trim up leather belt

M

mendozer

New member
I found a sweet thick leather belt at a thrift store recently, 2" wide. It'll make a good gun belt BUT all my belt loops are 1.5" and while my holster technically fits it, it's very tight (Galco).

How can I properly trim this down? I cut a little slit to see and when cutting into the black leather, it exposes the brown inside on the "new" edge. Will I need to re-seal this to make it weatherproof or is it ok?
 
Put the belt up against something stright and then put a stright edge on top of it and cut stright up and down. Get some black leather sealer and finish it off.
 
Don't know where you're from but my advice would be to look for a saddle shop. Take the belt there and let someone with a lot of experience cut the belt down and dress the new edge for you.

The cutting part can be tricky to keep perfectly even over the entire length of a belt. You could also find the right dressing there should you decide to do it yourself.

In a real pinch, you could also just find a dark liquid shoe polish to use as an edge dressing.
 
You need a good firm straightedge, and very sharp razor blades. Take a one eight inch strip from each side. Dress the edges to a rounded profile with abrasive. Die the edges. Finish the edges with beeswax and buff with wool or terry cloth.
 
If it isn't made as a gun belt, it is going to sag on you sooner rather than later. Thrift belt so no issue, but I would think that leaving it at 2" might give you some better support especially if you carry a heavier gun.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top