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

[dopey]

So, my Damask belt came. Perfect, and the buckle on black leather is tremendous. Very dramatic. I have to wear it one hole larger already, (I guess that my older belts stretched a bit!) Sigh... age and cake. Maybe it's a good reason to go down to dessert only once a day. My wife has sequestered it for a month, so, no pictures either for a bit.

I'm very tempted to order one of these raised and lined belts with a Sterling silver buckle just to really make it as luxurious as possible. How sturdy are those silver buckles, Charlie?

I have one and its awesome. Are you really worried about breaking a belt buckle?

 

[LA Guy]

I have one and its awesome. Are you really worried about breaking a belt buckle?

I have broken a sterling silver belt buckle. Granted, it was a MA+ one that is deliberately stone aged, and it was after a few year of regular wear. Silver is pretty soft and can break over time if you hang your fingers in your belt and pull and worry at it regularly. Steel and brass buckles you will never break the frame and bar, but sometimes flimsy prongs, even in brass or steel, will easily bend out of place.

 

[dopey]

Wow. To be honest, I was more concerned you were going to try to break it by leaving it buckled on and overeating for six-months.

 

[Riva]

So, my Damask belt came. Perfect, and the buckle on black leather is tremendous. Very dramatic. I have to wear it one hole larger already, (I guess that my older belts stretched a bit!) Sigh... age and cake. Maybe it's a good reason to go down to dessert only once a day. My wife has sequestered it for a month, so, no pictures either for a bit.

I'm very tempted to order one of these raised and lined belts with a Sterling silver buckle just to really make it as luxurious as possible. How sturdy are those silver buckles, Charlie?

Lined and raised bridle is thick and woody. For a more luxurious look I suggest leather with some grain.

 

[dopey]

Lined and raised bridle is thick and woody. For a more luxurious look I suggest leather with some grain.

That's what mine is. sterling mayfair with dark brown grained calf. Pine stitching.

 

[Equus Leather]

So, my Damask belt came. Perfect, and the buckle on black leather is tremendous. Very dramatic. I have to wear it one hole larger already, (I guess that my older belts stretched a bit!) Sigh... age and cake. Maybe it's a good reason to go down to dessert only once a day. My wife has sequestered it for a month, so, no pictures either for a bit.

I'm very tempted to order one of these raised and lined belts with a Sterling silver buckle just to really make it as luxurious as possible. How sturdy are those silver buckles, Charlie?

They're strong enough not to be a concern. Weve had two brakages ever, one was run over by a forklift, and the second had a casting flaw in the tounge you couldnt see at all from the outside, the only time I've ever seen that. No-one's ever broken one yet outside those two so I dont think you should have an issue! We make our tounges differently than a lot of the light weight ones you see, mostly theyre oval section so they have a lot more strength and material than the more or less flat ones you see a lot off on Italian belts, lots of safety margin

In terms of the leather, the bridle is leather but if you want sonthing a little softer feeling the grained calf had a lovely feel to it, soft but substantial. The bridle L&Rs are 6mm in the centre so they are genuinley hefty, the calf versions we make at 3.75-4mm so theyre much more flexible, feel softer to wear, all that kind of stuff. They certainly go well with the silver.

For those who dont know our silver buckles, here they are, on simple bridle straps in these photos. You can see the shape of the tounge, its elegant but without sacrificing strength

The Silver West End

The Silver Mayfair

Charlie

 

[Equus Leather]

That's what mine is. sterling mayfair with dark brown grained calf. Pine stitching.

That was a great combo - we liked it a lot here. I dont think I took a photo

 

[dopey]

That was a great combo - we liked it a lot here. I dont think I took a photo

You did!! I just found this -

 

[Equus Leather]

You did!! I just found this - View attachment 1188543

At least some one remember what I’ve photographed, I certainly never do!

 

[LA Guy]

They're strong enough not to be a concern. Weve had two brakages ever, one was run over by a forklift, and the second had a casting flaw in the tounge you couldnt see at all from the outside, the only time I've ever seen that. No-one's ever broken one yet outside those two so I dont think you should have an issue! We make our tounges differently than a lot of the light weight ones you see, mostly theyre oval section so they have a lot more strength and material than the more or less flat ones you see a lot off on Italian belts, lots of safety margin

In terms of the leather, the bridle is leather but if you want sonthing a little softer feeling the grained calf had a lovely feel to it, soft but substantial. The bridle L&Rs are 6mm in the centre so they are genuinley hefty, the calf versions we make at 3.75-4mm so theyre much more flexible, feel softer to wear, all that kind of stuff. They certainly go well with the silver.

For those who dont know our silver buckles, here they are, on simple bridle straps in these photos. You can see the shape of the tounge, its elegant but without sacrificing strength

The Silver West End

View attachment 1188531

The Silver Mayfair

View attachment 1188530

Charlie

I'm rather in love with the curves of the West End buckle, and there is something lovely about the Sterling marks (not sure what they are called) as well. Something very rune-like about them. I'm going to wait and enjoy the damask for a while before pulling the trigger on the Sterling, but I have a feeling that it will come my way.

 

[crazn]

Hi Guys,

I posted some photos of our "original" Damascus buckles a post or too above. Heres a shot from this morning of our Damascus Montpellier Belt Kit on the very subtle Dark Blue Grained Calf, from our favourite French tannery. Very different look but both buckles are from the same workshops in Japan. I love the weather beaten wood grain of the buckle and the geometry of the corners.

View attachment 1183759

and heres the Montpellier buckle by itself. Its for one of our belt kits, so it interchanges straps which are available in calf, Alligator, bridle, and most other leathers. We make them in Grained and Baranil calf most often

View attachment 1183755

Charlie

very Hermes. buckle and belt.

 

[Equus Leather]

I'm rather in love with the curves of the West End buckle, and there is something lovely about the Sterling marks (not sure what they are called) as well. Something very rune-like about them. I'm going to wait and enjoy the damask for a while before pulling the trigger on the Sterling, but I have a feeling that it will come my way.

The hallmarks are very English. Theyre basically unchanged for centuries, we have them hallmarked at Goldsmiths in London who started in 1327 - its fair to say theres a lot of heritage behind them.

Personally I also prefer the West End. Its an older, more traditional buckle. That could be seen as a bad thing, but it also means its had centuries of tweaking to reduce it to an elegant functional object. Every curve is there to make it a better object, which is very compelling, to me anyway

Charlie

 

[Equus Leather]

That's what mine is. sterling mayfair with dark brown grained calf. Pine stitching.

very Hermes. buckle and belt.

Thank you, probably! The belts are a little heavier than the H versions - I love what they do in many ways, but I feel their stuff is a touch light weight. We share more or less all the tanneries we both use - the very best tanneries are very few and far between - so the leathers can share a look as theyre often the same

 

[LA Guy]

Thank you, probably! The belts are a little heavier than the H versions - I love what they do in many ways, but I feel their stuff is a touch light weight. We share more or less all the tanneries we both use - the very best tanneries are very few and far between - so the leathers can share a look as theyre often the same

I feel the same. I like Hermes leather goods and jewelry, but while their silver is often as solid as it comes (I have some Hermes jewelry that I will bet is tougher than most biker stuff) I've had things like card cases rip with not much provocation.

 

[Equus Leather]

I feel the same. I like Hermes leather goods and jewelry, but while their silver is often as solid as it comes (I have some Hermes jewelry that I will bet is tougher than most biker stuff) I've had things like card cases rip with not much provocation.

Your not the first of our customers to report that..