If you are looking for something that lasts, I strongly suggest getting something custom made for you from either bridle leather or harness leather. I have personally bought from these 2 sites:

http://www.narragansettleathers.com/belt114.html
http://leathergoodsconnection.com/

The first only has bridle but will deliver to Malaysia.

The second has both but will not deliver to US so you will need to use something like ComGateway or Borderlinx.

Or if your budget is higher(I am personally not willing to spend RM400++ on a belt):
http://www.equusleather.co.uk/
About GBP70 for a basic West End with delivery to Malaysia (use 10% discount code styleforum10%)

Disagree with those statements. Fashion moves fast. Style, less so.

And not all rich people buy to throw away. To quote the late Terry Pratchett:

“The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money.

Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles.

But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.

This was the Captain Samuel Vimes 'Boots' theory of socioeconomic unfairness.”

Filson bridle quality is not that good nowadays. And overpriced too, how many times they raised their prices past few years....

If their quality returned to what it was last decade, I wouldn't mind that much.

And you would find a lot of American craftsmen are pro-Trump.

For RM400+ I'd rather get something from Equus Leather that uses English bridle leather tanned by JE Sedgwick.

http://www.equusleather.co.uk/belts/bridle...ather-belt.html

https://youtu.be/Rz6VA5mhwbo

Definitely NOT Italian but English.

The business of J & E Sedgwick & Co. Ltd was founded in 1900 by James and Emmanuel Sedgwick. Sedgwick’s began supplying leather to the equestrian trade in 1900, and a century on is one of the leading leather suppliers of equestrian leather in Walsall.

Sedgewick is a renowned leather tannery, and they have been making their leather in Halsall, England for more than a hundred years.

Best in class tanneries are from Italy? Depends on what class you are talking about.

To me the best bridle leather is made by Bakers in England.
Best crocodile leather made by Heng Long in Singapore(owned by LVMH).
Best calfskin made by Annonay in France(owned by Hermes).
Best shell cordovan made by Shinki-Hikaku in Japan.

I had to google to find a good Italian tannery. Caravel Pelli Pregiate (owned by Gucci). Never heard of them before today...

Are you up for a bit of DIY?

http://springfieldleather.com/Leather/Belt...aps/Belt-Blanks
http://www.weaverleathersupply.com/catalog...Listing/001/156

Nice to see more local crafters.

Although their stitching is on the crude side IMO.

Just to throw a wrench into the works:
https://nstarleather.wordpress.com/2017/05/...-4-letter-word/

Hehe. I still stand by my original reply to this thread.

An unnecessary compromise in terms of materials and build quality.

I make my own belts these days. Buckles so far I have only bought from District Leather Supply (lovely Japanese brass) but I also hear good things about Buckle Guy. eBay and AliExpress also have a lot of buckles.

https://districtleathersupply.com/
https://www.buckleguy.com/

2 of my own belts.

Top is a black Wickett and Craig bridle leather. About 6 months old with a nicely patinated Japanese brass buckle.

Bottom is a dark burgundy Wickett and Craig latigo harness leather. Not quite finished with it yet - note the slightly fuzzy edges. Brand new Japanese brass buckle.

Edit:Changed left/right to top/bottom. Lazy to rotate photo.

This post has been edited by niakulah: Jul 29 2019, 03:34 PM

I've accumulated quite a number of straps in the past few months....need to find more time to turn them into belts....

The literal answer to this is I go to my dining table

I DIY it.

I attended a 3 hour intro class a few years back. Now learning online and by experimentation.

The Tandy strap cutter is cheap and does the job. Draw gauges are slightly pricier and can take beefier blades.
https://www.weaverleathersupply.com/catalog...scissors/knives

And at the high end you have plough gauges which I hear is more accurate because your pushing hand is in line with the blade.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/257047935/stra..._items_search_1

I don't use any of these. I buy precut straps. Buying a back or shoulder is kinda expensive unless I have some other projects in mind.

MYR 18.08 10%OFF | Stainless Steel Belt Buckle DIY Leather Craft Hardware Metal Pin Belt Buckle Sewing Accessories 35mm*45mm
https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/kC1aaO2c

Not bought this before. Aliexpress just happened to suggest this in my feed.