Rafters Gunleather 1 1/4 belt: shark vs cow

[SapperLeader]

Shark vs Cow?
Hi, Im looking for a nice dress gun belt that is going to last. Id rather not spend a hundred dollars, but if I have to, I have to. I currently use a wilderness instructer belt for casual wear, and I ordered a wilderness ring belt for semi casual stuff, but I need a nice looking dress belt for wearing suits and other dress clothes. I really like the look of the shark skin belt, but what advantages and disadvantages does it offer over a standard cow skin belt? For that matter, what about one of the even more exotic materials like Alligator, ostrich or elephant? Is it just the looks, or does it offer something more.
This belt is going to be supporting my star bm, a colt commander style gun weighing in at 33 ounces or so, so it needs to be fairly supportive. Thanks for the help.

[Skunkabilly]

Shark vs cow I think depends on the pimpiness of the rest of your outfit. It's up to you--I wear my Wilderness ring belt with my suit :o

The Rafter S belts run relatively thick. At least the elephant skin one did.

http://www.skunkabilly.com/images/tactical/mallninja.jpg

[Archie]

are cooler. By the way, elephant is restricted in international trade.

Leather from cow is very serviceable. And usually cheaper.

[Kentucky Rifle]

Shark skin lasts forever. These belts will easily outlast ME.

KR (The *other Will. :) )

[MoNsTeR]

Mine is elephant, and I bought a shark for my dad. They're both absolutely beautiful. If you've got to pinch pennies cow should be fine, but I say indulge in the more exotic skins.

[ChickenHawk]

I have the brown shark and think it's great. :cool:

ChickenHawk

[azrael]

Ok here are my .02 cents

Elephant is no longer restricted for import into the US it just costs ALOT..and suppliers are hard to find

Nothing wrong with Sharkskin Belts..they are pretty and dont cost as much as many might think..and is tuff as nails

ostrich is nice for a dress rig..but is expensive

Cow leather is the old standby and is what I use and what I sell the most of..

wanna be frisky??buy all of the above!!!!:D :D

[The Undertoad]

I have a Rafter S black shark belt, love it. Only a few months old but looks almost new. :)

[Gordy Wesen]

Cowhide scratches easily and ends up looking ratty...so does horsehide. I just went to Shark and am real happy with its toughness and ability to not scratch and scuff.
My Rafters elephant is nice but the leather lining is way too soft and the idiot who sewed it made a wave on one end. I am using it for work and the softness is just right....though for personal use I would have sent it back.

[Harold Mayo]

ALL of the Rafter S belts are cow leather.

The exotic skins are just a layer on top of the cow leather. The outer surface of the belt will wear differently based on what is exposed but the "meat" of the belt is the same regardless which skin you choose.

Basically, the exotics are for looks only.

[ChickenHawk]

I didn't realize it but Harold is correct. From their website:

The leather belts are made of two equal thickness of leather, glued together then sewn with two rows of nylon thread. The tension on the machine is adjusted so the bottom thread is somewhat countersunk. This is to prevent thread wear and unraveling after years of wear. We hand select the leather for our belts to be firm enough to support a full size pistol and all accessories. Yet we want it to be supple enough to be comfortable. The belts are standard in 1 ½ and 1 ¼ width. When finished, they will be 3/16th of an inch thick. We punch seven holes ¾ inch apart and properly fitted you should wear the belt in the middle hole.
On the exotic belts, we use a heavier weight cowhide and glue the exotic to it. Then finish with the same procedure as our leather belts. Still, that doesn't change anything for me. These are beautiful, sturdy, hand-made belts.

Here's a link to their web site:
http://www.raftersgunleather.com

Cheers,
ChickenHawk

[azrael]

yuppers he is correct

I craft mine the same way