hello just wondering how long does it take for these belts to begin to show wear (dye going) and completely go white, just being curious as to why people prefure them over cotton to give a false image... surely they dont wear out that quick in comparison to cotton?

hello just wondering how long does it take for these belts to begin to show wear (dye going) and completely go white, just being curious as to why people prefure them over cotton to give a false image... surely they dont wear out that quick in comparison to cotton?

The question of "how long it takes" varies from belt to belt, how often it's worn, etc. On silk belts, the dye fading isn't the issue, fraying is the issue. While silk belts sort of stand out, they do fray more easily than cotton. That is the reason people prefer cotton. Many figure that if they're going to spend good money on a belt, they want it to last longer.

[EDIT: Deleting partial sentence that should have been completely deleted.]

IcemanSK is right. Silk belts fray rather than fade. The white or gray under the black cover will show more and more over time. I don't think I've ever seen a belt with no black left.

How fast it wears compared to cotton is going to vary from brand to brand, but in general, yes, it is a lot faster.

And I don't know if I'd go so far as to call it a false image. Some people just prefer the aged look. I think of it like someone who buys stonewashed jeans instead of deep indigo because they prefer the faded look. Some people like clean, while others like scruffy!

Edited November 22, 201015 yr by JohnASE

ok thankyou for the replys, sorry its been a while, what about satin then? does that fray just as quickly and how badly does it acturally fray?

For the purpose of this discussion, you can equate satin with silk. Either will vary in durability. I'm not sure if one tends to be better than the other.

I'll avoid getting too technical here. Satin is a shiny fabric. It COULD be made from silk, but might be an artificial fiber like polyester or nylon. It seems to me that if a belt is made of silk the description will usually say so, but if it's made from an artificial fiber, it will say satin. Cotton can be a little shiny, too, but people usually still call it cotton. These are just my general impressions and will not apply to any specific belt.

How badly does it fray? Again, it depends on the belt and even the wearer. A belt will usually begin to fray at the edges and at the knot as these spots get the most friction. For most people, the flat part of the belt will hold it's fabric for a long time because of all the stitching that runs down the belt. However, I've seen belts with very little black thread on them.

As an example, I just saw a picture of a girl that look to be in her mid to late teens. I'd guess she'd earned her black belt 4 or 5 years ago. Her belt was almost all black near the embroidery, but it was almost all white or gray above that to the knot. Around her waist, it looked about 50% black with black in the middle and gray on the edges. With this kind of wear, I'd assume it was silk or satin.

I would like to see Satin age well, but slowly. I know that pure silk cover's on belt's age in only a few years if your wear them often. My Hanshi's https://www.unitedshotokan.com belt has aged very very well. He's on his second one and he has been training since before I was born. In our association and the Japan Karate Association tops that I have gotten either be acquainted with or learn of all wear silk Tokaido's. It's just a preference of the schools and artists. Just seems that silk just looks great and hangs around the waist well faster than cotton. People enjoy the look and comfort.

I like it because I aspire to be like my instructor.

We don't have rank stripes in our Shotokan and So I intend to hopefully wear my belt for the rest of my life. I had a previous Satin belt in Taekwondo, and it didn't age like the pure silk belts. But I ordered from https://www.kataaro.com and they don't offer silk, but their embroidery is amazing stuff. Lot's of great experience with them.

On another quick note, I have also seen very young karateka with their belts in tatters. I found out from some of the other "older" black belt's they were acquainted with that the younger person's instructor had passed his own belt down to the young one personally. No idea why, but hey. I guess happens. I think it's kind of neat actually. Especially when an instructor retires or moves on. So I can't say that it's a false impression. The impression is based on what you immediately assume. Homework and a little questioning should get you a good answer.