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• 1. Sort Hides
• Hides are sorted for size, weight, stiffness and imperfections.
• 2. Cut Strips
• The hide is then cut into strips of proper order for width and approximate length for belts.
• 3. Level Strips
• Each strip is then mechanically leveled or planed to a consistent thickness throughout.
• 4. Cut Tapers (Ends)
• Both ends are trimmed to appropriate taper at the correct size.
• 5. Mark Edges
• Outer edges of tooling pattern are hand scribed (marked) to allow for outer stitch line.
• 6. Wet Edges
• All belts to be tooled that day are moisture softened to accept tooling.
• 7. Tool Leather
• Each belt is individually tooled with the floral or basket patterns requiring three separate stages of tooling.
• 8. Re-cut Edges
• Because the tooling causes the leather to move (or expand) the edges must be re-trimmed after tooling.
• 9. Cut Liners
• Lining leather is cut oversized for each belt.
• 10. Stamp Sizes, Logos, Liners
• Liners are stamped for size and description before gluing to belt body so as to not affect tooling pattern.
• 11. Glue Liners
• Liners are glued to belts.
• 12. Trim Belt & Liners
• Liners are then trimmed to exact size of belt.
• 13. Stitch Belts
• The belt is then stitched with correct color and weight thread.
• 14. Skive Edges
• The square edges of the belt are skived (slightly rounded) with a hand cutting tool.
• 15. Punch Snap Holes
• Holes for snaps and buckle tongue are punched with a foot press.
• 16. Punch End Holes
• Holes for belt end are then punched.
• 17. Set Snaps
• The snaps are set in place with a small kick press.
• 18. Dye Belts
• Each belt is hand dyed with a sponge and aniline dye on a table for uniform smooth color, often as many as 3 times for consistency.
• 19. Sun Cure
• Each belt is placed in the sun to dry and obtain an ultraviolet color influence (sun-cured).
• 20. Hand Polished Edges
• Edges are hand rubbed with canvas coated with wax.
• 21. Wax Polish
• Each belt is buffed to a moderate luster.
• 22. Final Quality Check
• Final quality check assures every Vogt belt meets our high standards of quality with NO COMPROMISING!