ordered my Shackleton last March, and it has served me as my default travel belt since, so it has developed the beginning of an interesting patina. Here it is after a very quick toothpaste shine of the corners and tip of the whatever you call the spike thing:

View attachment 1066026

What is interesting is that this part developed a green marbling which is not seen anywhere else on the buckle:

View attachment 1066027

Maybe hands have certain oils on them which causes frequent handling to lead to different reactions over time?

Debating the wisdom of the shine. There was something nice and casual about the dull patina. I begin to understand the appeal of the satin finish.

I like brass for the buckle enough I'm about to order two more... certainly steel is lower maintenance, but...

- edited to use screenshots instead of Google image links...

I also tend to leave the brass buckles be and just let them be, I like the polished but darker look you get, much more than satin which isnt my favorite.

The green stuff is verdegris, its a very Bakers characteristic, and you'll often find it by the tounge as thats this bit in contact with the leather most. You can clean it same as the rest of the buckle though. Oils from your fingers will certainly tarnish the buckle (once we have them in their final state of polish we Renaissance Wax them and handle them with bare hands as little as possible), but the green is a different thing, fingers will darken the brass.

Steel is much lower maintenance, as is Palladium. Brass is a lovely metal though and has more personality than anything else

 

[Equus Leather]

That smell... it takes me back to my riding days. Not the horses per se but the place where they kept the saddles and bridles.

I'm usually OK with it, might even call it quite nice on occasion, but on long haul flights, towards the end, it can be a bit nauseating to get a whiff. Can't help but wonder if one gets used to the smell when wearing it whilst everybody else is wondering why the guy over there smells so strong.

This is the oil used for the Bakers leathers, in particular the harness leathers. It does fade, but it is the nature of the beast when the belts are new. The Sedgwick leathers and the Calf leathers are much more (or entirely for the calf) neutral

 

[Equus Leather]

Charlie, I know it's a busy time for you but if you have any pictures of the Carnaby, Berkley or Garrison buckles other than what is shown on the site, I'd love to see them. Tried a search but I don't have time to browse 225 pages here, and neither Google nor DuckDuckGo had these keywords indexed...

Belated response, sorry!

Here you go