Glossary of technical terms.
Buckle:
Brass: A yellowish alloy of copper and zinc, sometimes including small amounts of other metals, but usually 67 percent copper and 33 percent zinc.
Bronze: 85% copper and 15% zinc, has a dark gold-like appearance.
Buckle set: Normally three pieces: a buckle, a keeper, and the third is a piece that holds the end of the belt. Almost always in 925 silver or gold with engraving.
Engraving: To carve, cut, or etch into a block or surface.
Gold electroplate: A thin layer of gold is electroplated (electrically bonded to the surface) for a rich and shiny finish.
Gold fill: Buckle maker uses a metal plate with gold 10-20% of the thickness on top, normally at least 10 karat gold, usually bronze underneath it. The gold layer must be at least 1/20 by weight of the total combined gold and metal to qualify as gold filled. A marking of 1/10 by weight is higher in gold content. Intricate deep carving requires greater depth; many times on older buckles the 10% fill wears off with use, and you can see spots where the bronze or other materials show through.
Handmade: A crafted buckle skillfully constructed entirely by hand rather than with a machine.
Hand-engraved: An engraving process in which the artist first traces a pattern onto a piece of silver or other material and then cuts individual lines with handheld tools from that engraving pattern. No machines or mechanical stamps are used.
Overlay: Overlay is constructed from two layers of sterling silver. A design is traced onto a silver sheet and cut out by hand with a jeweler's saw. This top design layer is then soldered to another sheet, the bottom layer, of silver. Texturing is added to the bottom layer in all the open areas of the design using a chisel and a small punch. The assembled item is hammered into its final form, shaped, and oxidized to darken the negative areas of the design. The top surface is then buffed to either a matte-like satin finish or a mirror-like high polish.
Belts:
Liner: Uses Norwegian or Belgian back or shoulder on cow - the densest fiber.
Bevling: (Like wood) - getting the right liner thickness. How thick is the alligator skin - compared with the cowhide used to get the right feel and comfort of the finished product.
Buffing: polishing the backing/liner.
Natural liner: unpolished
Collagen: Fiber strength (densest fiber direction) is north-south for alligator skin - every other exotic skin has collagen east-west. An alligator cut should therefore be north-south to get a long-lasting product.
Die: Stamping, for example a logo on the belt using a die.
Grinding: Hand polishing
Handrub: Even better polishing
Hand painting: Apply water-based paint on the inside of holes and edges.
Bonding: Use water-based glue to attach the top side to the skin.
Joint: Put pieces of the skin together on the lining.
Dome: Making rounded edges on belts and keepers.
Hand stitching: Hand stitching behind keepers.
Bleaching: To prevent stains, reptile marks, etc.
Tanning: Vegetable tanning
Trimming: Cut the skin into belt shape
Glazing Jack Machine: A machine that holds an agate stone used to press against a surface of cowhide for friction. The exotic skin is run through the machine to get a glossy or shiny finish
