Are Handmade Belts Worth the Money?
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- Опубліковано 15 жов 2024
- There is a big difference between a handmade belt and a factory belt marked as "Genuine Leather".
If you are a consumer in the market for a new belt its important that you understand some of the differences so you can make an educated decision on what belt is right for you.
If you are another maker that is looking to educated your customers on the value of a handmade belt, this video will be a great resource for you.
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Amen to your comments Joe! I hear the same comments from customers regarding the quality of other belts. I use HO 10/11 oz single ply. Customers have always been happy.
Love these videos. I'm learning so much as a leathercrafter. I'm mostly making wallets and tote bags and sometimes purses. I made a belt for myself without stitching (only used Aqualim), and it hasn't separated after many years. Although it has a funky curve to it now.
Who knew the term “genuine leather” was so deceptive. Thank you for clearing that up.
Happy to help!
I rather have a strope as a belt like a thickness that feels good and not bothering 😂
Rose Anvil cutting up boots to 23+ cutting up belts. Thanks for the breakdown Joe. Awesome video. Maybe do a wallet cut and breakdown sometime down the road!
Great suggestion! I love it!
Thanks for the thorough explanation and showing us the difference!
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks Joe! Great video.
Thank you for sharing this information. So valuable for those new to leather work. Now I know how to show people ( potentially customers) the value in a handmade belt. I can actually explain where the quality, and therefore, the cost, is.
You are so welcome!
What a great idea…I will make a trip or two to the local Goodwill store for cheap belts for display like the examples you used in this video. Show and display my hand made belts and compare them with the used belts from Goodwill store. To get the 3D effect the 5-6 oz leather would be skived along the edge before gluing the 2-3 oz leather and stitching, correct? Thanks for sharing.
I literally took a belt I built and cut it as well. All three of these I just cut at an angle with my knife. I had a belt that was ordered the. The customer lost 30 lbs. and it had something centered in the back. So it was sacrificed for a display and has definitely paid for itself in orders.
I'm goin to do that as well. I really don't think a majority of ppl realize what goes into making a belt,& then there is painting. I'm the painter. I do know most ppl that have 1 of our belts wear them for yrs & tell me it's their favorite & wear every day.
Joe. Thank you as always for the excellent explanations. So helpful to new leathercrafters. Perfect!
Very welcome
Soy muy fan desde Spain, compro todos sus patrones y miro sus vídeos, quiero aprender de los mejores,pero me desánimo,no tienen ni idea de lo que cuesta los materiales, herramientas,tiempo,no sé poner precio y estoy desanimado
I also had a hard time with pricing initially.
Every one always said "I can just go to Walmart and get one for $5-$10"
So for me finding my market of enthusiasts was the starting point. Renaissance Festivals and the like were a great way to get my products out the door and experienced and displayed so word of mouth would get around in my favor.
It also helped a lot, I think, to have demonstrations at my booth, so customers could sit and watch the process of the craft and gain an appreciation for the labor and craftsmanship of handcrafted goods.
I'm not exactly a salesman, but it has never been easy for me to convince someone not particularly fond of leather to invest in leather goods. It was easier to just find and go to my market, my target audience, the people who already appreciate leather and want it, and whom already expect the price range. Local Farmers Markets can sometimes be a good score, especially if you are comfortable enough with adjusting or entirely creating custom patterns on the spot for niche equipment they use to work their farms/ranches. Think animal harnesses, saddles, saddlebags, handle wraps, aprons, tool belts and frogs, tool sheaths.
Also, and perhaps most importantly, while you definitely do not want to underprice your goods, as that is not sustainable for you or your business, you should realize that you won't make as much money starting off as you will later, as you don't work as efficiently as you will as you gain more experience.
A 60$ bag is a 60$ bag, whether it took you 5 hours to craft or 30 hours to craft because you maybe made mistakes and had to start part of the process over or maybe aren't able to get nice even stitches at a reasonable speed and are constantly having to pull them out and start over, or aren't comfortable tooling yet and spend an eternity attempting to smooth out your bevels
As you get more experienced the time it takes to craft a product goes down and the product quality gets better, and in this way you make more profit per hour of labor, and the value of your products increase in addition to that. And as those occur, your renown and the promotion of your business by happy customers and their curious passerbyes.
What about machine stitched vs hand stitched full grain belts?
Where do you get your snaps. They always seem cheap no matter where I order from. That and it's hard to find them with a shank long enough to go through more than 1 layer of leather.
I just ordered some from Weaver and they have a bit longer posts than what I’ve had on the past.
Buckleguy has awesome snaps and magnetic ones too. They are heavy duty and high quality, but you will definitely pay $$$ compared to Amazon.
Genuine leather is equal to plywood/ particle board?? Its still wood just dust and scraps glued together..