Can this zipper be fixed?

[Gamma68]

One of the zipper pulls completely came off a chest pocket on my Kehoe CR, #^&@#&^%@&!!

I hope this can be repaired without too much trouble/expense.

Any suggestions on who I might take this to for repair? This is my favorite CR and I want it done right.

Thanks in advance.

 

[kliffjumper123]

I'm not too experienced as far as repairs go but I do have some ideas in regards to getting it fixed. The first suggestion I have would be flightjacket.com. They do custom work and repairs. That said, their 'market' tends to be more geared towards flight jackets but I'd suggest shooting them an email and asking (they respond quickly too).

The second suggestion would be to find either a tailor or maybe even a luggage repair place that could do a repair job. But I would still be cautious with all avenues, especially those that may not be as experienced in that kind of repair.

Good luck to you!

 

[kliffjumper123]

One of the zipper pulls completely came off a chest pocket on my Kehoe CR, #^&@#&^%@&!!

I hope this can be repaired without too much trouble/expense.

Any suggestions on who I might take this to for repair? This is my favorite CR and I want it done right.

Thanks in advance.

View attachment 117996 View attachment 117997

US Wings also has a repair service that accepts jackets of all manufacturers.

 

[Gamma68]

Thanks, kliffjumper. Those are good suggestions.

There is a local shoe repair place that has been in business forever. They do zipper repairs and replacements. I might take it there but am skittish not having any experience with their work.

 

[hondurasdave47]

Alan at Johnson Leathers can do the job for you. He's in San Francisco.

 

[Gamma68]

Alan at Johnson Leathers can do the job for you. He's in San Francisco.

Thanks for this suggestion.

So my bigger question for the group is can this type of repair generally be handled by a local shop, or is it something that really should be handled by a specialist like Johnson Leathers, US Wings, etc.?

 

[Carlos840]

Thanks, kliffjumper. Those are good suggestions.

There is a local shoe repair place that has been in business forever. They do zipper repairs and replacements. I might take it there but am skittish not having any experience with their work.

I have had bad experiences with dry cleaners/shoe repair places fixing leather items. Even had bad experience with a leather jacket maker doing poor repair work.
Repairing something like that properly and invisibly takes some skill, and i would not trust a random shop to do it.
Make sure whoever fixes it knows what they are doing and knows exactly what result you expect.

 

[kliffjumper123]

Thanks, kliffjumper. Those are good suggestions.

There is a local shoe repair place that has been in business forever. They do zipper repairs and replacements. I might take it there but am skittish not having any experience with their work.

It certainly wouldn't hurt to check the place out, but if you're not entirely sure then I'd stay on the safe side and maybe get a professional to take a look at it. Especially considering the cost of the jacket.

 

[AeroFan_07]

^^ All good advice. Go talk with your local guy first, never hurts to build that relationship and then have it for future reapirs. Otherwise, go to the expense to send it to Alan at Johnson, he does great work!

 

[Gamma68]

I've sent an email to Johnson Leathers requesting a repair quote.

I'm so bummed. Really was looking forward to wearing this jacket more now that the weather has moved beyond frigid.

 

[Gamma68]

I just came across greatleather.com (a repair specialist) in another thread. This might be another option for me.

Any idea if the existing zipper can be re-used? Or does this repair necessitate installing a new zipper? This jacket has two upper chest pockets and I want the zips to match.

 

[Carlos840]

I just came across greatleather.com (a repair specialist) in another thread. This might be another option for me.

Any idea if the existing zipper can be re-used? Or does this repair necessitate installing a new zipper? This jacket has two upper chest pockets and I want the zips to match.

It could be as simple as putting the puller back and putting a new stop on the tape, or if the tape is damaged you might need to replace it completely.
Hard to say without seeing it.
Matching the zipper shouldn't be hard, it's just a classic ring, nothing super fancy.

 

[Gamma68]

It could be as simple as putting the puller back and putting a new stop on the tape, or if the tape is damaged you might need to replace it completely.
Hard to say without seeing it.
Matching the zipper shouldn't be hard, it's just a classic ring, nothing super fancy.

I assume the zipper will need to be completely replaced because the tape appears damaged.

I'm just paranoid because I don't want mismatched zippers, but it seems like it would be simple enough to get a match.

 

[Carlos840]

I assume the zipper will need to be completely replaced because the tape appears damaged.

I'm just paranoid because I don't want mismatched zippers, but it seems like it would be simple enough to get a match.

You might have a hard time matching the body of the slider 100% if it is an uncommon zipper, but you will definitely be able to match the ring puller.

 

[seres]

You could probably re-use the slider on new tapes.

 

[Peacoat]

The slider will be pretty much hidden in the leather piping, only the pull will be visible. Looks as though the pull could be reattached to the new slider. That should solve the problem as to matching. The slider with the new zip is manufactured to mate with the chain of the new zip. The slider in the old zipper may not properly mesh with the chain in the new zipper.

Alan just put in a new and beefy #10 Talon replacing the #5 Hookless on my Aero ThunderBay which had lost a tooth in the chain. Now the zip works like a charm; it is easy to grasp, easy to get started and easy to zip up, just as it should be. The #5 was too small, too hard to get too and to hard to zip up. As a result, I seldom wore the jacket.

Alan's seamstress did a good job, and was able to match the original stitch holes.

I have heard good things from board members about greatleather.com, and I see you have run across them. I probably would have sent my jacket there, but I have had dealings in the past with JL and trusted Alan to get the job done right.

You might text or email a photograph of your slider and pull that you wish to match to Alan and Great Leather to see if they can match it. One may have a match in stock.

 

[Gamma68]

Thanks, @Peacoat. I've been corresponding with Alan via email and if he can match the pull I'll be sending it to him for repair. He says turnaround time is about a week, which is very reasonable.

 

[Gamma68]

Got my jacket back from Johnson Leathers today. They were able to re-use the original zipper pull, and it looks like they used the original stitch holes. You'd never know the zipper itself was replaced. Fabulous job. This Kehoe is my favorite cafe racer and I'm glad it turned out so well. Love this jacket!

 

[Gamma68]

The only difference I see between the new zip and the old is the new zip doesn't have a single "end piece" or "stop" like the original. Not sure about the proper term. Doesn't matter to me. I don't think I'll use these zips much going forward.