3 questions about my A2 from the real mccoy's

[dude]

man, this is a great jacket. i have never, ever seen such quality. i'm blown away. i bought it used on ebay a week or so back. i wrote this forum once before because i thought i might want to remove the army decal from the sleeve but i've decided to keep it so as not to do any damage.

the jacket smells new but i guess the hide was slightly worked over as it is really heavy but does not have that really stiff new leather thing happening. it is a just a little pliable.

there is a problem. the zipper is very uncooperative. it is a talon and appears to be of excellent quality but is sticking and becoming mis aligned when i try to fully unzip. two local repair guys say it needs to be replaced. about a $50 job. i think it's worth getting done properly as a cheapy zipper would be....inappropriate.

the label reads;

type A-2
drawing no. 30-1415
a.c.order no.39-2951p
werber sportswear co.
newburgh, n.y.

under the front pocket flap a small label reads;

produced by the real mccoy's

if anyone knows...

where was this jacket produced?
how much did it cost new?
where would one get the zipper replaced or repaired?
any other info appreciated.

i would love to post photos but i can't seem to figure it out!

anyway, thanks in advance for help/info...

tom

 

[ButteMT61]

Try this:

 

[Justhandguns]

Have you tried to lube the zipper with a bit of candle wax? I don't think you really need to change the zipper. Your jacket should be made in Japan.

 

[cloudylemonade]

Hi Tom, We've been asked to replace zips on Real McCoy jackets in the past and to be honest we wouldn't want to take on fitting a full new zip again. It is very difficult to replace one of their zippers due to the fact that they use a glue between the windflap and the shell. It’s certainly not a job for someone unused to A-2s, so be careful before proceeding with that. Far better would be to try to carefully realign the teeth.

 

[Blackadder]

Here are a couple of the RM Weber repros. from different periods. The RM label inside the pocket may give a clue as to when yours were made. For example, the one with the black label in the second link is different from the white one in the first link. If I am not mistaken, the black label is an older label.

http://frontend-http-elb-979410592.ap-northeast-1.elb.amazonaws.com/item/yahoo/auction/194747551

http://www.junk-vintage.com/shop/jacket/j4361/j4361.html

 

[Stand By]

You could try some dry-lube for the zipper - the graphite type used for sticking locks. A light dust of that might help …? No harm in trying that. But I have a NOS Talon that can become misaligned if I don't pay full attention to engaging the male/female parts - so I've learned not to do it on "auto-pilot" and to be more "present" when I use it. And it may get better with use/time.

I'm glad that you decided to leave the AAF decal be. Actually I was thinking of you a few nights ago when I saw an AAF decal on one of the A2s in one of my favourite films, Sole Survivor (1970) - and it was well aged and was even torn through along with the leather. But it looked the part and was historically correct.

I'm very glad you're happy.

 

[bentusian]

A new RMJP A-2 may have cost around JPY 168,000.

It is likely that problem is with the slider rather than the entire zipper, and changing slider is much easier and effective as long as you get the right part (NOS or high-end repro). Besides, sometimes zipper could be sticky when new, especially if the rail is NOS and slider is a repro (or vice versa), in which case things get smoother after some time.

 

[devilish]

You could try some dry-lube for the zipper - the graphite type used for sticking locks. A light dust of that might help …? No harm in trying that. But I have a NOS Talon that can become misaligned if I don't pay full attention to engaging the male/female parts - so I've learned not to do it on "auto-pilot" and to be more "present" when I use it. And it may get better with use/time.

^This. If you can't find the graphite dry lubricant just get a soft pencil and 'draw' up and down the teeth with it several times. Do both the front and back side of them. Then be careful and pay attention when zipping up.

 

[ButteMT61]

I would not get dry graphite powder anywhere near a jacket.
That stuff is a b*tch to clean up.
Just a friendly warning.

 

[navetsea]

sewing machine oil on a piece of cloth and wipe it along the teeth , or run the side of a candle stick along the teeth once or twice.

if you want to use pencil, I rather use a small piece of paper, shade it thickly with graphite pencil until black, fold it in the middle and rub the paper to the zip back and forth rather than shading each tooth of it time efficiency. I only take this route on black jacket with antiqued brass zip, even then it would stain my white t-shirt for sometime.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

I'm with Butte about pencil lead or graphite. Candle or bees wax should do the job.
HD

 

[Mark]

Just to add, Talon zippers in my experience are quite fiddly anyway. I've used wax candle in the past, works well. Pencil is a bit messy I reckon.

 

[Superfluous]

Candle wax and careful attention during use.

 

[AdeeC]

If you try all the tips and still need a new zipper, MASH MILITARIA in Japan have NOS Talon zippers. Very reasonable price and they are easy to deal with too. I have one for a spare and it looks the real deal. Here is their website link.
http://www.mash-japan.co.jp/oversea/cgi-bin/plist-eng.cgi?cno=17

Another lube tip is to use silicone spray lube. Spray onto a cotton bud and rub it along the teeth. This should be less messy than using oils or graphite.

 

[navetsea]

yeah silicone bike chain lube is a good one too, it stay smooth operation quite long, spray it on a piece of paper or a small piece of cloth or scrap leather, fold it , hold it between your index and thumb fingertips and rub it to the zip so both front and back side of the teeth are lubricated on both sides.

 

[Stand By]

Silicone dry lube for bike chains!!! Brilliant idea, AdecC and Navetsea! I've had it around my bike tool box for 20 years and it's never occurred to me to try it on a sticky zipper ! DOH! That's thinking outside the bun stuff.
Definitely the better option.

 

[ButteMT61]

If any of you guys are taking your expensive leather jacket and putting this crap on your zippers, well, make sure you note that when you sell them! I'd not use any of this stuff sans wax on a zipper. Rather, I'd think I'd sit on my bed and zip/unzip the thing over a sick day until it broke-in.
My experience with all of those lubes is that I would not put it anywhere near clothing or a jacket. But hey, if you guys like that look, enjoy! :rofl:

 

[dude]

thanks. i think it's true that if i'm "present" when i zip 'er up things go ok. i'm hoping it gets easier as time goes by...

 

[IXL]

If any of you guys are taking your expensive leather jacket and putting this crap on your zippers, well, make sure you note that when you sell them! I'd not use any of this stuff sans wax on a zipper. Rather, I'd think I'd sit on my bed and zip/unzip the thing over a sick day until it broke-in.
My experience with all of those lubes is that I would not put it anywhere near clothing or a jacket. But hey, if you guys like that look, enjoy! :rofl:

I remember that a few years back, someone had a thread concerning all of the ills related to using silicone on leather jacket zippers (and many other things): Made a believer out of me. I use Chapstick or armadillo urine, depending on what's available at the time..........

 

[Monitor]

If any of you guys are taking your expensive leather jacket and putting this crap on your zippers, well, make sure you note that when you sell them! I'd not use any of this stuff sans wax on a zipper. Rather, I'd think I'd sit on my bed and zip/unzip the thing over a sick day until it broke-in.

+1 on that! Had a few jackets where I couldn't figure out what the hell did the previous owner did to it, and why. I mean, it's not rocket science - I mean, you put the jacket on when you leave the house, and then you take it off when you get back home. Or vice versa. But that's it! Why does so many people mess with it?