Thanks, Will,  In what way do you wet mold/shape a belt?  I’ve wet molded holsters but not belts.  Do you cut straight then curve them sort of like a Buscadero belt is cut curved?

That's the Chuck Burrows influence at work. I started that on rawhide knife sheaths and really like the result. I was originally going to hang some beaded fringe off the cuff between the mainseam and the fold but it ended up being too low on the pouch to look right.

I gave that a lot of thought. I have a few examples of Chuck's work and you can't see everything underneath but I was able to glean enough from their construction to figure out it's best to add them afterwards. Those are larger 8/0 beads but even they don't have enough room for a full strand of artificial sinew 'and' the needle to pass. So I stitch the mainseam and then split the sinew to about 1/4 to add the beads. It's one continuous thread, I do a running stitch with one color, then come back and do the other. Vegtan you can do dry but the rawhide needs to still be wet. Also helps to kinda nestle the beads into the stitchline.

I do all my most productive thinking in the shower and that is where I figured out how to do the beaded fringe with one continuous thread. I couldn't wait to get out, dry off and sketch it up to make sure it didn't leave me. I had figured out years ago to use an 4/0 bead as a sort of stopper for the cones and was tickled to find that's what Chuck did as well. So I've got a coffee can full of ugly 4/0 craft store beads I use just for that.

Great tutorial and I love the result. I've also done a holster tutorial and can greatly appreciate the work that goes into one.

Will,  “hand”, “temper”, “firmness”…all the same term.  People in my Tandy store call it “hand”.  I had to ask them what they meant.  Just wanted to know if you used softer or stiffer leather for your belts.

Add me to the list for loving that beaded seam line.  The whole holster is just great, but that bead line is fantastic!