The two foot long 10oz vegetable tanned leather strap is wrapped around the wearers body and the cutter nicks the belt where the middle hole will go. The process surprisingly only takes a couple of tools, one being a really big mallet, a good-sized round nail, and a rounded blade.
The first hole is punched where the wearer's tightest mark was made. The cutter puts the nail on top of his nick and then pounds the nail, making a perfectly clean hole in one clean hit.
The next hole is placed one inch away from the initial hole, and then the last hole is placed on the opposite side of the initial hole. A standard belt has five holes, but only three holes make the belt look really cool.
When determining the length of the excess leather to remain on the belt, it is generally five inches away from the first hole (closest to the end). But because the belts are completely customizable, you can make the remaining piece of leather as long as you want. It seems impossible to find a belt with a healthy length of excess leather.
After the length of how long you want the end of the belt is determined, the cut is made by a unique rounded blade that is driven into the edge by the same mallet that pounded the holes, creating a clean rounded edge on your new belt.
The belt is initially a very light brown (almost yellow) leather to begin, but will soon fade and age into a beautiful golden brown piece of leather. The buckles can be changed out, but unscrewing the Chicago Screws from the back of the buckle. I want to give a big shout out to Danny Lovin of Haberdash who was willing to let me snap a few photos on him in the process of cutting the belt. And I apologize for the extensive use of the word "hole", it was as awkward to write as it is to read.
Photos taken by Tim Schroeder for Standard Luxe
