Tuesday, March 05, 2019

Gear post: Belt bag

Click to enlarge

This is my main belt pouch. It holds my wallet and many other things. You can see the spyglass pouch to the right of the pouch in the top view. Looking at the backside you can see the sheath which holds the Kershaw knife. The belt bag and the knife sheath (dated 2000) are riveted together. You may notice the spyglass pouch is tied in place. That keeps it and the belt bag from wandering but keeps them removable.

I made the pouch in the early 1990s, but didn't sign and date it like I do some other things. I attached the Kershaw's sheath sometime in the past 5 years or so, even though it had been riding in that same spot for many years. 

The bag is about 6" X 6", give or take a little. It is about 3" thick, including the knife behind it. It is made of thick vegetable tanned leather, with no decoration.

The button is one I made of bone. The leather loop which goes around the button was extended long ago. The contents were straining it, so I made it longer with a cut loop of leather to take the strain off. 

I have varied the contents some over the years, depending on what I thought I needed at the time. Below are the contents of the pouch. 


Included are extra or rarely used keys plus a "peanut" lighter, my wallet (also made by me), A bow-drill socket made from a brass dog tag on a piece of leather, and a pocket made of a sword scabbard's tip, The sword scabbard pocket holds the bits above it: a mini screwdriver for eyeglasses repair and tightening, a P-38 can opener (one of several I carry), Allen wrenches, a small file, tweezers, and a (gun) bore gauge.

Back when everyone else was wearing a fanny pack, this was on my hip. It has been mistaken for a gun holster many times. Maybe it keeps people polite in my presence.

Tangent time: I don't wear my belt through belt loops. In fact, I remove the belt loops from my jeans and put suspender buttons on them instead. My "Old West" pants don't even come with belt loops. I wear the belt slung lower than the loops would allow, so it doesn't rest on my hip bones. Much better for me that way. Years ago my bony hips were always bruised and hurting from my belt digging in. I had to cinch the belt so tight to keep my pants up that it really got to be painful. That was before I even carried much on the belt (other than a knife or two). My "Old West" pants didn't have loops, so I wore suspenders and discovered that was much more comfortable. So I adapted.

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Reminder: I could really use some help filling the wallet in my belt pouch with funds.
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