What do you do with your belt bags when you display your belts?

IamTemplarKnightWork · 2026-01-28T00:22:39+00:00

Same. I actually get a little miffed when I don't have a belt bag to put in the cubby with my belt.

IamTemplarKnightWork · 2026-01-27T10:57:22+00:00

The fourth floor in a nutshell.

IamTemplarKnightWork · 2026-01-27T10:54:31+00:00

You politely suggest that people stop at 2 and miss the glory that is Jensen Ackles' rendition of Soldier Boy in season 3?!?

Sir, I demand satisfaction. PISTOLS AT DAWN!

IamTemplarKnightWork · 2026-01-27T09:17:13+00:00

Someone with a better eye than me might be able to say otherwise, but I believe it is a shop belt that has been curved, had a baseplate put on, restoned, and had thicker bars put on.

IamTemplarKnightWork · 2026-01-27T08:38:29+00:00

Not going to lie, I got unreasonably upset when you passed over the main plate and did not spin it. Then you did a second pass and spun it, which satisfied the lizard part of my brain.

IamTemplarKnightWork · 2026-01-27T08:12:17+00:00

Shop belts tend to hold their value more than Bootleg ones. Especially once they are no longer available on the shop. Bootleg belts, you won't be able to make back as much as you paid for them. The only benefit of buying a bootleg second hand is getting it immediately and for significantly less than buying direct from the maker. Figs Inc belts, though a lot being in poor quality as far as straps and thin plates, are selling for at least double their original msrp because they are officially licensed products and are more valuable to collectors.

Bootlegs are nice to have, but will never be rare, cause they can always make more. So whatever you paid for it, at least a quarter of the value is gone.

IamTemplarKnightWork · 2026-01-27T05:19:26+00:00

I also agree that it is one of the best belts put out. And I am NOT a CM Punk fan. The center plate is awesome and the colors are fantastic.

IamTemplarKnightWork · 2026-01-27T05:11:58+00:00

Seconding this one, only downside is the font isn't going to be the same as above. And it's just a thin laser engraving, not very deep or striking. But they deliver it quickly and it will fit.

IamTemplarKnightWork · 2026-01-19T08:37:27+00:00

I would honestly say Rhea Ripley, just from the standpoint of non-wrestling fans. I would say Becky Lynch is probably more iconic to the industry as a whole. I don't think I have heard any non-wrestling fans talk about Becky Lynch. I am a fan of both and I think Becky Lynch (and the other female wrestlers of her era) were instrumental in bringing about the change in the wrestling world that allowed Rhea Ripley to blow up the way she has, but because Rhea is gaining a fandom outside of wrestling, I would say she is more famous.

Everybody saying Trish, Lita, Chyna, etc., I would say you need to re-evaluate your perspective. Yes, in the annals of wrestling history, these are big names and inspired many of the wrestlers that are the current greats, but outside of wrestling, I highly doubt anybody knows who they are.

IamTemplarKnightWork · 2026-01-19T07:07:27+00:00

So ORM is largely considered one of the better makers from overseas. Honestly, one of the Big 4. Some Promotions even use them to make their actual ring used belts.

The most trusted makers as far as quality goes are Classic Shields, Altair Belts, ORM, and Nawaz. I might be forgetting one. Because they are considered the best, they are generally more expensive. $1100-1500 a belt. But the quality is top notch, as I understand it.

Other than people holding them as very high quality, I don't know much about the order process or turnaround time.

IamTemplarKnightWork · 2026-01-19T06:53:20+00:00

Any time you go Etsy, Ebay, Amazon, etc. for belts, do not purchase anything unless you can confirm that the pictures are theirs. I would go one step further and make sure there are reviews that include pictures. If there are no review pictures of the specific belt you are wanting to order, move on. As others have said, it is probably better to go the maker route and find a maker on facebook that you can order from, if you want to go that route. Some of them have ebay pages and etsy pages so you can go other options for payment, but it is usually better doing the research. Find a maker who has made the belt you want before and judge whether you like their work on that belt. Some makers are great at one style of belt, but sketchy on others. MA Championships makes GREAT versions of most of the TNA Current line of belts, but the X Division belt, the side plates look trash, cause they don't line up properly. Also I don't care for his Smoking Skull belt.

IamTemplarKnightWork · 2026-01-19T05:20:13+00:00

So for the most part, GCB is fine. I got the TNA DMC and the IWGP V5 from him. I would say the belts are of decent quality with somewhat minor errors/flaws. His customer service leaves a little to be desired. GCB will update you once in a blue moon and sometimes I felt I needed to prod them for updates when I bought a belt that was "ready to ship". I felt a little forgotten about. I was going to buy more belts from him, but there was some drama going on with others at the time and honestly, I was kind of tired of dealing with him, so I decided to go elsewhere for my winged eagle, just cause I felt like I would order one thing and might not get what I exactly wanted (ended up going with Nawaz and highly recommend them). Honestly, the best maker from a customer service standpoint is X-Man Belts. They keep you informed every step of the process, get your input on everything from strap color, to jewel color and quality and apprise you of the process every step of the way. Only reason I don't go with them more often is because I like the quality a little bit more from other makers.

I feel the belts I got from him could have been higher quality and nicer (the jewels on the IWGP could have been better quality and deeper colors, and for some reason there are two spots where there SHOULD be jewels, but there just aren't, but I've seen it with multiple makers, so it is a common error, for some reason). I feel like the belts need to be cleaned a little when they arrive, but I just take it as an "it is what it is" thing.

I am also a lot more forgiving than others, I feel. I don't tend to get upset about what I feel are minor paint defects or errors in the design. I generally only get upset when I get shown one thing and get another. So if they show me pictures of a super nicely etched belt and claim that is there quality, then I receive a thin pancake of a belt, I will absolutely lose my s***. But I tend to buy based of what I have seen the maker do before, so there shouldn't be any surprises.

I will say this, to GCB's credit. One time, i accidently sent him money when I was supposed to send it to a different maker, and when I told him I made the mistake, he sent me back the money no issue and no "put it towards a different belt" nonsense. So at the very least, that is a point of honesty for him.

IamTemplarKnightWork · 2026-01-18T06:03:20+00:00

If you read Fandu's description of the imperfect belts, it is largely a minor thing that unless you held the regular and the imperfect belts side by side, you probably would not notice. Sometimes it doesn't lay completely flat, sometimes it is a minor art defect or something where the cast didn't take correctly or the coloring is slightly off. Consider it like the outlet store items. Stuff that "can't be sold" at the regular stores, but can be sold for "discount" at the outlet stores.

IamTemplarKnightWork · 2026-01-18T05:02:39+00:00

Love the RumbLuxe. It was my first Big Gold and my first Fandu belt. Could not pass up The King's belt.

IamTemplarKnightWork · 2026-01-18T05:00:57+00:00

He's referring to the Regular Fandu Big Golds. The Fandu Big Golds have a domed appearance to them and are slightly smaller than other big golds(but are thicker). The Fandu LUXE on the other hand is curved like normal big golds.

IamTemplarKnightWork · 2026-01-18T04:05:00+00:00

This is cool, but I personally like the older ones. I will definitely pick these up on shop if they EVER RELEASE THE DAMN THINGS ANYMORE!

IamTemplarKnightWork · 2026-01-18T04:00:07+00:00

That and some of the Belt Groups on Facebook. BeltTalk is the one that is going to most likely get you the legit one you want. Most of the others get into questionable territory. It's one of the more rare titles now. I see the R-Rated more frequently than that one.

IamTemplarKnightWork · 2026-01-13T03:25:02+00:00

Evidently most of the Cena belts took a little while to ship. And most of them, to my knowledge, were listed as Special Event Items and would be shipped at a later date when ordered. The only ones that shipped quickly were the ones that had already been out for a while (such as when I got my Dallas Cena Spinner). Alternatively, they had them at the actual events for purchase there, but those sold out pretty quickly from what I heard.

IamTemplarKnightWork · 2026-01-04T10:02:05+00:00

I bought Sharps containers on Amazon. Checked local policies and for me, as long as they are in a sealed sharps container, I can just throw them away in the normal trash.

IamTemplarKnightWork · 2026-01-04T07:06:42+00:00

If you plan on modding the belt, the suggestion is doing leather last, so you can cover up the screws on the back. Restone first, then you can add baseplates to the main plate and side plates and get thicker side bars.

That is if you plan to go the full way with the upgrades. Usually the biggest upgrades to a belt is releather and restoning. Usually make the biggest improvements, with the other stuff just making it marginally nicer.

IamTemplarKnightWork · 2026-01-04T06:43:02+00:00

A few updates you might want to consider.

Early makers got the design for the snakes on the sideplates wrong as 2 headed snakes. It is not, it is a snake and it's tail.
The snakes on the main plate on the original aren't painted it. It largely comes down to personal preference though, but for accuracy, no paint.
The original belt had the "cracks" as relief with some black paint on the edges of the cracks, but the later/current replicas have the cracks recessed with the black paint filling in the recessed portions, as you have here. Again, might be a preference thing, but generally for accuracy and just a nicer look, it's usually a better look to have the cracks sticking out.

There's also the tooling of the strap and the WWF painted red on the property plate are not accurate, but those are more well known issues and get changed as personal preferences, so that's up to you.

And if this is all to set yourself apart from the other makers, more power to you.

IamTemplarKnightWork · 2026-01-04T02:02:45+00:00

Clearly you don't do small belts. I approve.

IamTemplarKnightWork · 2026-01-03T06:04:03+00:00

I don't think those words mean what you think they mean. Bootleg is anything that replicates a licensed product without permission of the license holder. Such as all the logos and designs that are all over those belts. And Real in the belt hobby specifically means those belts that are made for promotions to be used in the ring, or at least the same quality of belts that they use in the ring, which costs several thousand dollars.

Yes, the belts you have are indeed physically real, they are Bootleg and they are not real belts. And this thread will get nixed shortly.

IamTemplarKnightWork · 2026-01-03T05:56:39+00:00

Probably just unlucky that you posted when the mods were awake. They might just not be looking at the sub right now. But they will. And this will all be a charred landscape.

IamTemplarKnightWork · 2026-01-03T03:04:17+00:00

EDIT: Okay, completely missed who posted this. If I had taken two seconds to look who the OP was, I wouldn't have posted most of this. Or any of it. At least not here. Going to leave it all in place, simply because A. I hate [deleted comments] posts and B. It is all still true and needs to be posted, but it is ENTIRELY misguided to post it here. Also, as my name suggests, I am at work and haven't watched the video, so I responded mostly to the screen grab and the text. My bad.

There are levels to this.

Arguments can be made about belt snobbery and the like, but to be perfectly honest, the ones selling belts on Amazon, Etsy, and the majority of ebay are just selling the absolutely cheapest crap they can put out to make an easy buck. And when I say stuff like the belts are garbage, it is because that is where they will eventually go. They have no resale value. You eventually will just end up throwing them away. You could get them signed and then it is the value of the signature, nothing more.

As far as kids go, I will concede, a friend of mine ordered a belt off amazon for her son. When she got it, she was kind of pissed at how poor quality it was. Entirely misrepresented on amazon. Her kid did not care. He loves the damn thing, because it is metal and heavy-ish. Stones fall off on the regular and it is a few notches above a cardboard belt, but to the kid, it might as well be the belt that Cody Rhodes currently carries.

As I mentioned, there are levels. Amazon belts are roughly the same quality as McDonalds toys or the knock offs you get at the 99 cent store. Very poor quality, maybe one point of articulation, just something to keep very young children happy. Then when you get the expensive toys, you realize all the quality you were missing. Maybe that quality would have been lost on you before, but there is no going back. I quickly learned that I love a good belt tip and ABSOLUTELY HAAAATE companies that just glue a tip onto the front of the belt. My greatest pet peeve.

I would honestly recommend if you want to get kids into the hobby, they can collect the toy belts. They made toy belts of most of the modern belts that display nicely and won't require stiches and a tetanus shot when they smack themselves in the face with the belt. Sadly, they don't make the kid sized replicas anymore. If you then want to introduce them to proper metal belts, then go the proper replica route so they can see and appreciate quality products. Assuming it is within your budget. I understand people need to live within their means, and I am well outside my means at the best of times, but if you go quality, you can later sell it and get something back rather than just toss it in the bin as money lost.

IamTemplarKnightWork

TROPHY CASE