Dressy or casual? Skived/dome shaped or square cornered?
Dressy or casual? Skived/dome shaped or square cornered?
It's always, always, best to start with a belt from your holster maker - it's a rig not a mix and match.
After that holsters made to fit dressy belts often are too tight in the loop to fit square cornered casual belts and of course holsters made to fit the biggest thickest square corner belt may shift a little on a dressy dome shaped belt - this may be good for comfort or bad for concealment and different for a top heavy pistol like the H&K p7 or a revolver - so it's always best to go with a rig. See e.g. Tony Kanaley's remarks on his own site - Milt Sparks - and comments all over.
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As of right now there is no real standard in the industry in regards to interchangeability of leather gear among the various makers. When you order a belt and holster set from the same maker, you can pretty much be assured the items will be a close match in how they fit and work together as a unit. When you mix and match gear from various makers, you may need to make some adjustments.
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I should add that there are many fine makers out there whose gear will interchange just fine with our own. Unfortunately though, there's a few out there that seem to cause issues. To that point, I felt it necessary for this FAQ. .....
Tony Kanaley
If there's a better belt than Milt Sparks I'll bet Mr. Kanaley doesn't know about it or he'd step up and make his own belts better - though I don't know how.
I have holsters that fit only domed/skived dressy belts and don't fit say my Beltman belts at all and others that fit Beltman belts just fine and all from the same maker (Lou Alessi who made some great dressy belts himself with taper from 1-1/2" to 1-1/4" at the ends for comfort and to perhaps, perhaps, fool the casual observer) - rumor says Beltman has made some nice holsters of his own too.
For casual look belts and very good prices on longer lengths Andy Langlois is an overlooked source with shorter delivery times than some. HBE has been running shorter delivery times than others of similar quality. Another brand (read literally) who was one of the great bargains in exotic materials is currently a poor choice and some loss to the industry. For quicker delivery perhaps Wilson Combat or Nighthawk can ship from stock.
But start with thinking about your holster maker's belts.
