Mens Leather Belts or Bonded Leather Belts

This seems to be a subject that crops up every week.

In the shop we're often asked the question "Are these belts leather?".

Now the shop is full of the aroma of leather, you can't avoid it unless you have a heavy cold or you work with it every day.

There are also rolls of leather hides, in the shop, that we cut down into belt straps and then make into belts.

Despite the fact that you can see the hides and smell the leather, we are still asked this question. "Is it leather?"

The reason is ...

Bonded leather.

You see, bonded leather consists of one thin layer of leather (stamped maybe with the words "real leather") plus more layers of synthetic stuff! But if the manufacturer hasn't labelled the belt to show what it is made of (like they have to with shoes) then you might be thinking that the whole belt is leather.

Poor labelling isn't really the problem either.

It's what happens to these bonded leather belts. And we hear this almost every week. "I bought this belt a while back (not from you) and look, it's fallen apart".

When we say "That's because it's not leather" they point to the words "real leather" printed inside the belt.
Yes, that layer might be real leather, but the rest of it isn't. Look at the other layers flapping about - they're man-made!

So that's when they get a bit more interested in mens leather belts made from solid leather.

They don't have to buy a new belt. If the buckle is special for a particular reason we can often replace the broken strap with a solid leather strap.

And a solid leather belt strap won't split, delaminate, disintegrate, break or fall apart (unless you let the dog play with it). It will just get a bit tired after a few years - so you wear it in the garden or when doing a bit of diy.

That's years, not months or 1 year. Solid leather belts last for years. Which means money saved compared to buying a belt that disintegrates and then having to buy another.

We can't say that every bonded leather belt falls apart. But we do know that it happens to enough people for them not to want to repeat it. Proper labelling would help.

In case you're wondering...
We don't sell bonded leather belts.

No synthetics.
Just long-lasting solid leather.