About My Vintage Straps

Sully's vintage straps are handcrafted from cleaned and reconditioned select old/vintage leather.

Each instrument strap is a unique creation and inherently different from every other one. The leather could have distress marks, indentations, surface cracking and other blemishes naturally acquired over the years.

These straps are made for daily use and each shoulder piece is lined with new suede leather.

I will custom fit and finish each strap to the length and attachment points given by the buyer.

Most mandolin straps would work for a small guitar or open-back banjo if you like a small shoulder piece.

Most guitar straps would work for a heavy five-string banjo.

To purchase a strap,
email me and we’ll chat.

SHIPPING BY:
Priority Mail with Delivery Confirmation

Good vintage leather takes time to locate, and I’m always looking. I try to have 8 straps available but don’t always succeed.

Vintage Strap Links:
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Lefty's Straps

Also Available: New Straps

Lefty's Vintage Instrument Straps

Guitar/Bango Strap #347Small Guitar/Open Back Banjo #427 LEFT HAND $115 plus shipping

The noticeably aged but lightly distressed character of this one might prefer an older instrument but it would make a nice showing on a newer one.  There is just enough color shading and some light surface wrinkling to give it a few grey hairs but otherwise its blemish free. The shoulder piece is exceptionally soft leather with just enough backbone to carry a heavier guitar or banjo if necessary and it measures 12 3/4" long and 2” wide where it will cross your shoulder. The width tapers slightly towards the front and narrows to 1 5/8” on the tail. The edge stitching is new waxed harness thread hand sewn into the original needle holes and the shape is gently curved favoring the right shoulder of a left handed player.

Happily married to the shoulder piece is a butter soft 5/8” wide western rein strap, and like the shoulder piece, the chocolate brown leather has just a hint of red in it. The lightly wrinkled leather blends perfectly with the shoulder piece, and each end of the strap was skived down to made a neater and flexible connection then fastened securely to each end with some leather glue and a leather thong.

This is a nice one and the more I handle it the better I like it. 

Guitar/Banjo Strap #348Guitar/Banjo #574 LEFT HAND $160 plus shipping

We’ve got ourselves a dandy here. The dark oil shoulder piece came from a vintage horse breast collar that was handmade in the 1960’s.  For me, the ‘60’s seemed to happened just last week and I’m not sure how 40 years got squeezed in there so fast.

The shape has a well pronounced curve that would be ideal attached to the heel button of a guitar or the bracket bolts on a five string banjo and I’d not recommend a headstock attachment for this one. The leather is of the highest quality, a perfect thickness and wonderfully supple. It has been well cared for and probably lightly used during its former life. The color is deep and dark brown and the hand stamped basket weave pattern that the original leather crafter did is probably the nicest I’ve ever seen. A row of tradition crescent shapes runs down each side and I added the artificial sinew stitching between the basket weave and the crescents which really perked up the appearance. The shoulder piece is amply sized at 14” long and the width tapers from 2 7/8” on the front to 1 1/2" on the very end and it would be quite comfortable holding onto a heavy instrument. The shape favors the right shoulder of a left handed player.

Paired with the shoulder piece is an equally old 5/8” wide western rein strap with hand dressed edges. The quality of the leather is top shelf and more than worthy of being its mate. I skived the thickness just enough to level things out then lightly dressed the bottom edge to make it nicer to handle. The leather is thick and butter soft and strong enough to stop a team of horses. The strap fits perfectly into the carefully cut and shaped strap slots and I added the matching leather strap guide to keep the rein centered on the curved shoulder piece. The color matches that of the shoulder piece dead on and it has an obvious vintage personality without looking at all too distressed for a newer instrument.

A true vintage beauty that would compliment an instrument of the highest quality.

Guitar/Bango Strap #347Guitar/Banjo #591 LEFT HAND - $160 plus shipping

The shoulder piece on this one is a vintage piece probably from the early 70’s. Originally it was a beautiful handmade western breast collar and I’m sure there are a few cowpokes out there that would lynch me like a horse thief if they saw it now. But I think it’s better off reborn as a nice guitar strap instead of retired and hanging useless on some restaurant wall.

The hand tooled trailing oak leaf pattern is in great shape and shows little wear for its age. Once I gave it a thorough cleaning and reconditioning two things became evident. First, the oak leaves are lighter in color than the rest of the strap which makes them stand out. And two, the background is all hand checkered. The original white leather buckstitching was in bad shape and ready to break in a few places so I replaced it all with brand new white buckstiching made from bonded leather. It’s not as good as real leather but as a guitar strap is will easily last a lifetime or two. I also pulled out all of the old edge stitching and replaced it with artificial sinew, hand sewed into the original needle holes. The leather is quite flexible and will easily take the shape of your shoulder. There is some very small surface checks present here and there but would only be noticed by a close inspection. The width tapers from 2 3/8” in the middle to 1 5/8” on the front and 1 5/8” at the very tail end. Lengthwise, it’s a full 16” long. The curved shape favors the right shoulder of a left handed player.

Perfectly matched to the shoulder piece for color and character is an equally old and well used 1/2” wide western rein strap. The leather is excellent quality and nicely broken in to a butter softness. The original hand beveled edges are a nice detail and the strap is a joy to handle. I skived the thickness only a tad to level things out then skived a  few inches a good bit thinner on each end where it attaches to the shoulder piece to make a neat and flexible connection. Each end fits just right into the carefully cut and shaped strap slots and is secured with a row of double stitched sinew and leather thongs.

Even with the larger shoulder piece this one is a very lightweight strap and would make a sweet ride for most any full size guitar or heavy Mastertone style banjo. I could finish it up with adjustable attachments for a guitar or banjo but it would look much nicer with sew on non-adjustable wider button tabs or banjo bracket loops for a clean looking perfect fit. The lightly distressed appearance would make it an ideal candidate for even a new instrument.

Last modified on March 25 2012.

Vintage Strap Links:
Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3
Lefty's Straps

Also Available: New Straps