The older way to build a belt: one thick piece of hide, creased at the edges, with nothing glued behind it. It softens to your shape and keeps every mark.
Nothing's layered on, so there's nothing to come apart at the fold. Two leathers from Horween, cut to the length you actually wear.
Before belts were two thin layers bonded back to back, they were one piece of hide, cut thick enough not to need the help. That's this one. The edges are creased instead of stained, which is the finish that came first and still suits leather meant to move. Nothing is glued, so there's no glue line to open along the fold and no second layer to peel away at year three.
It starts firmer than you'd expect. Give it a month. It bends where you bend, takes a curve at the buckle end and keeps it, and the grain goes darker wherever your hand finds it. Scuffs stay. A belt built this way won't look new in a year, and it isn't trying to.
Chromexcel is the softer and pulls up harder; press it with a thumb and the color lifts. Dublin is drier, firmer in the hand, and comes in four earth shades. Both are made to be worn in. If you'd rather have a belt that holds a crisp line from the first day, the classic lined belts are the other build.