Oakside Saddlery

Time for a look at one of my new belts. The quick release Oxford handmade leather belt with Marshalsay Buckle.

Leather

As always this Oxford Leather belt uses to grade bridle butt leather from Metropolitan Leather. At between 3.5 – 4 mm it is some of the best leather you can buy. It is very supple but supremely strong. A super smooth finish to the grain making for a true one of a kind leather belt. There are not too many markings on the leather, but that is what makes leather unique.

Buckle

The solid brass or nickel plated Marshalsay buckle was apparently originally used to secure fire hoses in the 19^th century. Once buckled up all that the Fire Fighters had to do to release the buckle was to push the bottom latch off and thus releasing the fire hose. Quite an ingenious design really! This same buckle I now use on this Oxford handmade leather belt.

When buckled up the latch stays securely in place. With the pressure applied evenly across the surface. When you need to quickly release your belt simply press down on the securing latch and the buckle comes undone. Simple as that!

Stitching

As with all of my work this Oxford Handmade Leather Belt is hand stitched in Great Britain. There are three lines of stitching securely holding the buckle in place. This stitching is carried out entirely by hand using traditional saddlery skills. Hand stitchi ng is much stronger than machine stitching as each stitch passes completely through the leather and out the opposite side. To break this means cutting and removing each and every stitch.

Loop

A single leather loop is stitched in to place just behind the buckle keeping the point flush with the rest of the leather belt. If you notice the stitching runs along the edge of the belt, under the loop and on. Not across the leather as many cheap imitations do. The loop is boxed off nice and square ensuring that the point of the belt passes smoothly through it but is still quite tight. It looks smarter like that.

Length

My measurement is from the inside of the outer edge of the buckle to the middle hole, so, if you measure accurately your leather belt should buckle to the middle hole. This leaves two holes either side, for a total of 5 holes. The end of the belt should easily reach the first belt loop on your trousers negating the need for a running loop.

Summary

A rather good looking belt, even if I do say so myself. Go on, visit Oxford Leather Belt and order yours today

Si