Brown BLA x Hardy & Parsons Leather Belt

Sharing the same passion for craftsmanship and the values this holds, Blackhorse Lane Ateliers and Hardy & Parsons to craft this beautiful natural vegetable tanned leather belt, which will age with wear to a golden honey brown and will last a lifetime.

This black belt is made from 4mm thick English Bridle Leather paired with a nickel-free stainless steel buckle.. The edges of belt have been bevelled and burnished,  with an edge dye and wax to create a smooth feel. The buckle and belt loop has been fixed in place using the saddle stitch method. 

Notes

• Vegetable tanned English bridle leather
• Stainless Steel buckle (nickel free)
• Genderless
• Oval notches

Materials

• Leather – sourced from Abbey England, Cheshire UK; tanned in Germany; curried at J E Sedgwick, Walsall UK.
• Buckle – sourced from Abbey England, Cheshire UK.
• Belt – Finished and made in Worcestershire, UK.

Measurements

English Bridle Leather is a high quality leather that lasts a long time.  The leather starts out firm but it will soften as you use it. It changes in appearance as it reacts to your touch, how you use it and how you handle it, though it only gets better with age. It will take on any scratches it comes up against.

The leather is initially vegetable tanned in Germany, where the raw animal hide is put through a liming process to remove the hair. The hide then goes into tanning drums with vegetable extracts and oils that turn the animal hides into what we know as leather. The undyed leather hides are then sent to J E Sedgwick’s curriers in Walsall, UK. Using a variety of hand techniques, the undyed leather is processed into English Bridle Leather with its distinctive characteristics. This includes removing growth marks, applying colour and also the grease/wax dressing.

The grease which is applied to each side is called dubbin, a mix of animal fats and fish oils. This penetrates into the grain to help the fibres move, and makes the leather water resistant. Every so often the white wax rises to the surface. If this happens, rub the leather with a soft cloth as this will feed the leather and polish the surface.