I was perusing eBay not too long ago and came across this extremely cool Smathers & Branson needlepoint belt for the 2001 Walker Cup at Ocean Forest. Legitimately one of the coolest belts I’ve ever seen. I’m a huge Walker Cup fan, Ocean Forest is on my bucket list, and it’s a really unique belt. However, there were two issues. First, the belt was extremely overpriced (I talked them way down). Second, it was a size 34. I wear a size 36 in Smathers belts. Here is the belt (from the listing):
I did a bunch of research, and it turns out that my local friends at W. Kleinberg will not only replace tabs with any leather you like, but they can extend the belt by a few inches. I asked them to extend the belt by 2″ and replace the tabs with brown alligator leather. They were happy to oblige, and the process was super easy.
- Send the belt to W. Kleinberg
- They called at got my CC number (the cost is $100 for the service)
- I got the belt about ten days later.
Here it is:
I couldn’t be happier. Hope this helps…
Dang. That’s the move.
Smathers also offers this service. Not sure about the alligator strap but I have been meaning to send several to them to get shortened.
Unclear from the post: was this actual alligator, or alligator-pattern leather? If real alligator, seems like a solid deal.
Knowing the folks at W.Kleinberg, I’m betting it’s the real deal. Agreed that $100 is very solid for this upgrade.
I would assume this could also be done to shorten a stretched belt?
Awesome
Beautiful belt. Once learned from Jerrod on the OCBD blog how to shorten surcingle belts. Remove the leather, cut the belt, reattach the leather. I notice that the Walker Cup was played in 2001, only a month prior to 911. I have a few Ryder Cup logo items from that year which are collector’s items b/c the cup was cancelled due to 911.: head covers, and the nicest wind shirt I have ever owned.
What is the service called with them, so they know exactly what I would be asking for? Do you know when choosing alligator tabs, if different colors are available?