COTEP belt
I'm the person that received the COTEP belt and posted a short review on the 1911forum's private COTEP members section. I didn't realize that this was the other forum in which Crazy K38 was participating, and mentioned the belt until I did some more searching.......small world.
I'm not even sure where to begin on this. Yes, quite a few months ago, a group of us in the 1911 forum decided to buy belts from Crazy K38 to match the holsters that were made by another 1911forum member. I'm going to go back through the old threads to absolutely confirm some of the info before I continue with this post.
I'll edit it with further info soon.
Feel free to send me an PM or e-mail if you'd like.
Here's some info:
The link to the website we were to use to order the belts was posted on July 17th.
On September 2nd, a photo was posted of 17 belt blanks, which were to be used for our belts.
The first set of three belts was supposed to ship out late August, but they were lost in the mail. I wasn't able to locate any info on the recipients of these belts. I located a post from August listing the members to receive the first two batches of belts….and I wasn't one of them. Apparently, the order of the belts to be shipped out was altered to make Paypal happy, (but I fail to see what Paypal has to do with this) and I was bumped up to the top of the list.
Crazy K38 moved during this time period, which slowed down (stopped?) his production. Crazy K38's grandmother also experienced health issues, and he visited her often, which also slowed down his production. It's very understandable for these issues to slow down production of the belts. The problem was with the lack of communication from Crazy K38 to the individuals that prepaid for the belts.
The first set of belts were being re-made in mid September. Mine was to go in the mail Sept 27th, then October 5. I received it on October 29.
On Nov 1, it was posted that he was making progress on belt #2, but was really busy with work and didn't have very much time to devote to the project (so his wife was helping out).
On November 4, Crazy K38 started a new thread in which he was going to provide updates on the belts as they were being made. He posted in the Dan Wesson section on the 6th that he lost his access to the COTEP lounge, so cannot provide updates in the thread he created on the 4th.
I do not consider the belt I received to be shoddy. It's not at the quality level as my Mist Sparks belts, but for $65 I wasn't expecting an exceptional belt. The only flaws visible while it's being worn is some dye that darkened the stitching in a few spots. Crazy K38 posted that as the belt is used, the thread should shed this dye. In my review, I also mentioned that the back side of the belt wasn't dyed, and that I dyed it myself to make it look more professional.
One of the "missing features" (the COTEP stamp) could not be applied to the belt because that stamp design is owned by a gunsmith member of the 1911 forum, and was only allowed to be used on the COTEP holster as a favor. In one of his posts, he stated, "Also I have the tools to put your member name and # on the inside of the belts and it will be standard on each one.". My COTEP number was stamped on the inside of the holster, but not in a very attractive manner. Crazy K38 posted a clear photo of this stamp in one of his posts, so I didn't comment on it in my review. As I plan to use this belt with my IWB holster, the only part that I expect anyone to ever see is the buckle. The lack of my name and a stamp is of no importance to me. Others may feel differently.
For it's designated use, I am in fact very satisfied with the belt. I probably wouldn't be as satisfied if it were an OWB holster for open carry, or a some other leather item that is seen regularly.
If anyone would like to read my review (and see the photos), I suppose I can post it here.
I hope this information is helpful. I just hope that Crazy K38 is able to ramp up production and make the remaining of the belts within a reasonable timeframe.
Grizz
