[Harry Denmark]

I have a thing for leather NATO straps. The whole wabi concept applies equally to leather as it does to watches, and a well-worn leather NATO can be a wonderful thing:

I would appreciate seeing other Seiko's on leather NATOs - I can't really recall any being posted before...

 

[swing---kid]

...but not if it's well-worn by the previous owner ;D


I guess leather just isn't my cup of tea, though it looks good on your Seiko. May I ask you if that's an aftermarket chrystal on your 6309?

 

[satansicle]

Nice, but it needs to be broken in a little bit.

 

[Harry Denmark]

Yep, its new, the only thing I have done is oil it to make it more supple. +1 on leather wabi coming from oneself ;D

The crystal is a dome sapphire from Harold. While I am a stickler for originality, IMHO the domed sapphire makes a perfect watch, uh, more perfect!

 

[HansA.]

Seeing the thickness of that strap, doesn't 2 layers of it below the watch makes it sit high?

How about leather ZULUs?

 

[Homocaballus]

A word of caution about ´Nato´ straps.
This G10 design was intended for use in combination with fixed bars.
Therefor it is a pull-through design and the stress put on the bars is of no consequence as those are solidly attached to the lugs.
Springbars are not designed to cope with the stress this type of strap puts on them.
In leather the strap is thicker, making matters worse.

It is no coïncidance that many a G10 strap user comments that they were lucky to have the G10 desing as their ´Nato´ retained a dangling watch head; the strap was the cause that the springbar gave up in the first place.

So; be aware that the pull-through design is intended for fixed bars and that springbars are not meant to take the stress it puts on bars.

 

[Harry Denmark]

Springbars are not designed to cope with the stress this type of strap puts on them.
In leather the strap is thicker, making matters worse.
It is no coïncidance that many a G10 strap user comments that they were lucky to have the G10 desing as their ´Nato´ retained a dangling watch head; the strap was the cause that the springbar gave up in the first place.

Good points, never thought about that! While I have never had problems with my leather Natos and springbars (possibly because they are the heavy duty Seiko fat bars?), the fit IS tight and is certainly something worth being aware of!

 

[Harry Denmark]

Seeing the thickness of that strap, doesn't 2 layers of it below the watch makes it sit high?

How about leather ZULUs?

It does sit slightly high, although not higher than Nylon NATOS IMHO - divers and sports watches can easily pull it off

 

[HansA.]

A word of caution about ´Nato´ straps.
This G10 design was intended for use in combination with fixed bars.
Therefor it is a pull-through design and the stress put on the bars is of no consequence as those are solidly attached to the lugs.
Springbars are not designed to cope with the stress this type of strap puts on them.

What kind of stress do you mean that single piece type straps exerts on attachment bars/pins? I can think that the direction is more downwards with this type of straps than the more regular sideways stress that 2 pieces straps exert. I can imagine that a single piece strap that's too thick to be fitted can cause additional unnecessary pressure on the bars.

It is no coïncidance that many a G10 strap user comments that they were lucky to have the G10 desing as their ´Nato´ retained a dangling watch head; the strap was the cause that the springbar gave up in the first place.

In this scenario, the cause of spring bars loosing that I know of is that the nylon fibers get caught on the flanges or shoulders that spring bars have. I tried an "experiment" once to prove this and the conclusion is that single piece nylon straps indeed can make spring bars loose:



[quote=Harry, Denmark]It does sit slightly high, although not higher than Nylon NATOS IMHO - divers and sports watches can easily pull it off[/quote]

Good to know because from your pic it looks kinda nice!

 

[Homocaballus]

What kind of stress do you mean that single piece type straps exerts on attachment bars/pins? I can think that the direction is more downwards with this type of straps than the more regular sideways stress that 2 pieces straps exert. I can imagine that a single piece strap that's too thick to be fitted can cause additional unnecessary pressure on the bars.

The direction of the force makes no difference. The effect on the springbar is the same wether it is pulled down or outwards.
The way the G10 is designed, with one end ´floating´ on the strap itself the pull is mainly on óne bar whereas with a normal 2-piece strap the force would be devided over both.
There should be no marked difference with a simple non G10/Nato pull-through strap.

Indeed a thicker pull-through strap put more stress on the bar unlike a thicker 2-piece band in which case it has no effect.

This noted it should be observed that good quality springbars are pretty strong and should give little problems. Cheap ones should be avoided.
Also the springbar ends seat better in drilled through lug holes and are thus more resistant.

Yes, the nylon strands pulling at the shoulder are an issue. I did not mention is as the topic was about leather.

 

[HansA.]

The direction of the force makes no difference. The effect on the springbar is the same wether it is pulled down or outwards.
The way the G10 is designed, with one end ´floating´ on the strap itself the pull is mainly on óne bar whereas with a normal 2-piece strap the force would be devided over both.
There should be no marked difference with a simple non G10/Nato pull-through strap.

I mentioned the direction because it's the only thing that I could think of as a difference between single and 2 piece straps.

I still don't get this part: "The way the G10 is designed, with one end ´floating´ on the strap itself the pull is mainly on óne bar". Which side is the "floating" one? I have a NATO on my wrist right now and after observing it further, I think both sides exert equal pressure on the two bars.

Also the springbar ends seat better in drilled through lug holes and are thus more resistant.

True but in this case only if the holes are shallower than the tips of the bars can go into, don't you mean? All of my watch with non-drilled lugs have holes that are deeper that the tip of the bars can go into.

 

[Homocaballus]

The drilled lugs in general do not limit the extention of the springbars to their max. wheras many closed ones do.

The G10 has one end of the stap ending in a ring trough which the strap is pulled. This is the end taking all the stress and because of this and the resulting steeper angle of the strap on the springbar that is loaded far more the springbar at that end is the most likey to be pulled from it´s hole especially if that seats the bar less than max. deep.

No reason not to use a G10 design strap WHEN in combination with good quality springbars AND provided those can extend well into the lug holes.

 

[HansA.]

I think we should ask for apologize to Harry for derailing his "a pretty watch on a pretty leather NATO" thread ;D Sorry Harry.

The drilled lugs in general do not limit the extention of the springbars to their max. wheras many closed ones do.

I think this is true for bars that are designed like rolex subs' bars, but on those bars with flanges/shoulders, how far the tip can go into the lug holes are limited by the flanges or shoulders, don't you think?

The G10 has one end of the stap ending in a ring trough which the strap is pulled. This is the end taking all the stress and because of this and the resulting steeper angle of the strap on the springbar that is loaded far more the springbar at that end is the most likey to be pulled from it´s hole especially if that seats the bar less than max. deep.

The way I understand it, the amount and direction of pressure that each bar sustains on a single piece type strap depends on the direction of the pull on the closed strap, i.e. if I put a watch on a nato, closed it (not wear it), hold the watch, then pull the strap sideways then the bar on the far end will sustain more stress, but if I support the caseback and pull the strap downwards (like on a wrist) then each bar will sustain the same stress, don't you think so?

 

[Harry Denmark]

I think we should ask for apologize to Harry for derailing his "a pretty watch on a pretty leather NATO" thread ;D Sorry Harry.

Go, guys, go - this is a MUCH more interesting thread than "Show me your NATOS". I only wish I could change the title!