Belt Buckles & Concho Belts

So I have this one. It is certainly not in the league of what you guys have all posted.
I found this at an estate sale for $10.00, several years ago. Estate sale people don’t check out belts very closely, I guess.

It is sterling (acid tested by me) with no marks.
It appears to be stamped from sterling sheet, with copper back straps.
The leather belt is in great condition. I’m guessing that the whole thing is not old, but here I am dipping my toe into the concha belt pool.

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@Ziacat my go-to, everyday belt is from Lucky, but the buckle is sewn on. And my local Lucky store closed.

Thanks for the ideas of places to look. I’m not dead set on a custom belt anymore, but I realized yesterday that this oval buckle is unique: the bar is 1 1/2”, but the opening is 1 3/8”, not 1 1/4” like I thought. So, it’s proving a slight pain to find a belt. I can’t wait to wear it, but :woman_shrugging:t3:

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That is kind of a pain. I have one narrow belt that I got at a vintage store in Santa Fe, and I found another even smaller one a long time ago in Wickenburg; I think it was at a western tack store. And yes, I got lucky at the Lucky Brand store. I have two from there that I just love that I can the change buckles, but they are wide.

I wish I still had the narrow one from the Wickenburg store, because I’d see if you wanted it. All of my buckles were too big for it. It was pretty, but I ended up donating it.

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I totally bypassed this, after you pointed it out, Tom, I agree, it’s a perfect mate for Blythe’s buckle.

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10.00??!! You can’t find a leather belt for that price. I might even buy a concha belt for that amount :grin: It’s really cool!

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Come on in, @Stracci, the water’s great!

That’s an awesome belt! Congrats on an incredible find. :+1:

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It’s my “starter” belt.
Maybe one day I’ll invest in a decent one!

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Everyone has their first everything, and yours is a great one! Hopefully that thing gets some wear time! :+1:

C’mon @Stracci, with your hands and talent, I look forward to the day you share a buckle or full concho belt that you made! :wink:

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So I went digging in hubby’s dresser, and found this ranger set by Harris Joe.
I bought this for him at a NA jewelry shop in Albuquerque called the Utility Shack.
He made the belt with supplies he got from the Tandy Leather shop.

And this buckle is just marked NB

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@ziacat
I think I might wear it to work, just to get it out of the house! Poor thing has been in a drawer for years.

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Welcome to the world of vintage Navajo belt buckles. I swear the old smiths are looking down and chuckling when they see me cutting all of these odd size billets. I mean, who the heck makes a buckle of a 7/8" belt? :rofl:

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You know I think sometimes they measured whatever leather they had on hand, and just made buckles to fit :joy:

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Whatever the reasoning, their mischievousness has helped me create all kinds of new curse words. :rofl:

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You could make a leather bracelet, too!!

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Yaaas, that would be too cool @Jemez2. Something like this perhaps?

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You are right, @Ravenscry! Looking forward to seeing @Stracci ‘s own Concho belt creation!

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This is a very cool idea!

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Thank you BlytheEcho!!

After I made this post, my OCD kicked in and told me to stop being lazy and to cut appropriately sized 7/8" billets for my cast buckle. I installed them on the Western belt I recently modified and I think everything came together well. I also made the hatband for the hatpin I bought at Cameron last summer. Add in a vintage pocketknife and all three life essentials are covered. :slightly_smiling_face:

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Looks like you can handle leather watch bands. :grin: :laughing:

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