What are Leather Straps?
Leather strap (strap leather) is a common term for strips of leather in various sizes. Although leather straps are mostly a part of leather good, straps alone could be the leather good itself like a belt. Leather straps are mostly used with some metal hardware to either keep it in place (snaps, buttons, rivets, etc.) or adjust the size of it (buckle).
Leather Straps with Snaps
Snaps are often used with leather straps. Wristbands are one of the common uses of leather straps with snaps. Leather straps on wallets or bags are often used with snaps as well. Snaps make it easier to use the leather strap with minimal effort to lock or unlock the strap. However, some snaps can open easier than others, making them a less secure way than buckles.
Leather Straps with Buckle
Leather straps with buckles are used in many cases. For example, watch straps are made from a leather strap and a buckle. Buckles allow us to adjust the size of a leather strap. In the watch strap case, not all wrists are the same size but watchmakers use standard sizes for straps while they mass produce. With the addition of a buckle to the watch strap, each customer can adjust the size of the watch strap.
Buckles are a stronger option to hold leather straps compared to buttons or snaps. That’s why they are also used in bag straps such as motorcycle bags or outdoor bags.
Black Leather Straps
Leather straps can be in any color as they can be made from any leather. If you are using black leather for your project, it is suggested to use black leather straps made from the same leather.
The color choices are more limited for belts since belts are made from thick leathers (3mm or above). Black is a very popular color among leather tanneries and usually, each tannery has a black leather article in various thicknesses. That’s why a big portion of belts are made from black leather straps. Black belts are also popular since they are mostly paired with black shoes and black shoes are the most popular color choice among suit shoes for men.
Thin Leather Straps
Thin leather straps can be used in many cases such as watch straps, key holders, or bag handles. In watch strap making thin leather straps are frequently used. Luxury watch straps are usually made from two layers of thin leather straps and some supporting material like salpa in between them.
Embossed Leather Belt Blanks
Some leather stores and companies sell leather straps ready to become belts after a few steps. It is not very easy to cut a long strip of thick leather accurately with hand tools. Leather stores use special equipment to cut the leather belt blanks easily and precisely. Leather belt blanks are useful for leather crafters since they require a few easy steps to become a finished belt.
Some leather belt blanks are embossed. Leather shops use embossing machines to emboss various patterns on the leather belt blank. They usually use natural vegetable tanned leather for embossing since it will hold the embossed shape. Also, natural vegetable tanned leather is required if you want to dye your belt to the desired color.
Bullhide Strips
Bullhide strips are thicker and stronger compared to cowhides. They are used for more heavy-duty projects like gun belts. Their thickness can exceed 5 mm (15 oz) and they are sold in various widths starting from 2 cm and up to 7 cm.
Leather Apron Straps
Leather aprons are used by many professionals such as leathercrafters, knife makers, baristas, and butchers. The main material for the apron can either be leather or canvas fabric. Canvas fabric is known for being durable, strong, and heavy-duty. However, both leather or canvas aprons use leather straps since leather is a more suitable material for straps and they also look beautiful even when used with canvas fabric.