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I did a little Q&A with Barb and Joe of KMW a little while back. Here it is: http://www.styleforum.net/showthread.php?t=213422
Enjoy
Enjoy
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Denim looks nice
...they're cheaper than that at blueowl...
i don't see any raw 1950's for sub 200. they are listed at 295.
I agree it is a fine belt, I have seen some pictures of it on Blue Owl's webshop. Similar to Samurai's leather, I think what KMW essentially uses is a 2 month vegetable tannage, 15 oz natural leather (so called 'skirting') from the US that is hand-curried in Japan. The buckle is forged brass (Samurai has used pewter, brass, etc in the past). The stitching at the buckle fold looks like natural linen, done very neatly
My apologies if sound like I'm brand bashing or hurting people's business interests.
no no, i did not get that impression at all. until i saw the belt in person i didnt understand why it was so expensive. if you cant get your hand on one and if i buy one i will send it off to you so i can get your opinion on it. honestly i dont know how to answer your questions. you know WAY more about leather then me so i cant tell you in "leather lingo" (if there is such a thing) the differences, but comparing it to my samurai curve belt the leather just felt better to me, it wasent necessarily any stiffer but the leather had a much better feel to it, at least to me. and the buckle felt a little heavier and was a little larger then the one on my samurai.
Great comments from everyone. I need to give my opinion here as I have handled KMW's leather closely. I am not expert when it comes to leather, but I do have a lot of experience particularly with Japanese made leathers. I know a lot of the factories and seen the processing via ancient methods in Japan. I am very familiar with vegetable tanning and quality of leathers. I have also stocked and handled many leather goods through my business over the years. Now that being said, the KMW leather is one of the best I have seen. The wallets, bags, and small leather goods by KMW do push the limits on pricing, but the belts are priced correctly and worth the purchase at retail, and if anyone ever had a chance to snag one below retail they should jump on it. It is a belt that you can easily own and wear daily for 5+ years. If you imagine buying 3 $120 belts over that time period which are good quality, but not the same level, then it basically pays for itself. Beyond the obvious labor costs, the price I can definitely justify when accounting for the extremely high JPY and the ridiculously high duties involved with bringing finished leather goods into the USA.
If you imagine buying 3 $120 belts over that time period which are good quality, but not the same level, then it basically pays for itself.Originally Posted by Jay-D