At first glance, “belt” seems like a gimme. That said, “belt” is more complicated than it appears. Belt can be a verb as in “belt out a tune,” or it can be used to define a geographic area as in “The Bible Belt.” For our purposes, it’s a belt if you have a strap currently working with a buckle to keep your pants on. To be clear, if you don’t have a buckle the thing wrapped around your waist is called a strap. If you have a buckle and your pants are currently down, you might need a new strap. You can get one HERE.

If you’ve seen the movie Fifty Shades of Grey, you know belts can be used for a host of activities outside of keeping your pants on. You also know belts help announce the significance of taking your pants off. Before we delve too deeply, let’s return to our current topic as we hope to cover “How to Take Your Pants Off” in a separate series.

Confusion about the definition of “belt” leads to confusion about how to effectively assemble one. As mentioned above, you need a good strap and a good buckle to assemble a good belt. Too often, people underestimate the importance of either the strap or the buckle. As an example, a person spends $100 on a belt where the strap cost $99 and the buckle cost $1. You’ll quickly notice the tinny, yellow clasp. It’s at the center of the whole arrangement. Can’t miss it.

Here’s our suggestion. If you’re into straps, spend extra on the strap and less on the buckle. If you’re into buckles, spend extra on the buckle and less on the strap. A good ratio to keep in mind is 3 to 1 (if you fear math, skip this paragraph). Typically you don’t want to spend more than three times the cost for one item over the other. I’m partial to buckles so I decide to spend $300 on my custom belt buckle. Therefore, I should spend no less than $100 on my strap.

If 3 on top of 1 frightens you, think of the belt as a suit. In one case you have the strap and the buckle. In the other, you have the pants and the jacket. You want the quality of your pants and jacket to match. And you want the quality of the strap and the buckle to match.

Don’t forget the buckle makes up half of a belt. As illustrated in “How to Keep Your Pants On Part 1 of 11,” the a belt isn’t a belt without a buckle. The belt isn’t a belt without a strap either. The relationship between strap and buckle is symbiotic. One does not function without the other. To make a good belt, you need quality in both. In this post, we continue to define a handful of terms in our quest to help you keep your pants on. Today’s term is another familiar one: Belt.

At first glance, “belt” seems like a gimme. That said, “belt” is more complicated than it appears. Belt can be a verb as in “belt out a tune,” or it can be used to define a geographic area as in “The Bible Belt.” For our purposes, it’s a belt if you have a strap currently working with a buckle to keep your pants on. To be clear, if you don’t have a buckle the thing wrapped around your waist is called a strap. If you have a buckle and your pants are currently down, you might need a new strap. You can get one HERE.

If you’ve seen the movie Fifty Shades of Grey, you know belts can be used for a host of activities outside of keeping your pants on. You also know belts help announce the significance of taking your pants off. Before we delve too deeply, let’s return to our current topic as we hope to cover “How to Take Your Pants Off” in a separate series.

Confusion about the definition of “belt” leads to confusion about how to effectively assemble one. As mentioned above, you need a good strap and a good buckle to assemble a good belt. Too often, people underestimate the importance of either the strap or the buckle. As an example, a person spends $100 on a belt where the strap cost $99 and the buckle cost $1. You’ll quickly notice the tinny, yellow clasp. It’s at the center of the whole arrangement. Can’t miss it.

Here’s our suggestion. If you’re into straps, spend extra on the strap and less on the buckle. If you’re into buckles, spend extra on the buckle and less on the strap. A good ratio to keep in mind is 3 to 1 (if you fear math, skip this paragraph). Typically you don’t want to spend more than three times the cost for one item over the other. I’m partial to buckles so I decide to spend $300 on my custom belt buckle. Therefore, I should spend no less than $100 on my strap.

If 3 on top of 1 frightens you, think of the belt as a suit. In one case you have the strap and the buckle. In the other, you have the pants and the jacket. You want the quality of your pants and jacket to match. And you want the quality of the strap and the buckle to match.

Don’t forget the buckle makes up half of a belt. As illustrated in “How to Keep Your Pants On Part 1 of 11,” the a belt isn’t a belt without a buckle. The belt isn’t a belt without a strap either. The relationship between strap and buckle is symbiotic. One does not function without the other. To make a good belt, you need quality in both. https://www.jandhbuckles.com/blog/how-to-keep-your-pants-on-part-1-of-11/ Wed, 26 Apr 2017 08:32:24 +0000 https://www.jandhbuckles.com/blog/how-to-keep-your-pants-on-part-1-of-11/ If you’ve ever lost your pants, then you know keeping your pants on can be a daunting task. Before diving into the problem, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with a few terms. Let’s start with an easy one: Buckle.

A buckle, when referring to a belt buckle, is an attachment that will hold your belt together securely. The word “buckle” can also be used as a verb, as in “buckle up,” or “buckle down,” or “buckle that belt, your pants are fallin’!”

Belt Buckles were originally made out of bronze and were used by ancient Romans to fasten their armor together. The Romans didn’t want their armor falling off during battle. Be like the Romans. Keep your pants secured snugly in your moment of need. You’re unlikely to battle in body armor as the Romans did, so let’s adapt this scenario to modern day life. You walk into an interview. In one hand you hold your briefcase. In your other hand you hold a piece of leather wrapped around your pants because you forgot your belt buckle. The interviewer reaches out to shake your hand. You release your hand from the piece of leather to shake the interviewer’s hand. Now your pants are down. You immediately buckle your knees to prevent your pants from falling to your ankles. Your quick thinking doesn’t help your appearance. You stand awkwardly pigeon toed and you’re wearing an old, off-white pair of underwear. Upon a closer look, they’re beginning to show holes. You’ll have difficulty rebounding in this interview. Most interviewers will correlate your off-white undies to a sense of self-loathing. Though you stand in defeat, you lost much earlier in the day when you decided not to wear a Johnson and Held buckle.

Here’s the same scenario except now you’re wearing a Johnson and Held belt buckle. You walk into an interview. In one hand you hold your briefcase. Your other hand is free and swings confidently as you strut. Your belt buckle draws the interviewer’s attention. They ask about the logo on it. You respond, “It’s custom. The logo for my side business.” The interviewer bends down to take a closer look. You stand tall. “I’ve never seen anything like that before,” the interviewer says. “You wouldn’t have,” you say. “It’s one of a kind and we haven’t met.” The interviewer asks about your side business and you talk all about it. Your conversation fascinates the interviewer so much, standard interview questions about why you’re the right person for the job fall by the wayside. Time flies by and the interviewer says you’ll have to speak again. The interviewer doesn’t forget you or your custom buckle. You receive a business card and a phone call three days later. The job is yours… if you want it.

In other words, your Johnson and Held buckle is much more than the device holding your belt together to keep your pants on. The buckle is the spark that ignites the conversation that impresses the interviewer who offers you the job. Plus, it buys you time to run to the store to replace your worn out underwear.

In 2012, the city of Colorado Springs asked for an extra large belt buckle for the winner of their stage. We incorporated the Pro Cycling Challenge’s logo, black onyx and vibrant colors. The winner was presented the buckle by Colorado Springs’ Mayor and we are think it might have weighed more than the winners bicycle.

The Stage 4 Award for 2013.

In 2013, the Challenge started its 4th stage in the town of Steamboat Springs on its way to a 166km trek to Beaver Creek. Regarded by many as the hardest stage of the race, this is a real bruiser of a day. The historic western wear store, F.M. Light and Sons, commissioned Johnson & Held to design and make a belt buckle for their stage winner. We used the majestic scenery of Rabbit Ears Pass in front of a Colorado state flag that was modified so the “C” was a chain ring.

Janier Acevedo, a Columbian bicyclist who rides for Jamis-Hagens Berman went on to win the stage. Not only did he go home with a tremendous accomplishment, but he took home an awesome buckle.

Fun facts:

• Rory Sutherland rides faster up really steep hills than most of us can do on flats. Downhill we might be able to go faster, but only if we petal really, really hard.
• A professional bike frame can weigh less than two pounds. Professional eater Joey Chestnut can eat 7.5 pounds of chicken wings in 12 minutes. Does that mean he could eat 4 frames?
• Colorado is credited with establishing stage racing in the United States.

The route and dates for next year’s race have just been announced (http://usaprocyclingchallenge.com/). We hope to see you out on the course. And if you want a bicycle inspired belt buckle, check out some of our designs.