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We offer a few different belt models at Craft and Lore, which leads many to wonder which belt is right for them. This blog is meant to provide you with information about each model, so that you can more easily choose the belt that fits your needs.
THE MOUNTAIN BELT
The Mountain Belt is one of the flagship products of Craft and Lore. The Mountain Belt is built with a particular leather: ultra-heavy-duty, 13oz Old World Harness from the family owned Hermann Oak Tannery in St. Louis. We only offer this leather in two colors, Russet and Dark Brown. This leather is unique in it's tanning process with it being heavily hot-stuffed with tallow. This gives it a beautiful rugged and vintage color, so that no two belt straps are ever the same. Expect a wide variation in colors across the strap. The strap is a quarter inch thick, and built as a work horse, not a show horse. It's meant for hard labor and hard use, and wouldn't do well to hold up anything dressy due to its heavy duty frame.
The two color options for this belt fit two different customer preferences. The Russet, which is closer to a natural, starts out as a lighter brown color and picks up oils and dirt over time to create a gorgeous patina. Russet patina is some of the best leather aging you can witness. Over time, it will darken to a deep, smooth, dark brown.
Although the dark brown option starts with much more dye, it, too develops a beautiful patina over time, eventually reaching a deep, almost coffee, brown.
With a few years of patina, we’ve found that the Russet and Dark Brown become a close match in color. So choose Russet if you prefer a long patina process, but know that after enough time it will become dark brown.
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We often receive requests for a Black Mountain Belt, and after several attempts Hermann Oak has been unsuccessful in making it happen. Due to the heavy tallow infused in the leather, the black dye is resisted and unable to achieve an effective application. We still hope they’ll be able to make it happen in the future.
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These belts are available in the standard 1.5 inch and the extra wide 1.75 inch. We love the look and feel of both, as the heavy duty quality is the same across both widths. Some of us prefer to show off a wide belt for the aesthetic and added heft, and that is why we would choose the 1.75. However the 1.75 width may find belt loops to be tight on select brands of pants. Remember that this belt is built for hard work, so pair it with work pants accordingly.
View Our Mountain Belt Collection
THE CRAFT BELT
The Craft Belt is a great belt that maintains the durability and sturdiness we come to expect of all our products. This belt is a bit more dressy than the Mountain Belt, and fits in nicely to both a modern business casual outfit, with khakis and a button up, and a casual outfit, with jeans and a t-shirt. We wanted this belt to be more versatile and have a less dramatic overall form than the Mountain Belt. This belt is the solution to a more refined look without sacrificing durability and quality.
Over the years, this belt has seen many changes and our leather choices for it have been experimented with as we really tried to dial in exactly what we wanted in the belt. We finally landed on a latigo leather from the Wickett and Craig Tannery in Pennsylvania. This leather is smooth but tough, with a beautiful waxy finish and a nice array of colors. Our current Craft Belt is offered in brown, black, natural, and olive. The belt is made exclusively in 1.5” width, which is a perfect all around size that should fit into any standard pair of pants.
View Our Craft Belt Collection
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Overall, we think both of our belt offerings are great options for the average customer. The Craft Belt is great with nearly any pant, and the Mountain Belt offers that extra degree of heft and rugged aesthetic that is perfect for raw denim or canvas pants. Whatever you end up with, we’re sure you’ll love what you get, just take it from our customers!
★★★★★
What an incredible belt! I’ve owned many durable/expensive belts, some made by America’s leading brands to include RRL, Filson and Tanner Goods… In my opinion the Craft & Lore Mountain Belt fits well into this category, if not above standard in terms of quality and craftsmanship. I feel that I now have a belt that not only looks amazing from initial use, but built to last for years and years to come and will only get better with age. Thanks! - Review by Randy D.
★★★★★
Absolutely the best belt I have ever come across. As soon as I got it I decided to replace my two other belts which are very high quality too but there’s just no comparison. Quality products that will last a lifetime built by solid people. Win win. Thank you very much. -Review by Bryan G.
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