Well after 3 weeks DHL decided to deliver Marc's letter to me so now I finally saw just what we made.
I spend about 15-20 minutes water-sanding and polishing one of the buckles just to see what I could do with it. It turned out really good. http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w37/ ... CT0071.png
As you can see here next to a untreated buckle.
First I took the edges off using a small metal file and then water sanded it using 3 different grains, finishing with a nail polisher I stole it from my wife.
I thing it turned out rather good.
Hey... What is it with this man-on-the-run? You give him a worn out old cow and he turns it into a perfect gunholster...??? Then You throw some metalpieces at him and he makes SA-buckles...??
Someone give him a few more cows, just enough for some jackets and gunbelts, please..???!!!
Fine buckles, thanks for the tutorial, I'm all over mine allready )
Did you get your buckles Kent? - Good it didn't take as long as with K!
Anyway, I don't see any reason for AB to offer jackets. We started making hats, because we couldn't please our picky needs elsewhere. We started making shirts, because we thought that the NH shirt was too expensive for the avarage joe. We started making holsters due to the same reason that we started making hats. And the same with the buckles. On the jackets however, there are plenty of EXCELLENT choices out there already. So why bother? - I don't have any plans to be a one stop buy all Indy gear retailer. I didn't want to sell buckles at all to start with to be honest. But my own pickyness forced me to have them made and looking at the picture that K put up, I think it was the right decission to do so after all.
Marc wrote:Did you get your buckles Kent? - Good it didn't take as long as with K!
Regards,
Marc
Yes I got them two days ago, many thanks. At first glimpse they didn't look as we are used to with "SA" buckles, but after having seen K's work I'm convinced.
Marc wrote:
Anyway, I don't see any reason for AB to offer jackets...
Regards,
Marc
I know, I was just kidding ) I won't expect You to make 405's neither )
At first glimpse they didn't look as we are used to with "SA" buckles, but after having seen K's work I'm convinced.
True. They need a little work yet, once you get the, as I mentioned in my original thread. But since K and I are letting these go for cost price, I think that's ok.
These look so cool. It confirms everything I ever suspected or better steads me in my suspect ions that a rifle sling or something similar stood model for the bag strap. It makes so much sense.
Okay, here's my AB buckle and my first "Completed" piece of gear. (Finally, it took me long enough. Sheesh!) It's kind of a bad picture and the leather I got from Tandy was really thick, which kind of leaves an unsightly bulge around the buckle area, but it will do for now. Besides everything is held together with the gunmetal black screw posts from Tandy which resemble the rivets on the HK strap I modeled this after, so nothing here is permanent. But I love my buckles, thanks AB guys!
Oh and I also love this Tandy Adjustable Groover. It's a blast to use. I can't wait to start on my pistol belt and holster, by the way, you all wouldn't have any pistol belt buckles in the works would you?
Just kidding.........but not really.
AB buckle
Home made strap
How the heck can I get one of these, I can't find a link to order them or anything. I did find the adventurebilt site but these are not there. I emailed Marc yesterday too but haven't heard back.
Sorry Doug. It's hard to find time to answer my e-mails, make the hats, take care of the shirts, keep up with enquiries on the holsters, work on three other projects, having a daily job and doing all in a timely manner from time to time.
I picked up a couple of the bag strap buckles myself - they are beautiful! I have to file the edges down to give them that rounded look. Then all I have to do is attach it to my W&G MKVII!
-Craig
Indiana Jake wrote:How many Euros for the strap buckle? And how does one order an AB shirt? How are they measured?
Jake
Jake,
When I purchased my buckles back in March, the cost was €3.15 + shipping. I'd confirm the price with Marc by shooting him a quick e-mail. He's extremely busy, to say the least, but he will get back to you. As for the shirts, I just asked him about the shirt details on 6/20, and this was his response - "The shirts come in standard sizes (s, m, l, xl and xxl) and are 69 Euro incl. un-insured shipping."
The buckle is still 3.15 + shipping and the shirts will be available through me shortly.
Because of the extreme workload Marc is facing I will be taking orders for shirts and buckles in the future.
For those who already have ordered shirts or buckles directly from Marc pleas hold your horses until we decide who will execute existing orders.
I will post a "how to order" later.
In a very near future we will offer gun belts. Bag straps is still in the works, it's not easy to find good leather in the lengths needed for straps especially if the backside has to be smooth. We're working on it.
it's been a busy year for both Steve and me and I've come to a point where I have to realize that customer service might suffer from my workload in the long haul. Something that I absolutely don't wanna see happening. However with me doing my part of The Adventurebilt Co. as a second job, I'm getting further and further behind on shipping of shirts, buckles and holsters, in order to try and keep up my hat manufacture. With countless of other projects that we would LOVE to accomplish (AB gunbelts (with the original buckle), bagstraps and perhaps even an AB bullwhip), I feel like I have to face the fact that I cannot handle it all by myself any longer. I've been letting the gunbelt and bagstrap project sitting on its own for too long already and I do not feel comfortable about this.
When speaking to my good friend and fellow AB staff member Kim the other day, I asked him if he would have the capacity to tackle the shirts, buckles and holsters directly and in the meanwhile take care of the gunbelt and bagstrap projects. I know for sure that it couldn't be in better hands and I'm sure that anyone who's dealt with Kim in the past can attest to that. Kim told me that he'd do all it takes to help me out and I'm sure that within too long, customer service will be back to what you're used to from AB and what you guys and girls deserve.
No order has been forgotton and I'll soon get a new batch of AB shirts in, that I'll then forward to Kim.
Thanks for all your support and patience with me over the years,
It's messages like this and e-mails like you've sent me that set you and Steve apart from (and above) all of the other vendors out there, IMO. Your dedication to this craft, and your top-notch products keep all of us coming back for more. I, for one, am anxiously awaiting the AB gunbelt and (further down the road) bag strap. Thanks for continuing to provide us with great gear!!
Doeindy wrote:Anyone know where to get a bag strap without the buckles and screws. I am looking for a 65" strap on the cheap.
Paul.
Paul,
From my experience, $19.99 is about as cheap as they come. Todd offers a very nice bag strap (although it has the screws and buckle). Las Vegas Jones also offers a strap which looks nice.
Try posting your request in the Marrakesh Supply Co. You may get a few hits there.
so now I finally saw just what we made.
I stole it from my wife.
)
OH MY GOD!!! Kim I'll send you the other 197 pieces tomorrow for you to fine tune. We could make a fortune on these!!! 
