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WWII USMC Pistol Belt


Catfishcraig
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Catfishcraig

I picked this up yesterday off of eBay. Looks to me like a nice WWII USMC stamped Pistol Belt, however, the female buckle is not original :blink: Anybody have any experience replacing buckles that could give me some advise as how not to muck it up?

 

Thanks

 

Craig

post-12393-1299255229.jpg

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First, you'll obviously need to find a correct buckle for it.

 

Then get a "thread-ripper" (sewing store), and you may be able to locate some original thread (I understand it's available).

 

Take it all to a good leathersmith. Let him see the SPI of the original stitching, so it they can be duplicated. Then peel back the hem (forcefully), and carefully cut the stitching with the thread-ripper. Placing that end in a vise would aid in pulling it back to properly expose the thread. Be careful not to hook webbing with the tool.

 

Sewing it back on original lines will be reasonably simple, as those HD sewing machines can be run manually, so as to place stitches properly.

 

Finding a 'spare' buckle would be the most difficult aspect, IMHO.

 

Don

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craig_pickrall

The only thing I know to add to this is when you put it in a vise be sure to cushion the belt so the grommets don't get crushed or the face of the jaws leave a cut in the material.

 

You should be able to find a trashed pistol belt with the correct buckle for fairly cheap. You need the cast female buckle that has the webbed reinforcement. It will look like this one:

 

post-5-1299262123.jpg

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Good point on padding the jaws of the vise, Craig. Layers of painters tape can be effective as such.

 

And your photo made me recall another technique for using the thread-ripper:

Instead of trying to "peel open/cut" the hem, initially, start by hooking/cutting as many of the individual 'over looped' threads on the face of the webbing as possible. It is a little slower than just a 'peel', but can be easier for the bulk of them and more accurate. Then go ahead and peel it; cutting through the remainder will then be a lot simpler.

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Catfishcraig

Thank you for taking the time to help me out!

 

One of the things I was thinking to save the current stitching, is remove a buckle from a trashed belt and cut a small portion out of the back of the buckle large enough to force the belt through. Although it would be jerry rigged, I wasn’t planning on selling the belt anyway and want to prevent as little damage to it as possible. It wouldn’t be as strong as designed, but I’m not going to carry my pistol or canteen from it either. In the end I'm hoping it would retain any collector value it currently has.

 

What do you think of my idea?

 

Thanks

 

Craig

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You're welcome.

 

A professional repair, as illustrated, shouldn't cause it any damage.

 

I believe that if you were to cut the back of the buckle, you would have to remove a lot of it's length to get it to jamb over the loop. It is very stiff material and sewn with little extra room.

 

Any thing is better than that tie-wire, though.

 

Don

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RustyCanteen

Not sure if it's really worth it to undo the stitching, one thing you can try is to leave the stitching intact and (once you have a new buckle) make ONE cut at the top near the "curve" of the buckle and carefully (it can break easily) bend the straight part (goes into the canvas belt) out just enough for it to leave an "open" loop and slide it through the loop/hole in the belt. Bend it back very carefully and you are done.

 

May work, may not.

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