Where are your goods made?

All C.R. Campbell Leatherworks Co. products are both designed and handcrafted with pride in the USA, specifically in the great Commonwealth of Kentucky.  

What type of leather do you use? 

C.R. Campbell uses full grain, vegetable tanned premium leather. The leather comes from a local vendor and tanner of quality U.S. steer hides.  Each hide that will eventually become quality leather goods is hand selected on site at the supplier and reviewed for quality and consistency in grain, color, and feel before being brought back to the workshop.  

As leather is a natural product, some items will inevitably contain evidence of scarring, bug bites, lines, and coloring variations.  These unique marks add to the character of the piece.  That being said, care is taken to avoid incorporating "ugly" pieces into the goods.   

How are your belts superior to others?

C.R. Campbell belts are made from solid straps of vegetable tanned bridle leather produced from quality U.S. steer hides.  Many brand name, commercially available belts these days are deceptively constructed of "bonded leather", which consists of leather fibers formed together using glues and bonding agents and then sprayed with a top coat finish to appear as a solid piece of leather.  Think, the "particle board" of leather, if you will.  These belts look and perform great for a few weeks until the finish begins to crack and separate at stress points, and the strap eventually fails.    

Still others are manufactured using two very thin strips of leather, stuffed with scrap filler pieces and then stitched or glued around the edges to mimic the look and feel of a thick piece of high quality leather.  Oftentimes these belts will start coming apart around the adjustment holes after several months of use.    

Oftentimes the "belt keeper" (the little loop of leather that you tuck the belt tip into) on commercially available belts is made from very thin leather and is fastened together using (not kidding) construction staples.  Our belt keepers are made from the same bridle leather as the belt strap itself (though in a slightly thinner weight so as to not form a thick bulge on the wearer) and are securely riveted together using hand-set, oldschool copper rivets.   

Even amongst other handmade, higher quality belts, C.R. Campbell belts stand out for their superior leather edge finish and quality hardware.  Many competing belt makers choose to cut corners and leave their edges unfinished.  Our belt edges are painstakingly finished to a hard, shiny surface using heat, friction, and a natural beeswax blend finish.  Additionally, the hardware used is solid stainless steel and copper, not cheap and weak plated zinc or stamped metal.