ZeeBee Leather
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Some love for Chief Petty Officer Zach's amazing belt. Look at how this thing is evolving…
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I'm back and it feels so good. All settled into my new house in San Diego, done with my six weeks of training, and my workbench is setup and ready to go! It's even better than before I might add. I've streamlined my space and optimized it by adding some computer speakers!
The first thing that needs to happen when starting a new piece of leather for belt making, is the leather needs to be squared off. You can't cut straight strips if you first don't have a perfect edge. This is harder than it sounds.
Lay the whole hide out and pick the best looking part that will yield the least amount of waste.
I use a giant drywall square (48") to line up my first cut.
Once that first square cut is made, then I can start using my draw gauge to cut strips for belts.
Ready to go! Time to start working on the belt.
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Cool to see man!
Think you could make me a band for this guy?
Would like it to be very similat but in a light tan/natural color -
I'm actually not really setup for watch bands at the moment. The only leather I have right now that would be thin enough to work with is some Color 8 Horse hide, and I've had a really hard time sourcing watch band hardware. Those buckles are not as easy to find as you might think!
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I would just require the leather pieces, not new hardware. I will reuse the ones on it. If you happen to find some thinner leather please let me know. I def want it to be natural/tan color tho
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Depending on size, I've actually had really good luck picking up buckles on eBay. Also, if you dig around the various Panerai forums, they're pretty good for sources on things. Those guys love multiple straps.
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wow!
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Oof! Me like
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Thanks gents! I appreciate the comments
I'll post up some pics of the interior soon. The wallet I posted pics of yesterday that you guys saw came out wrong, and I didn't notice until I finished it. The pattern that I used was one that I designed for 4-5oz leather, and the leather I used for this wallet is 2-3oz, so the flap came out too long. I made the whole thing over and I'll be stitching it up this morning. I had to rework the pattern to get it right for the correct leather. Also, I won't be using that heavy (4-5oz) leather again for a wallet.
Some details about the wallet: It's made with the older Wabash fabric (my personal favorite). I've been using a wallet cut from that pattern for about 6 months and had some lessons learned as well that I incorporated into the design of this new wallet. The leather used is Horween Front Quarter Horse in Color 8. It's stunning stuff. The prototype model I made earlier this year was made with linen thread which proved to be inferior with leather this thin so I opted for a 100% polyester thread instead.
