Leather Belts

The Bark Tanned Leather Belt
A Traditional Belt of Unusual Quality

About Bark Tanned Leather
For thousands of years leather has been made by steeping animal skins in a liquor of tree bark and water. This alchemy is facilitated by the high concentration of tannins, particularly in the bark, penetrating and preserving the skin. It’s a slow transformation. Hides have to soak for a year in oak bark before being hauled out, oiled and dyed. A process carried out entirely by hand.

Tanner Bates Bark Tanned Leather Belts are hand-made from hides tanned at the Devon tannery of J and FJ Baker and Sons Ltd. Their tanning pits contain liquors made up from variety of bark and tree extracts, all completely organic. The brown hides tanned with oak have to soak for the longest time. It takes a year for the tannins to sufficiently penetrate to preserve the hide.

The dark brown and black hides are processed with a mixture of chestnut and mimosa. Many years experience has proved that this particular combination of tree barks works best to produce this bridle leather with its characteristic waxy feel.

Bark tanning takes far too long for modern commercial tanneries but this long slow process produces a leather with a super tight grain structure giving it surprising suppleness and durability. This is the reason why the hand-made and bespoke shoemakers of Northampton, and across the world prize this leather. Its qualities make it a perfect, though expensive, choice for the soles of the very best shoes.

Bakers tannery is nestled in the eastern corner of Devon on the banks of the river Coly. There they quietly continue their tradition of hand made organic leather. We were told that there has been a tannery on their site since Roman times using the soft waters of the Coly together with the bark of the English oak tree to make a leather of unique suppleness. This leather is recognised and used by the nation’s most reputable makers of leather goods, shoes and equestrian equipment.

We had been searching for some time for hides that would produce a belt thats tough but not hard and uncomfortable. We had been looking for leather to make a belt strong enough to last a lifetime yet to feel deliciously tactile from the start. Like all good quality leather your belt needs to be broken in. It becomes more supple each time you wear it gradually shaping itself to you – as if becoming a part of you.

Integrity

At a time when our nations makers have disappeared from the high streets and our shops are flooded with endless amounts of goods anonymously made we are proud to say we know the man who makes our leather. We also know the man who makes our buckles. Tanner Bates is a small family business in rural Devon. Everything we produce is made individually by hand and comes with a guarantee of customer satisfaction. If you are counting “belt miles” you can rest assured that your Tanner Bates Belt will have sustainably few!

We are proud to offer you the rugged luxury of the Bark Tanned Leather Belt.

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