I'm thinking of changing my rags belt to a leather ring belt this season.... I think I'll like the look better and I can better hang my new mug that I will buying this year from a leather belt better.
Anyone here have anything to share with me about a ring belt? Pros and Cons?
Where did you get your.... how much was it?
For the local Scarby crowd...are there any vendors at Scarborough that have a good selection of these?
All things being fairly equal...I prefer to buy things at faires.... avoid shipping costs and support my faire people.
The one on the interwebby that i have my eye on though is this one: http://www.ravenswoodleather.net/Belts/ring.html (http://www.ravenswoodleather.net/Belts/ring.html)
I have had mine for years and love it. I got it at Lost Art Leather. They have a shop at MNRF, CRF, and TRF. I like mine for several reasons. It has a double ring so it is easy to adjust. The leather is very soft so it doesn't cut into you when you put on a few pounds. They also have belts in several widths. Good luck with your search.
There is a leather shop at Scarby to the right of the main gate that has an excellent selection of ringbelts. I dont remember the name of the place though. I bought one a few years ago from By-the-Sword and it has worn well.
Quote from: angusmacinnes on March 17, 2010, 06:52:54 PM
There is a leather shop at Scarby to the right of the main gate that has an excellent selection of ringbelts. I dont remember the name of the place though. I bought one a few years ago from By-the-Sword and it has worn well.
I think I remember the shop you're talking about as well. It has one entire wall full of belts of different sizes, widths, patterns, etc...but I'll eat my own hat if I can remember what the name of it was ::)
There is also a leather booth near the maze in Pecan Grove where Don Juan bought a dagger carrier. They have a long selection of ring belts.
Pro Ring Belt: you don't have to have holes punched to a specific size as long as they are long enough to double over and feed back through.
Con ring belt: If you are a large person, or sweat profusely you will have to continually readjust the belt due to stretching/slipping.
After 16 years in the SCA, his Excellency has me punch his belts to size and uses a tongued buckle.
There are a number of places where you can get leather blanks for belts- Tandy Leather is one. You can get a reasonably inexpensive 72-inch belt blank and some leather cord (or buy leather boot laces from a shoe store). Rings of all sizes and finishes are easily found on cheapie purses in thrift stores. Bright metal rings can be "antiqued" by heating the hell out of 'em over a stove burner then brushing them with oil.
The leather blank can be debossed by pressing it or hammering it with pretty much any tool. I've used a flathead screwdriver, copper wire bent into curlicues, moveable type blanks. Then you can oil it with neatsfoot, saddle soap or shoe polish. If you use shoe polish make sure you buff the hell out of it before you wear it on anything you don't want stained.
The way to lace the ring to the belt is not complicated but is maybe a little hard to explain. If you think you might make a belt hit me with a renmail and I'll send you a picture.
I third the motion on the Scarby shop to the right of the gates with the belts on the wall. I can't remember their name either - I know the guy said he didn't have a website. I called it the "Ermine" shop because they have the little ermine fur pelts that I swoon over all the time.
That's where I got mine and I love it.
i got mine at MNRF back in '07 (i think). don't remember the shop but i really like it. mine has leather lacing instead of rivets on the ring end of the belt. i like that better than rivets.
QuoteCon ring belt: If you are a large person, or sweat profusely you will have to continually readjust the belt due to stretching/slipping.
After 16 years in the SCA, his Excellency has me punch his belts to size and uses a tongued buckle.
I think this happens regardless, actually; I think the primary culprit is actually heavy stuff hanging from the belt. We got Milord a belt with a traditional buckle. It still doubles over and feeds through and *looks* just like a ring belt, but it doesn't slip, which has improved *my* day at fair immeasurably! (Because he's not always offloading all his stuff onto me! LOL)
Quote from: DonaCatalina on March 18, 2010, 10:56:00 AM
There is also a leather booth near the maze in Pecan Grove where Don Juan bought a dagger carrier. They have a long selection of ring belts.
Pro Ring Belt: you don't have to have holes punched to a specific size as long as they are long enough to double over and feed back through.
Con ring belt: If you are a large person, or sweat profusely you will have to continually readjust the belt due to stretching/slipping.
After 16 years in the SCA, his Excellency has me punch his belts to size and uses a tongued buckle.
And yes, I have made all of his excellency's belts, just not the rapier carriers. I bought my supplies at Tandy Leather.
I picked up a double ring belt and it works wonderfully...secures better than a normal ring belt AND ties up like one.