Home made straps from Plant

[Fireman_Fred]

There seems to be quite a few RWG members getting into making their own straps. One member (Plant) posted this recently: More home made straps !.

Plant sent me one of his straps and I decided to post a mini "review" with some pics.

The strap is quite an unusual design which is what caught my eye in the first place and when it arrived, I immediatly removed the python strap that was adorning my Pam 111h and swapped it for Plant's. My first impressions were that as he had only just started making straps, it was pretty good ! The leather is a light brown "oiled nubuck" type (I'm probably way off the mark but that's my untrained conclusion!). It is stitched down one side only with a fairly thick white nylon thread and the whole effect has a "chunky utility" feel and look which seems to go really well with the simple dialled Pams. I think what makes it look so good with my 111h is that the dial of the watch is plain and simple and so is the strap. Plant had only put one hole (at the correct place for my wrist size and this adds to the strap's simplicity.

The leather he used is very soft and supple and needed no "wearing in". It's the kind of leather that will easily get marked and scratched which, again, will merely add to it's overall "character".

There are a couple of "negatives": the hole made for the buckle tang was a rough hole which was tight fit for my flat buckle, the notch that had been cut to take the buckle was too small and needed enlarging with a sharp knife and the stitching on the underside of the strap is not very straight (but as you don't see it when you're wearing the strap, it hardly matters !

Overall, for a beginner at strap making I would give Plant 9/10. I'm sure the next ones he makes will have all the "minor faults" ironed out. Plant is a very nice guy to deal with and if you fancy a strap that is a little different from the "run of the mill", give him a shout and have a bespoke strap made.

[plant]

Thanks for the honest review Fireman Fred.

I hope you enjoy wearing it, it certainly looks great against your 111h.

I have pulled the trigger today on some new tools to cater for better strap holes and have since been practicing my stitching with good improvement.

I am very pleased with the 9/10 that you have given it and would be happy to make a strap for any member at a very cheap rate if they want something a little different.