STEP 1: You will need to choose a buckle for your belt unless you have your own.

  If you have your own buckle, and are ordering a belt without a buckle, there are two things you will need to determine when you order. Do you want the "Tongue Slot" where the leather folds (the slot punched in the leather on the buckle end of the belt), and do you want the "Keeper Loop" (the leather loop next to the buckle).
  You will also need to choose a "Finish" for the Chicago Screw fasteners, shown on the right, that will match your buckle. They fasten the buckle to the belt and come in brass and nickel. The "Chicago Screws" look like a rivet but with a bottom that has a screw driver slot and unscrews to exchange buckles. They are stronger and flatter than snaps. If you want snaps or want the buckle permanently fastened with rivets instead, leave a note in the special request box at checkout. Black screws can also be special ordered in the request window at check out.

  If you want a special width belt without buckle, select the closest size and put the actual width in the comments window you will find during the checkout process. OK, if you have your own buckle you can go down to Step #2

If you require a buckle:
  Decide if you want a 1-1/4", 1-1/2" or 1-3/4" wide belt. (Other widths are available on the dress belt page) Then choose a buckle of the proper width for the belt you want. Check your belt loops, especially for 1-3/4" belts, to be sure that the width you order will fit in them. This is thick leather and 2 thickness of leather have to fit in one of the loops. The leather may be cut 1/16" narrower than the buckle size for clearance on wide belts.

  These polished solid brass buckles are not the cheap die cast zinc plated buckles that are standard on belts found in stores.

Buckle #1
The #1 buckle shown on the left is available in solid brass and nickel over solid brass for 1-1/4" and 1-1/2" wide belts. Nickel is a shiny chrome finish and reflects other colors in these photos.
Buckle #2 is a center bar buckle in polished brass and nickel over solid brass for 1-1/4" 1-1/2" and 1-3/4" wide belts.

Buckle #3 is available in nickel over solid brass and polished brass for 1-1/4", 1-1/2" and 1-3/4" wide belts. Buckles of this type (Center Bar) do not require a keeper loop.

Buckle #4 is available in polished brass for 1-1/4" and 1-1/2" width belts.  
Buckle #5 in Polished Solid Brass and Nickel over solid Brass for 1-1/4" width belts, and Solid Brass only for 1-1/2" and 1-3/4" width belts.

#6 roller buckle is available in Brass and Nickel plate finish.
 
  The Roller buckle with double prongs is also available in nickel plate finish for 1-1/2", 1-3/4", 2", and 2-1/2" belts.

Buckle #7 is available for 1-1/4" and 1-1/2" wide belts in solid brass and nickel over solid brass. The fixed prong engages the hole and looks like a normal end bar buckle when buckled. This buckle is available with a matching metal keeper loop or a leather keeper loop as shown below.

  The belt above is Med. Brown with basket weave embossing and wheat stitching.
Buckle #8 is only available in 1-1/4" width. The upper buckle is the #8 in Nickel. Notice that it is a slightly different shape than the lower buckle #8 in Brass.
Hand Made Sterling Silver!
Make your belt really Special! Click on the image to see the selection of handmade silver buckles available from Bear Creek that can be used with my harness leather belts. Bear Creak is a separate web site so you have to order the buckle there and the belt here. Use promo code LGC for an additional 10% off the sale prices.
More really nice buckles are available on the Dress Belts page. They are in Metric sizes and it would be too confusing to show them here.

STEP #2: Determine the "Center Hole Length" to order.

If you are ordering a handmade belt with a buckle:

  The "Center Hole Measurement" is the controlling dimension and remains the same no matter what the number of holes are or what their spacing is. Don't worry about "Overall" length, I only need "Center Hole Length" as shown on the diagram above. Do not guess at the waist size of someone you have not seen for 2 years. I measure on this end, you measure on your end.

  For men's belts, with a buckle, the "Center Hole Size" is usually 2" more than the waist size of the pants you wear. Women may wear pants lower on their hips. So, women, decide where you want to wear it and measure that length. There is no way to figure it out using your waist size.

Still not sure how to measure? For measuring help for a belt with buckle click to view the demo video This might take from a few seconds to a minute to load.

STEP #2B: If you are ordering a belt WITHOUT a buckle:

Hole Spacing:

Dark Brown  Medium Brown    Light Brown     Tan

Belt Colors: Hand staining natural leather is like staining wood. Every piece is different. That is one of the things that gives my belts soul, magic, excitement or whatever it is that production belts lack. The colors above are as close to the true colors as I can get. They, plus Black, are standard colors. I have adjusted the colors in the top band to be as close to the true color on my monitor as I can. The bottom band is what the camera saw. In actuality the colors in hand finished leather will vary within the same piece of leather similar to the way the color of wood varies in antiques.
  In the standard colors I use special dyes that give my belts a fine Antique Finish. The belts with the Inca design have more contrast because of the Black finish that is rubbed into the pattern. The Tan is a British Tan luggage color, Lt. Brown is darker with less orange, Med. Brown is more red brown, and Dk Brown is really dark. I have other solvent type dyes for other special order colors, like Navy Blue, Red, Purple and Green. You can request these colors in the request window on the checkout page. Custom colors are not returnable.

  The harness leather belts are finished with Leather Balm (with Atom Wax). After break in you can use another thin coat, applied with a sheepskin pad and buffed, to make your belt even better. This product is available from the "Supplies" page. You will save on shipping if it is included with your belt order. It's good for use on all smooth finished leather goods.

OK, STEP 3# You now have the information you need to order a plain belt. Now lets look at the "Accent" options.

  Every hand tooled harness leather belt using this design is unique, using a variation on the pattern shown. I make this pattern by hand, to fit the length of the belt you order, between the buckle and the shortest hole. The belts above right have the Inca tooling and Wheat stitching. They are shown in Lt. Brown and Med. Brown with the #4 brass buckle.
  This is not a pattern done with a roller in a production machine. This is deep hand stamping done with tools that I made myself, specifically for this design. This design is a good choice for use with silver American Indian buckles like the ones from Bear Creek shown above. Is this design Aztec or Inca? Well, it won't wash off, so... it must be indelible Inca (It's actually a very complex interlocking of circles and squares). I accentuate the tooling pattern with a dark finish in the recesses, this gives a deeper antique finish. The Inca tooling can be combined with the Double Groove Border as shown below.

DOUBLE GROOVE BORDER (Accent)

  The edges of the belts above show the double grooved edge accent. The top belt is actually Tan but looks like Lt. Brown with this lighting. Unlike production belts the groves run around the tip instead of straight off the end of the belt. This accent can also be harness stitched in the inside groove.

HARNESS STITCHING (Accent)

  It's a Harness Leather belt so why not have some harness stitching as an accent? It's available in Black, Brown, and Wheat color thread. Brown thread is shown on the belt below, Wheat is a light tan color and is shown on the Basket weave belt shown farther down.

  Want something more? How about the two keepers option. Note that keepers are only used on end bar buckles like the one shown below.

BASKET WEAVE (Accent)

  Basket Weave Embossing, shown unstitched on a 1-1/4" Lt. Brown belt, and with Wheat stitching on a Med. Brown 1-1/2" belt. The double groove, Lettering, and stitching accents can be used with the Basket Weave embossing.

LETTERING (Accent)

  3/4" high Capital Letters are stamped on the center back of the belt and accented in darker color on lighter colored belts. The Traditional Lettering is shown on the tan belt and Script Lettering is shown on the dark belt. Lettering can be centered in the Inca Design, and the Basket Weave pattern. Select the style of lettering and enter the lettering you want in the "Inscription" window. Enter any additional info in the special request window during check out. Belts Stamped with lettering are not returnable so be REALLY sure you measured correctly.