John Markwell | Contributing Editor
We bothered our friend Mike Barham at Galco about offering the 1.75-inch-wide Fancy Stitched Belt in a 1.5-inch version for several years and were very surprised when a press release announced its addition to the Galco belt line.
The press releases on the belt popped up everywhere. Galco Gunleather, in Phoenix. AZ, is one of the top “production” leather houses in the country and we had dealt with Mike for years, so we Immediately sent him an Email requesting a sample of the new belt; his reply was short, “two weeks”. The new SB7 arrived within almost two weeks to the day. Here’s our review of the new 1.5-inch SB7, not just a rehashed press release.
Back in the early days of practical shooting (before nylon “instructor’s” belts and Kydex) holsters and gun belts were made from leather, mainly cow and horse hide. Many rigs had a bit of a western flair to them; you know, low slung, tied down, and often decoratively stamped, carved, or “Boot Stitched”. In fact, the 1.75- inch-wide boot stitched belt became a badge of sorts for early day practical shooters. We all had one and they weren’t cheap or easily available at your local gun shop or sporting goods store.
Real saddle shops had some boot stitched belts but they were not usually stout enough to support a handgun and spare ammo carriers. Hence, we went to the custom holster makers who understood the requirements of a true “gun belt.” There are still leather smiths in business making quality holsters and belts that are up to the task of supporting holstered handguns and support gear. Unfortunately, many of these artisans are constantly backordered. Galco, more often than not, has most catalogued items in stock and seldom puts items on back order.
Here at home, we have a pretty good bunch of belts for toting holstered guns around and must acknowledge that one of our most used is a plain jane 1.5-Inch SB2 Casual Holster Belt from Galco. The newly introduced SB7 Fancy Stitched Holster Belt is essentially the same belt (although the leather seems a bit thicker) with the decorative stitching and a different finish.
Constructed from two layers of premium grade, vegetable tanned full grain US steer hide, the SB7 belt is stout, to say the least. Galco belts are hand made one at a time with the inner and outer layer’s grains aligned for enhanced strength and durability.
The best thing about the SB7, besides its’ functionality, is the decorative stitching, which is done on 100-year-old harness stitch machines. Stitched at 6 stitches per inch with heavy thread, the decorative stitching does more than provide good looks. Holster belts need to be firm and the stitching on the SB7 enhances the belt’s firmness; it gives it body and lessens flexing.
Over time most belts soften; some more than others. This softening leads to a lack of support for the handgun system and accentuates the feeling of the holstered handgun “flopping” around as the belt flexes. More importantly, for consistent presentations the holstered handgun needs to be held solidly in the same position all the time and over time. Individually hand crafted, the SB7 Fancy Stitched Holster Belt accomplishes this and is built to give years of service.
Quality is in the details when it comes to leather gear and the hand rubbed oil finish of the SB7 provides a beautiful and durable finish that is complimented by the solid brass cast buckle that is also made by Galco. The SB7 has seven holes for the buckle tongue of the brass buckle. Galco recommends sizing their belts to a belt you already own and wear. We’ve used the fourth hole on our old Galco belt for OWB carry and the second for IWB holsters for quite some time and the belt has not stretched a bit over several years of use. The sizing of the new SB7 worked out exactly the same for us. Finally, the edges of the Galco SB7 are sanded, dyed, burnished, polished and sealed giving the belt a truly “finished” look.
Stout and beautiful, we began wearing our sample SB7 immediately. However, all 1.5-inch belts are not exactly the same dimensionally and we found that some of our everyday holsters had belt loops that were a bit too small to easily fit the new SB7; just a bit.
We sorted the holsters (and a couple of mag pouches) out and moistened the loops with a small amount of water and then worked them on to the 1.5-inch SB7 and let them sit overnight. Come morning, the fit was perfect on all of them and working the holsters back and forth on the belt sort of re-burnished the contact areas inside the belt loops which made getting the holsters on and off the SB7 a pretty smooth endeavor. The moisture didn’t affect the oil finish of the SB7 at all by the way. All of those holsters and mag pouches now sit solidly on the belt when worn.
At the range, the solidly positioned holsters and mag pouches contributed to smooth presentations and reloads. After a week of daily wear, the position of the holster and mag pouch worn didn’t vary a bit and the whole rig rode solidly at the waist; solidly but not comfortably, as the comfort will come with time. Like a new pair of quality leather boots or a saddle, good gun belts take some breaking in. In our experience, if a belt is comfortable from the get go, it’s a sign that it probably will not adequately provide the years of service and performance one should expect from quality leather products.
We are pleased to see the SB7 1.5-inch Fancy Stitched Belt added to the Galco product line as that width is our favorite for daily wear and carry. The SB7 is a truly quality product that we will, hopefully, be using for many more years as an armed citizen of this great country.
If the need or want of a new holster belt should be on one’s wish list, we seriously suggest taking a look at the SB7 Fancy Stitched Holster Belt from Galco. The SB7 will perform on the range and will look good, adding just a bit of flair to one’s daily wardrobe. If one carries on a daily basis, your blaster of choice will be solidly positioned for the entire day. The SB7 Fancy Stitched Holster Belt is available from Galco or select dealers at a very reasonable $124 MSRP.
