Watch Strap Review Part 9. – Introducing: Equus Leather
Don’t know about you, but I pretty much got addicted to straps by now. This is almost our anniversary article of Strap Review, being number 9 in the series. This month we are traveling back to a country we have already visited. Some of you might remember that the 3rd Strap Review article featured Stewart and his amazing straps by the name of Heuerville from the United Kingdom. Well, this time we are back in misty Albion to bring you another strap. Please meet Equus Leather.
About Equus
The beauty of this series is that we get to meet so many interesting craftsmen from across the globe. From Europe to Asia to the US so many different approaches and techniques are combined to bring you the best there is. However I can honestly say that the guys at Equus probably have the most intriguing take on this game. At first the site does not offer anything special. You could almost say it looks boring. But if you read about Equus, dig deeper only then do you realize that the craftsmanship that this company bears is absolutely stunning, professional and something you very rarely see. A very good example is the fact that I contacted them in the beginning of December last year. They agreed to send me one but warned me that the waiting list is very long and it might take some time. Well, I received my strap this May and I’m sure those guys did not rest in-between but worked their hearts out. Equues is not – only – about straps. They produce a variety of different leather goods. Their portfolio has belts, straps, and wallets, pet tags and so on. You usually find a few sentences about the company’s philosophy etc. Not in this case. Equus thoroughly explains what they do, how they do it and why they do it the way they do. When I asked them about it, they wrote me “…our focus is handmaking, everything about our straps is done by hand, in particular hand stitching which is something of a signature of ours, all our work is hand sewn”
All photos by Equus Leather
Equus strap
You won’t find many different models, that’s a fact. However the ones they do make are of exceptional quality – like everything else coming out of their hands. You can choose from a variety of different leathers; calf, goatskin, ostrich just to name a few. On their website you can find a very cool little presentation of how straps are done by them. We have yet to focus on the how-to-do’s of straps, though our very own Bert was lucky enough to get first hand info on how’s it done on a strap maker workshop.
The strap I received is oak brown with ecru thread and RHD deployant. The leather used for this strap was tanned for 2 years and all of the stitching was done by hand of course, a true artisan made strap in every way. It is 20mm and unlike most straps at this size it is 20mm on the other end (buckle) as well. The lengths of them are the standard 7 and 12 cm. The inside of the strap is also covered with real leather, in a very light beige color. This makes it pretty durable but not waterproof. That can not be a problem because the customers of the company should know that when ordering from Equus you are looking for hand made, British quality, leather strap for your prized possession. If you need a sports strap look somewhere else.
As I already told you the guys at Equus Leather are extremely busy but having one of their master pieces is well worth the wait. The bill comes to around 130 British Pounds per piece. This could be more of course as customizing options are available.
