Vintage OBT Belt
£55.00
On a recent visit to Bakers Oak Bark Leather Tannery, East Devon, I discovered a pile of very old Oak Bark Tanned Leather.
The hides were originally tanned for stirrup leathers - 5mm thick and incredibly strong. They were rejected for minor surface scratching, left in a pile in a dark corner and forgotten for 50 years – nobody really knows for how long exactly.
I got carried away and made a bid for the lot - enough for about 1,000 belts!
The hides are hand-dyed a very dark brown, waxy and smell strongly of leather – truly old-fashioned and labour intensive!
- Two options - Walsall foundry buckle and hand-peened copper rivets or imported solid brass buckle buckle and tubular rivets.
- Belt width 1.5”
- Leather thickness 4.5mm
- Free personalisation
- 16 page book about leather describing our making processes and materials
- Free shipping
MINOR SURFACE IRREGULARITIES ARE A FEATURE OF THIS 50-YEAR OLD LEATHER
For an accurate fit please see our size guide below.
Finding your size
Measure an existing belt as shown in the diagram below.
We make the Vintage OBT Belt in 4 sizes - Small, Medium, Large and XLarge.
There are 7 holes 1" apart with the centre holes at:
Small 33" (Trouser Size 31")
Medium 36" (Trouser Size 34")
Large 39" (Trouser Size 37")
X Large 43" (Trouser Size 41")
The 7 holes cover 3" in each direction eg: Small 30-36", Medium 33-39", Large 36-42", X Large 41-45"
More about the Vintage OBT Belt
The leather was made for stirrup leathers and is dark brown, waxy and extremely tough with a strong leather smell. It is measures in at approximately 4.5mm thick.
We are using the hides for belts but don’t expect a pristine finish – the quality of the leather, workmanship, hardware and longevity is not compromised but be aware that the surface carries surface scratching. This is an important part of the leather’s story.
We are convinced our customers will share our delight at this special find especially as we are selling at a hard to resist price.
Our Vintage OBT Belt is 4.5 - 5mm thick and with care it should last a lifetime
Uniquely Crafted
The leather is genuine vintage leather that was originally made for bridles or stirrup leathers but because of the exacting standards of the equestrian trade these hides were put to the side, rejected, because of surface scratching or superficial scarring.
The feel, initially stiff, will become more and more supple - but never floppy!
Wear this belt every day and watch the patina in the leather and the brass buckle develop over time. Feel free to take some brass polish to the buckle if you want to go out smart.
No two are the same.
Read more about our leather.
Free Personalisation
Personalisation is included at no extra cost. We use traditional bookbinders brass type (24pt Gill Sans) embossed on the reverse of the belt (hidden on the inside). We emboss with heat similar to a branding process so that the text of your message has a dark matt appearance.
Please note that we position our own logo on the inside so that the upright letters are to the left of the buckle. Personalisation will follow the same orientation. Choose up to 12 characters or spaces, upper or lower case.
Love your Leather
Our leather is ethically and sustainably processed. The tannery uses a mixture of tree barks to transform the animal hides to leather. This is an ancient tradition which yields the familiar leather smell. Natural oils evaporate over time and need replenishing. Your leather benefits from and will look its very best if given an occasional dose of natural waxes and oils. Our Leather care information card is included with every purchase.