Leather wallet and belt gift set

Finding a gift for your husband or boyfriend or dad is hard! We get it. We’ve been there. But here is a meaningful gift that the man in your life will appreciate. A leather wallet and belt gift set is really useful as men typically use their old wallet and belt until it is on an “embarrassing” level of usage 🙂

Before you go looking for a cheap belt and wallet to make a gift set let me share my top 3 things to consider when creating a really high quality gift set that will be appreciated and last a very long time.

1. Quality of leather

Did you know that Genuine leather is the second worst leather that you can choose only slightly better than bonded leather? I was just as surprised as you when I learnt this. At Nordic EDC, we pride ourselves on using “heirloom quality” leather. But what does it really mean?

There are three general qualities of leather

• Full grain leather – the highest quality leather that you should be looking for.
• Top grain leather – also high quality leather but has gone through some corrections to refine it and remove blemishes.
• Split grain leather – also called genuine leather. But don’t fall for the marketing trick! This is actually the lowest quality of leather.
• Bonded leather – we don’t really consider this to be leather as it is basically glued leather waste. Stay away from this. Always.

At Nordic EDC, we only make full grain vegetable tanned leather belts.

2. Craftsmanship and durability

Without doubt the durability is the most important factor that determines the quality of construction. And usually, the most common point of failure on a wallet is the stitches. The best and the most traditional way of stitching leather is the centuries old saddle stitching.

Saddle stitching is done with only a few feet of thread at a time and must be made by hand. To create each stitch, the entire thread serpentines two times through the layers of leather. For the machine-sewn, lock stitch, 2 separate spools of thread are used. A sewing machine passes a small loop of thread through the top of the leather which interlocks with the thread from the bottom of the leather. Although machine sewing is faster and cheaper it usually creates a major stress point where the top thread loops with the bottom thread. Those 2 small threads are constantly trying to cut one another. A handsewn saddle stitch lasts much longer.  In addition to using thicker thread with hand stitching, each stitch is made up of two strong, independent, stitches. Unlike the lock stitch which will completely unravel, if a thread does break, the saddle stitch will still hold together.

When it comes to belts the story continues. We use thick 4mm (10oz) leather straps which are a perfect thickness for fantastic durability as well as comfort while wearing. A good, heavy-duty buckles are crucial not only for the belt to last long, but it is just so much better looking compared to some cheap, thin bent metal buckles. A good quality belt, like ours is usually has their edges bevelled and burnished with a water based dye and wax. This makes the belt resistant to the elements.

3. Supporting a small sized business

Unfortunately, we have reached a reality where big organisations are only after profits even if it means making cheap and usually poor quality products. There are many amazing leather makers and artisans that make handmade leather belts with care and attention to detail, resulting in a product that is durable and built to last. Skilled artisans take the time to ensure each belt is carefully crafted, resulting in a superior product compared to mass-produced options. Now wouldn’t you want to keep the art of making high quality products alive. Well then you have to support them too!

Hope you feel convinced that a good quality leather belt and wallet could make a fantastic gift set for the special man in your life. Here are some of our wallets and belts that you could combine to make a fabulous gift set. Our leathers match quite well and go together as a set.