Blacksmith Belt / Havana Brown

Leather with a provenance like no other in the world

We only use 4-5mm thick, full-grain oak bark tanned leather for our belts. Not just any leather either, this is full grain, bridal butt, the best and strongest part of the hide. We buy it from J. & F. J. Baker & Co, Britain's last remaining oak bark tannery. There has actually been a tannery on the Baker site since Roman times. Incredible.

Oak bark tanning is a slow, traditional vegetable-tanning method. And when we say slow tanning, we mean it. Their leather takes around 14 months to make, using oak bark, water from the stream running alongside the tannery and hides from Devon cattle. The oak bark comes from coppiced woodland in the Lake District and Wales, and an ancient waterwheel keeps the tanning pits gently moving.

Once we’ve got the leather, it makes its way north to Alex the blacksmith’s workshop in Scotland. He measures and cuts each strap from the bridle butt, the holes are punched and the edges are bevelled, burnished and finished with beeswax. The beeswax helps protect the edges from water, while the burnishing gives them a smooth, hard-wearing finish. You may notice the waxy white residue on the leather. Buff this away with a cloth or leave it in place to wear off naturally within a few weeks of wear.

No mass production, no conveyor belt, no shortcuts. Just a very good piece of leather, a skilled pair of hands and a belt made properly.