Artisan Belts Versus Mass Produced Belts

Have you ever heard your grandparents say "back in my days..." as they proceeded to tell you slightly exaggerated stories from when in their youth how they had to walk to school uphill both ways? While parts may be exaggerated there is a certain degree of truth to it, due to the fact that as our civilization has gravitated towards convenience and away from quality which makes artistry and certain skilled professions a rarity and convenience options at big box store that deals with made in China products more common.

There is nothing "wrong" with mass-produced products nor is there anything "wrong" with purchasing from a skilled craftsman as long as the seller accurately and honestly represents the product and to be honest to an extent it is "comparing apples and oranges" as they may appear to be similar items but at a foundational level they are different in almost every aspect. The "apples" in this comparison are big box stores catering to the average person who wants cheap and convenient rather than good quality, the majority of modern manufacturing is designed to be disposable and is therefore made with cheap materials and poor techniques so that they are affordable but they will not last long nor will they hold up to any serious use. The "oranges" are good, old fashioned craftsmen using time tested materials and solid building techniques to make gorgeous products that last for the rest of your life if cared for properly (IE used for the intended purpose of a belt and moisturizing as needed) and the designs for artisan belts range from the simplistic office dress belt to the intricately carved and hand-tooled western belt.

Now let us switch to comparing "apples to apples" and start with the similarities, mass-produced "leather belts" can honestly look pretty attractive and have a similar appearance to the product that they are trying to imitate and are normally made out of either a very thin layer printed vinyl or of roughly 1-ounce weight leather which is approximately as thick as a single sheet of notebook paper and is filled with either a cloth inner layer or what is deceptively called "genuine leather" and while technically is leather it is ground up scrap leather that has been pressed together and then glued to create a product that is essential cork board and lacks any strength or fibers to create a strong structural bound within the product. Almost all of the mass-produced belts fail in less than a year whether it is through sagging, stretching, or simply breaking. The differences between mass-produced leather belts are largely what they are designed to imitate whether it is printed vinyl or embossed leather outer layers as different animal skins have different patterns and textures to them.

Artisan belts are only limited by the creativity and skill of the person creating them and can be made with a variety of materials but this article focuses on leather belts and not our rope belts for the free-spirited, the woven cloth belts designed to an accessory to a sundress all of which can be made to look amazing or elegant. Full-grain leather from an actual artisan actually are strips of leather hide that have been tanned and conditioned to provide the perfect mixture of strength and suitable texture averaging between nine and ten ounces which are thick enough to be weight bearing and will last for years. The most common species of artisan leather belts are cows due to the strength of their hide and cattle being common in our modern society however some also use exotic species or embossing to increase the uniqueness of the piece and to further make it a piece of art rather than a more simple traditional belt. While the classic plain leather belt is a timeless classic there are several options to make them more unique and fancy to include decorative stitching, tooled or embossed patterns, dying the leather, adding decorative metal belt keepers or belt tips, burnish and/or paint the edges, or numerous other possibilities.