MATERIALS

Wickett & Craig

Traditional harness

Every belt and bag that leaves this bench is cut from Wickett & Craig Traditional Harness — vegetable-tanned, hot-stuffed with waxes and oils, and jack-glazed by a Pennsylvania tannery that has been doing it since 1867.

It is the leather harness makers trusted with horses. We use it because nothing else takes a hundred years of hard use and comes out looking better.

Est. 1867 • Vegetable-tanned • Hot-stuffed • Jack-glazed • Made in Pennsylvania

THE TANNERY

Wickett & Craig,

Since 1867.

One of the last vegetable tanneries in North America, working out of Curwensville, Pennsylvania. They still tan in pits and drums with bark liquor, still hot-stuff by hand, and still put a person's eye on every hide before it ships.

Buying from them costs more than an import. It also means I can tell you exactly where your belt came from — which is the entire reason this shop exists.

The range

Nine colors,
one hide.

Tap a swatch to see the real leather. Buck brown is a timeless customer favorite. Olive and Black are cool alternatives for something unique.

Russet

Russet — how it ages

The classic harness color and the one I reach for most. It starts a warm tan-orange and darkens toward deep honey-brown over a few seasons — the change is dramatic enough that people ask if you bought a new belt.

Swatch photography courtesy of Wickett & Craig, used with permission. Every hide varies — send a note and I'll mail you the real thing before you commit. Request a sample →

HOW IT'S TANNED

Three Things

no shortcut replaces.

Chrome tanning takes a day. This takes weeks — bark liquor, hot wax, and a glazing wheel. That time is the whole difference.

01 Vegetable-tanned

Tanned slowly in liquor drawn from tree bark rather than chrome salts. The fibers stay dense and firm, so a belt holds its shape instead of stretching out — and the leather develops real patina instead of just wearing thin.

02 Hot-Stuffed

The hides are saturated with a blend of waxes, oils, and tallows worked in under heat. That fill is why harness leather resists water, takes a burnished edge cleanly, and never dries out to a crack the way thin, unfilled leather does.

03 Jack-Glazed

A traditional glazing pass pulls those oils to the surface for a low, glassy sheen. Unlike a sprayed pigment coat, it never masks the grain — you still see the hide, scars and all, which is the point.