Busted Belt Buckle Fixed

[Onomea]

I have a gold-accented silver belt buckle set that I am fond of. Bought it about 20 years ago, originally accompanied by an alligator (or was it crocodile?) skin dress belt. The buckle set alone was $300 or so, if I recall correctly, so a splurge.

Later, after retiring, I replaced the increasingly frazzled (and shrinking!) dress belt with an El Paso Saddlery floral carved belt. That's another story: http://smith-wessonforum.com/gun-le...0-shortening-tapered-belt.html?highlight=belt

Anyway, a few weeks ago my belt buckle broke suddenly:





I spent some time looking online for a silversmith to fix it for me. (One in California offered to fix it for $500 ~ $600. Passed on that one!) Found a guy in Washington who said he could fix it for $125. I asked him what his plan was, as I was worried about the strength of the fix. He said he'd drill the broken ends and insert a rod, then solder over it. I liked this approach as when I was reflecting on how I would fix it if I had the tools and the skill, it was the same solution that I had come up with.

I got my buckle back today. I'm pleased with it:

 

[vonn]

Funny how you can get attached to a buckle. I have a couple that I will wear until I cash in.

 

[lawandorder]

Hope there is a floral tooled holster to match that nice looking rig.

If not you should get on the phone to EPS.

 

[Onomea]

Good advice there, Lawandorder. I agree.

Just ordered an EPS Street Combat to match for this customized 1958 Colt DS:



Currently carry it in a Mitch Rosen light brown belt and 5JR, but have been considering a matching holster for the EPS belt for a dressier look for a while.

 

[JJEH]

Looking good sir, nice approach.

 

[lawandorder]

Outstanding! Be sure to show us the complete rig.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

I'm surprised the buckle lasted as long as it did being made of 14K Gold! That is a soft alloy to put under the stress of a shrinking belt. The fix will most likely outlast the owner. (may that be a hundred years!)

Ivan

 

[Onomea]

Ivan, the only 14K gold parts are the accents, on the four pieces of the set, that you can see in the last pic in the first post. The rest is sterling silver. (I'm hoping the rod the silversmith stuck in there for the fix was steel though!)

 

[Onomea]

Well, the El Paso Saddlery Street Combat holster I ordered back in July finally arrived yesterday. It is the wrong color!



I was pretty steamed. How could they make this mistake! Then I went back and looked at the copy of my order. The color I ordered is "russet." What the heck color is "russet?" I then check the El Paso Saddlery website. Only two colors offered, black or russet... My belt is black...

Dang it. My fault! I get on the phone with El Paso Saddlery and explain what happened, hoping maybe they can dye my russet holster black and that it won't cost too much. EPS says they can do that. First they remove the waterproof coating and re dye it black. After it dries for a coupla days, they add waterproof coating, let it dry again, and ship it back to me.

For free.

They said, "Whether our mistake or your mistake, we'll make it good."

Pretty good customer service, huh? I screwed it up and they got me covered...

Will post again when I get the holster back.

(Mods, this probably belongs in the leather sub forum at this point.)

 

[Ole Joe Clark]

Glad you got the buckle repaired, they are under a lot of stress and strain when attached to a "shrinking" belt.

Have a blessed day,

Leon

 

[Deceasedeye]

>>>>>>>>>>JB WELD<<<<<<<<<

 

[crazyphil]

So, now you know what color russet is.
I like a good Ranger style belt. I've got a few of them.

 

[Onomea]

Very nice, Phil. They're all nice, but I especially like the second from the top buckle. Kinda art deco to my eye.

 

[crazyphil]

The one you like best is a Justin. I don't remember if it came with that
buckle or I added it later. I gave the belt to a guy that bought a holster
from me a while back.

Here is a picture of the belt, buckle and holster all together.

 

[Onomea]

Well, fellas, got my EPS Street Combat back about a week ago, correctly (re)dyed.





I'm very pleased with it, the holster itself, the carving, the dyeing and EPS's excellent customer service, correcting my mistake (see above), for free.

 

[CQB27]

1000 Likes!

 

[SAFireman]

That is a great solution and end to the story. I toured the El Paso facility and spoke with the current owners about the history of the El Paso and their link to Myres. It is a great group of guys and gals. I would not hesitate to engage them in the future.