Getting extra hole punched in leather bands- thoughts?

[goldmac2006]

Y’all just discovered a charming BCBG leather Apple Watch band adorned with adorable charms. I decided to replace my aging black classic buckle replica, which had become too shiny and patina a lot, with this leather band for my gold stainless steel 40mm watch with silver lugs.

However, when I first unboxed and put it on, I realized it was too big for my wrist, even at the smallest hole. I usually wear a size 2-3 in a Solo Loop, 5.5 inch wrist/13cm, but I still adore this design. They only have one size for this band.

I have a leather punch specifically designed to create holes in belts. I’m curious to know how many of you wear leather bands and punch holes in them when they don’t offer them for shorter lengths. Do you have any suggestions or ideas on how I can DIY this myself?

Edit: did measurements of this band vs a s/m Sport Band for comparison. I have to wear it far back from the wrist bone in order to get it to fit properly. But kind of awkward to wear my Apple Watch further back.

 

[Pug72]

I've used a leather hole punch for my wife's Modern Buckle strap. The smallest punch was a little bigger than the original holes but still worked great.
Just make sure you line it up perfectly as you can't unpunch it. 😄

 

[goldmac2006]

I've used a leather hole punch for my wife's Modern Buckle strap. The smallest punch was a little bigger than the original holes but still worked great.
Just make sure you line it up perfectly as you can't unpunch it. 😄

So, here’s the thing when I move around, the band slides down so easily that I can’t use it for much. There’s a lot of space between the buckle and the strap.

On the bright side, I do have a 3mm leather punch that should work just fine for this type of buckle. It’s the smallest one I have.

I’ll have to wait until the weather’s perfect to go outside and punch the hole. While it’s still wet, I’ll do some sketching and CAD drawing of my bands to figure out how much space I need to leave between the hole and the strap. Use my ruler and tape measure to measure it vs Apple measure app~

 

[Pug72]

I have the one pictured below, a few quid from Amazon. Makes it easier as you can hold the strap with it and gently manoeuvre before clamping down to make the hole.

 

[goldmac2006]

I have the one pictured below, a few quid from Amazon. Makes it easier as you can hold the strap with it and gently manoeuvre before clamping down to make the hole.

View attachment 2481887

Hey, it seems like a cool little tool, I can check daiso this weekend if they have it available or in my school’s maker space if there’s a tool like that. I’m curious about the diameter of the leather punch you used when you DIYed that modern buckle. By the way, I have two modern buckles, but since the small ones fit me perfectly, I don’t need to worry about punching an extra hole into them. It’s just this third-party band that made it one size only for wrists that can fit an 46/45 Apple Watch or Apple Watch Ultra. Or more specifically, 6.5-inch wrists or bigger that fit size 5 solo loops to an 8 or 9.

 

[Pug72]

Looking on the packaging picture, the smallest is 2.5mm.

 

[goldmac2006]

Looking on the packaging picture, the smallest is 2.5mm.

That’s almost as big as my smallest leather punch. That one cost only $1.75 at Daiso for a two-pack of 3-4mm diameter punches that you can hammer into it. In a Daiso in your area, you can get it for a quid 💷 and 39p for this set.

If you have a chance, could you share some pictures of the modern buckle you modified? I never considered using my leather punch until I realized that this leather band could only fit a wrist that could accommodate an Apple Watch Ultra.

Thanks a lot! 😊