Offering some tips about maintaining your “classic” Held belt.
This is by far the best selling design in the catalogue and these steps apply broadly across other models. The “classic” has the attractive appearance of a standard black leather belt, but it is actually waterproof vulcanized rubber, making it the perfect belt for workers.
The belt in this video has been exposed to all kinds of labor, from dish rooms to construction sites, for four years. It has taken on paint, oils, extra weight as a tool belt, and it has years to go before coming out of service.
Proper cleaning, oiling, and clipping extends the life and appearance of the belt against all of the abuse it goes through.
Removing Paint and Cleaning
The rubber strap accepts paint but it is removable. Using standard mineral spirit paint thinner and a microfiber cloth, it can be rubbed out by hand.
If your belt does not have paint stains, any oil and grease that the strap is exposed to can be removed with dish soap and water.
Although it can take water, make sure to quickly dry the belt and wipe off all remaining dust and debris.
Oiling the Strap
Rubber is not unlike leather, its microscopic fibers will dry out and lose integrity. It turns out that non-silicone based leather oil is beneficial, although silicone and rubber go hand in hand, it is not ideal for a wearable product.
Huberd’s brand shoe leather oil is a natural legacy product from a small company based in Colorado. The product was created in nineteenth century Oregon, and was a solution for timber manufacturing waste at the time and remains so today.
Common olive oil is a known classic moisturizer for wearable rubbers like rain boots. It is an option that most people have on hand.
Clipping Frayed Edges
This step applies to almost every Held strap.
They are super strong, but nothing is impervious to wear. Depending on how hard you work your belt, it wears gradually at the edges.
The edges can be clipped routinely. For best results, obtain 5.5 inch angled scissors. These are good to keep with your sewing kit anyway.
By bending the backside of the belt toward you, it makes targeting the frayed sections much easier, while the angled scissor gives you a more ergonomic experience.
Reinforcing the Notches
We offer reinforcement grommets. A good tool belt will include these type of brass grommets, as belt notches always expand faster under extra weight.
The belt in this video had grommets added after more than three years of use, when the used notches began to lose their integrity.
Grommets are very difficult to press into Held’s dense straps without a 2-ton press like the kind used in the shop. That is why we offer mail-order service. Refer to the repair and customize section of this website.