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

[Equus Leather]

Burnished dark red sounds great, you wouldn't happen to have any photos of it with the burgundy?

Here you go - rather rough photos but you get the idea..

 

[am55]

Perfect! I'll shoot you an email.

 

[am55]

Could you tell us more about your nickel buckles? Palladium, steel, brass are often discussed here but I haven't found much on nickel. Is this the same cupronickel alloy used for horse stuff (based on the slight yellow-red tinge on the photos)? How much maintenance does it need? Does it look shinier than steel? Is it a popular option?

 

[Equus Leather]

Could you tell us more about your nickel buckles? Palladium, steel, brass are often discussed here but I haven't found much on nickel. Is this the same cupronickel alloy used for horse stuff (based on the slight yellow-red tinge on the photos)? How much maintenance does it need? Does it look shinier than steel? Is it a popular option?

I certainly can. You're pretty much spot on actually, its a solid nickel alloy, closer to German Silver but developed for the equestrian market which is the origin of a lot of our raw materials. Originally it was yellow white but the formulation has changed over the last couple of years to produce a whiter alloy, though still with a little yellow about it. Its a really nice metal, I invariably have Nickel West Ends on my jeans belts for eg. It doesn't tarnish or patinate with the speed of brass (though it will a little) and stays light in colour, but has more warmth than steel and a much nicer finish, its quite precious metal like in the finish. Palladium is far whiter and is lovely, but because its a plated finish it will wear in a way that a solid metal cant - nickel can be polished to a new finish forever if required. Personally I wear palladium for smart wear, but nickel (or sometimes brass) with jeans. It is pretty popular, we probably sell more stainless steel because people are more familiar with it as a material I suspect

Hope that helps!

Charlie

 

[Kingstonian]

Any tips on how to clean a belt? Specifically a London Tan belt where different holes have been used due to shrinking waist size. There are lines that show where the belt used to be tightened. Would not be an issue on a dark colour belt.

 

[Equus Leather]

Any tips on how to clean a belt? Specifically a London Tan belt where different holes have been used due to shrinking waist size. There are lines that show where the belt used to be tightened. Would not be an issue on a dark colour belt.

Generally all the belts need is conditioning, and Id recommend either the Sedgwick Leather Feed or Saphir Nappa Creme for this. If somthing does need to be cleaned though there are a couple of choices. Saddle Soap is a good and natural choice that's designed for saddle and bridle leather, Id recommend the Avel we sell. It'll help remove general grease and dirt - NB soap is not a conditioner so Id recondition afterward. For more than that the Saphir Renomat can be very good, its smells scary but is actually surprisingly gently to the leather, but as ever try somewhere unobtrusive and very definitely recondition afterward. Third left field option is baby wipes - actually surprisingly effective and kind as long as not used to rub and rub at a particular spot.

Buckle marks are tricky, and if established might or might not shift. If its partially dirt on the surface that can move, but if its effectively that there is a pressure/burnish mark under the buckle that's less likely, burnishing is effectively. a permanent change to the leather. Its worth a try at least though

Possibly some help..

Charlie

 

[Kingstonian]

Generally all the belts need is conditioning, and Id recommend either the Sedgwick Leather Feed or Saphir Nappa Creme for this. If somthing does need to be cleaned though there are a couple of choices. Saddle Soap is a good and natural choice that's designed for saddle and bridle leather, Id recommend the Avel we sell. It'll help remove general grease and dirt - NB soap is not a conditioner so Id recondition afterward. For more than that the Saphir Renomat can be very good, its smells scary but is actually surprisingly gently to the leather, but as ever try somewhere unobtrusive and very definitely recondition afterward. Third left field option is baby wipes - actually surprisingly effective and kind as long as not used to rub and rub at a particular spot.

Buckle marks are tricky, and if established might or might not shift. If its partially dirt on the surface that can move, but if its effectively that there is a pressure/burnish mark under the buckle that's less likely, burnishing is effectively. a permanent change to the leather. Its worth a try at least though

Possibly some help..

Charlie

Thanks. I already have the leather feed.

It is a buckle mark though.

 

[Equus Leather]

Thanks. I already have the leather feed.

It is a buckle mark though.

Worth a try cleaning as above then. You might not succeed but its def worth a try. Maybe try a baby wipe, but not scrubbing at the mark, followed up with Renomat on the mark. If you havent got the cleaning stuff and you buy it from us we'll put some off cuts in for experimental purposes if you like

Charlie

 

[dbbradle]

I just received my card case from the SF Charity Auction. It turned out beautifully. I was debating between a muscade or green chèvre interior lining to compliment the outer cuir de russie leather. I'm glad Charlie pushed me towards making the bolder choice.

 

[Equus Leather]

I just received my card case from the SF Charity Auction. It turned out beautifully. I was debating between a muscade or green chèvre interior lining to compliment the outer cuir de russie leather. I'm glad Charlie pushed me towards making the bolder choice.

View attachment 1344628

really glad you like it

I love the CdR/Equus Green combo, two really rich colours that go so well together. Its what we use for the Notebook covers too.

This is the Card Case in question, and the Card Wallet that's the same design but with a note compartment

Charlie

 

[takashi78]

I just received my card case from the SF Charity Auction. It turned out beautifully. I was debating between a muscade or green chèvre interior lining to compliment the outer cuir de russie leather. I'm glad Charlie pushed me towards making the bolder choice.

View attachment 1344628

Please post more pics of this beauty.
We don't see enough of them in the wild.

Come to think of it, we don't see much of Equus goods in used condition, am curious how these beautiful products age with use and the marks the owners put on them.

 

[Equus Leather]

Please post more pics of this beauty.
We don't see enough of them in the wild.

Come to think of it, we don't see much of Equus goods in used condition, am curious how these beautiful products age with use and the marks the owners put on them.

Yes! More the merrier!

 

[Equus Leather]

Thank you that's kind of you. Its a team effort here so cant take all the credit by any means

We're working on a slightly customised version of this full sized case for a customer at the moment, but I hope we'll get the laptop case done next

Heres a quick photo of some work from yesterday. Oak Bark Tanned bridle leather, solid brass lock, solid copper rivets, each component entirely made in England which is somthing I'm rather proud of. You can see the stitch marks for the hand stitching that encircles the lock that's yet to be done. The copper rivets is an interesting thing - inspired by a lot of the Edwardian and Victorian cases we looked at as part of our design work for this range and a feature we incorporate where we can. Each case is quite bespoke though so a detail that's specific to the customer. Next production case is Black Sedgwick bridle, Grey thread and full Palladium hardware for eg. You can see a few more photos here

View attachment 1341047

Charlie

Hi Guys,

Quick follow up on the above and the question about prick mark and stitch angles. Heres the stitched in lock, you can see the angle of stitch that the angles of the stitch mark makes now. You can also see how the appearance of full grain leather changes in shade vs full sun!

This is the briefcase in question..

Charlie

 

[Lance]

Hi Charlie, beautiful!! I can visualize using a multi toothed pricking iron in a straight line. How do you keep such uniformity in a curved or circular pattern; possibly using a flexible iron or pattern? I know I’m going to get flamed if it’s obvious : )

 

[Equus Leather]

Hi Charlie, beautiful!! I can visualize using a multi toothed pricking iron in a straight line. How do you keep such uniformity in a curved or circular pattern; possibly using a flexible iron or pattern? I know I’m going to get flamed if it’s obvious : )

Thanks!

You're correct, you use a multi toothed pricking iron for a straight line, preferably either the length of the stitch line itself, or at least as long as possible - the longer the iron the straighter the line you'll create. For curves or complex shapes you can either use a pricking wheel or a two tooth pricking iron which you can use to slowly walk around even quite a tight radius. We have both but tend to use a two tooth for more or less everything curved. You obviously have a line drawn with a compass to prick along as a guide line - still pretty tricky to get just right though.

Rubbish pricking iron photo attached - 2 tooth vs an 1" 8 tooth