Soviet Belt Mod

Greetings, comrade!

Have you been angered by sub-standard western belts, that fall apart and are incapable of holding your trousers? Have the capitalists attempted to pass off a luggage restraint as clothing?

Do not make surrender to them!!

This guide will be demonstrate of how to combine classic belt buckle previously owned by glorious red army, and ordinary fabric belt into inexpensive, quirky hybrid.

I make this after capitalist trouser-restraint's buckle simply fall off. Luckily, I was cleaning Lenin portrait and not in public place, or would have been embarrassing for all involved.

I decide to replace useless belt from Primark with Soviet Army Belt from the eBay. But disaster strike! Army uniform belt is intended for use with army uniform, and is too wide for regular civilian trousers. I therefore use true communist resourcefulness to combine fabric belt with soviet buckle.

This is being my first Instructable, I share this knowledge in true communist spirit!

This Instructable will guide you through the process of modifying a Soviet-era Russian army belt to be used with regular trousers rather than a Russian military tunic; the original "leather" is too wide for the belt loops on most trousers.

I didn't want to cut the leather, or modify the belt in any non-reversible way, and I achieved that goal.

The design of the belt buckle I'm using barely changed since the 1940s, so these instructions should have good range.

I purchased the belt complete off eBay for 8.50 GBP ($12.44) total including delivery; however you will only need the buckle for this project, which may be cheaper. Usually the buckles are only sold on their own if they're so old the leather has rotted off or been otherwise destroyed, perhaps owning not only a Soviet belt but a WWII soviet belt is even better?

They're mostly available in silver, painted green or brass. Or "dirt" if you buy a WWII one.

The images for this step show the belt as I received it, except for the one on the union flag which is the donor belt, which came free with some black jeans from Primark which were about 4.50 GBP.

You will require:

• the belt or belt buckle, easy enough to disassemble but try to remember how it goes back together
• the "leather" loop if you want to use it again, it's not necessary but whatever
• the donor belt, you won't need its buckle, dismantling will depend on your specific belt
• good solid metal wire, I used a stainless steel welding rod
• pliers, wire cutters or a saw capable of cutting said wire
• a metal file
• a hammer
• a sickle
• a drill bit grinder or something else capable of sharpening the wire's point
• a vice, I used an engineer's vice (got permission from the engineer first)
• relevant safety gear, that's eye protection at least
• a needle
• some thread
• some ribbon or similar fabric, or a bit of leather
• two pairs of pliers would be best, but one at least

The buckle joins the end of the belt in typically confusing Russian style. The end with the buckle on it is used the adjust the belt, which is really quite awkward, and the other end simply has a loop on it that goes over a hook inside the buckle.

The original loop (in the pictures) would be fine if it wasn't so big to fit over the original "leather". So we need to make a new one, which is what the good solid wire is for.

First, cut the wire to the right length.

As you can see, I ended up needing about 5 inches. The black marks around the middle represent where I will be bending the wire. The reason it's so long is because I don't want the wire to just stick out at the top and bottom; I will be bending it back on itself.

At this point, you need to start bending the wire to make a sort of square arch shape.

I used this big heavy hammer I found. There were smaller hammers, but I couldn't resist - In Soviet Russia, weight lifts you!!

Now you'll need to sharpen one end of the wire, and poke it through the belt. Then using all your skill, fold the belt around a bit and poke it again, so that the loop sticks out the end, and the ends of the wire stick out the sides. Don't forget to use your file to blunt the end! You don't want to stab yourself, you really don't.

This was actually quite difficult since bending things is not something I do very often.

Basically, I ended up bending the long bits to 90 degree angles using the vice, then I put the corner in the vice and bent it the rest of the way with the hammer.

Now you've folded the fabric back on itself, and it's pinned down by the ends of the good solid wire. However, with all that heavy lifting and vodka intake, your belt needs to be as strong as possible, so you should sew up the end bit.

I also covered the whole end bit with ribbon, which makes it look a bit tidier and protects my vulnerable mortal body from the pointy wire.

If you don't know how to sew, ask your mother(land) for help.

All that remains is for you to attach the buckle to the new belt, put on the leather loop, which is easy, and adjust it to your size.

If you liked this instructable, or have any suggestions or corrections, please say!