Banjo belt buckle from Rusty Knuckles

The good folks at Rusty Knuckles, who you may recall for their leather guitar and mandolin straps, have also been making a wide variety of high quality, etched and engraved belt buckles. They make a wide variety of styles, some with clever text engraved, others that are quite rude, but many that follow a theme of their love for traditional music.

The newest is a banjo belt buckle, cut from 0.188” aluminum, etched into a likeness of a 5-string banjo pot. It measures 3” in diameter, and will accept a belt up to 1.675″ wide.

Though these are made with a combination of machine and hand crafting, they say that the hand work makes each buckle an individual creation.

Each one of our belt buckles starts from a blank sheet of aluminum or steel. The buckles are then water jet cut to our exact specifications. Once we get the blanks back into our shop, the process of etching the designs into the metal takes place. We craft each buckle one at a time. The process is very satisfying and hard work. Creating an indelible mark on a piece of metal is a true triumph and makes us quite proud. In the etching process every single belt buckle comes out slightly different. Some areas are cut deeper than others, allowing each buckle to take on its own identity. Each buckle is a truly unique item.

These banjo belt buckles are available from the Rusty Knuckles Etsy site for $30.23, with free shipping offered for orders over $35.

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About the Author

John Lawless

John had served as primary author and editor for The Bluegrass Blog from its launch in 2006 until being folded into Bluegrass Today in September of 2011. He continues in that capacity here, managing a strong team of columnists and correspondents.