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Despite Big Industrialization, Leather Belts Remain a Strong
L ike nearly every other quarter of the manufacturing world, leather belts
have seen their production change from a small, individual base into a large,
globalized one, in which the average leather belt you buy in a store has very
little connection to the way belts were once made.
But despite this, the artisan market for hand-made leather belts isn’t dead —
in fact, it’s very much alive. Let’s see exactly why that is.
How Industrialized Leather Works
Leather has always been a hand-made process; the complicated acts of
tanning and dyeing not being one traditionally adapted for large-scale
machine work. But in the last century, many breakthroughs were made to the
way in which the preparatory, tanning, and crusting stages — the way
virtually all real leather is produced — are carried out.
Dozens of different types of machines were invented, and while they
theoretically reached the quality that was once found by doing all these
processes by hand, some inevitable tradeoffs were necessary.
To the end consumer, most of these were largely invisible at first, since
leather suddenly became cheaper and more abundant, but to anyone with an
eye for real, authentic leather products, the difference was as clear as day.
Why Hand-Processed and Hand-Made Leather is Important
One thing that the industrialization process did was bring more specialized
awareness to specific leather-making practices. And there are still many
individual tanners, working in production houses or individually, who are
using classic, hand-made techniques to make wonderful leather products.
Belting leather, for example, comes from leather that once ran machines and
pulleys. Despite the name, this doesn’t mean it’s used to make actual leather
belts (it’s more typical to find it on a briefcase surface), although it’s a
remarkably thick and firm leather used to make special, strong products (and
sometimes, yes — actual belts).
Why Can’t Everything Be Industrial?
But why are hand-made leather goods still necessary? It’s simple — most of
the very high-quality leathers (like deerskin, for example) need the artisan’s
touch in order to keep their quality. They simply can’t stand up to heavy
machine processing and cutting without losing some of the characteristics
that make them valuable in the first place.
When you see premium leather belts for sale, and discover that both the belt
and the leather have been made by an actual artisan, it means you’re holding
a special, unique product in your hands — one whose quality can only be
achieved through old-fashioned methods.
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