My quest to find a Conmar Conmatic zipper for my vintage leather Irvin Foster jacket

[Navin323i]

Hello Gents,

Per the advice I received from my friend, Andrew (Speedbird), I'm making this post to seek the advice of you zipper experts including ASWATLAND on resolving the zipper issue with my vintage jacket.

The zipper slider has the word "Conmatic" and on the back of the slider it says, "Conmar USA BW 34"

You can see where the damage is here... not to the zipper ribbon strip that has the slider attached to it but the OPPOSITE side zipper ribbon strip... I wonder if I were to find a zipper ribbon strip that has the same distance between successive zipper teeth (I forget if that's the measurement to determine the type of zipper I need or not) would this resolve my zipper problem or am I forced to replace the entire zipper?

I've done some more research and have found various jackets from the 1950s online that have a Conmatic zipper. One option I can consider if all else fails is to buy one of those jackets strictly for the purpose of salvaging the zipper and transfer that to my leather jacket.

Do I have to find a Conmatic zipper necessarily from another leather jacket or would one from a garbadine jacket or suede jacket work as well? I want to be sure the zipper is strong enough to zip up my steerhide leather jacket.

I also realized that the upper zipper chest pocket has the same identical Conmatic zipper slider as the main zipper, hence my need to find a Conmatic zipper identical to the one I have which is identical to the one in the link below except mine is gold/brass colored....

http://www.steelzipper.com/conmatic_zipper_details.html

Thoughts?

 

[Navin323i]

Correction to my earlier post... after examining the zipper slider in the upper chest zippered pocket, that zipper slider says "Conmar", not "Conmatic" like the main zipper slider, and it's also a slightly different shape, therefore I don't have to worry about trying to match the zipper slider from the upper chest pocket.

 

[aswatland]

Yes you could buy an identical jacket and replace the male section of the zipper. Alternatively you could order a NOS 1950s Conmar from MASH Japan and replace the entire zip. I bought a Talon from them recently and the service was excellent. Here's the link.

http://www.mash-japan.co.jp/oversea/cgi-bin/prd-eng.cgi?itemno=95-03-5010&ck=

 

[Speedbird]

Hole in one there Navin!

Both Aswatland and JonZ suggest Mash-Japan so I reckon that's where you will find what you need ... NOS (new old stock) originals as well!

BTW I wouldn't bother replacing the elastic - maybe later if your shape changes, but for now it fits good, arms and all!

 

[Navin323i]

Yes you could buy an identical jacket and replace the male section of the zipper. Alternatively you could order a NOS 1950s Conmar from MASH Japan and replace the entire zip. I bought a Talon from them recently and the service was excellent. Here's the link.

http://www.mash-japan.co.jp/oversea/cgi-bin/prd-eng.cgi?itemno=95-03-5010&ck=

Hi Andrew!

Thank you so much for responding to my post here... I truly appreciate your time in helping me.

Finding an identical jacket to my vintage leather jacket may be close to impossible... my plan was to obtain the conmatic zipper from any jacket that I can find (would suede or garbadine style 1950s jackets be ok or must it be from another leather jacket? My leather repair guy indicated that the zipper I get should be a commercial strength zipper.

Sorry for my ignorance but the "male" section of the zipper... which side is that? The side opposite the side with the slider? I know zippers have a number associated with them and I know that number represents a measurement in millimeters... I forget though what the measurement specifically is... is it the distance between the zipper teeth?

Great advice about the Japanese site... I did check there earlier today and they don't appear to have the Conmatic zipper, however I sent them an email to see if they can source me one so I'm waiting to hear back from them.

 

[Navin323i]

Hole in one there Navin!

Both Aswatland and JonZ suggest Mash-Japan so I reckon that's where you will find what you need ... NOS (new old stock) originals as well!

BTW I wouldn't bother replacing the elastic - maybe later if your shape changes, but for now it fits good, arms and all!

What's up Andrew!

Yeah, hopefully Mash-Japan can source me a Conmatic zipper... I know they definitely have regular Conmar zippers... I believe the Conmatic ones were designed so they don't jam or get stuck.

100% agree with you about the elastic... if you think about it, if the elastic were to be put back on the sides of my jacket I bet it would make the jacket appear to not fit me since the elastic area would sit higher up on my torso versus sitting closer to my waist area, if that makes any sense at all.

 

[Navin323i]

I forgot to ask one question... on the back of my zipper slider it says,

"Conmar USA BW 34"

Any idea what the BW stands for and what the 34 means?

Thanks,
Navin

 

[Navin323i]

How does Conmar compare with Talon in terms of zipper quality?

On the Mash-Japan site there is a Talon zipper I'm considering but I'm wondering if this Talon M-39 zipper would be appropriate for my jacket or if it's only meant for military jackets...

http://www.mash-japan.co.jp/oversea/cgi-bin/prd-eng.cgi?itemno=95-01-3920&ck=

 

[Speedbird]

I honestly couldn't say if one is better than the other .... what is clear is that both were used and both have original functioning survivors today on original jackets, military and civilian alike.

I think either will outlive you and I - lol

From a purely sentimental and aesthetic point of view, the Talon might look a touch more refined and modern, but on the other hand the Conmar 'paperclip' type looks honest and functional and is truer to the original jacket ...

Your choice my friend ..... I think I'd go with a Conmar if it were mine... but keep hunting for your Conmar Conmatic as well.

Not sure that helps much ... lol [huh]

 

[Navin323i]

I honestly couldn't say if one is better than the other .... what is clear is that both were used and both have original functioning survivors today on original jackets, military and civilian alike.

I think either will outlive you and I - lol

From a purely sentimental and aesthetic point of view, the Talon might look a touch more refined and modern, but on the other hand the Conmar 'paperclip' type looks honest and functional and is truer to the original jacket ...

Your choice my friend ..... I think I'd go with a Conmar if it were mine... but keep hunting for your Conmar Conmatic as well.

Not sure that helps much ... lol [huh]

Hey Andrew!

It does help... thank you.

If both the main zipper and the upper chest pocket zipper were both Conmatic zippers then I'd be more inclined to say that I must have the replacement main zipper be a Conmatic as well.

But since the upper chest pocket zipper is different (i.e. a regular Conmar zipper that's not a Conmatic one) I'm so tempted to get the Talon M-39 zipper for use as my new main zipper.

The Talon M-39 zipper sure looks beautiful from the pics I saw on the Mash-Japan site. I noticed that this zipper is nickel/silver so I'm uncertain whether I might have issues later on with tarnishing and whether I'll have to use silver polish on the zipper slider on a periodic basis. Thoughts?

 

[Speedbird]

Hey Andrew!

It does help... thank you.

If both the main zipper and the upper chest pocket zipper were both Conmatic zippers then I'd be more inclined to say that I must have the replacement main zipper be a Conmatic as well.

But since the upper chest pocket zipper is different (i.e. a regular Conmar zipper that's not a Conmatic one) I'm so tempted to get the Talon M-39 zipper for use as my new main zipper.

The Talon M-39 zipper sure looks beautiful from the pics I saw on the Mash-Japan site. I noticed that this zipper is nickel/silver so I'm uncertain whether I might have issues later on with tarnishing and whether I'll have to use silver polish on the zipper slider on a periodic basis. Thoughts?

For me that seals it ... but it is just me and my thoughts ... match the main zip to the original pocket zip .... if that is Conmar. .. then get Conmar for the main body.... and get it in a colour to match the upper zipper...

And any time you have to start messing with polish on the zipper is too much time wasted ... lol ... zipper maintenance shouldn't exist beyond once in a blue moon running a pencil tip up and down the teeth!

 

[Navin323i]

Ugh... I feel like crying. So I found a vintage 50s suede jacket on eBay for $25 plus about $10 for shipping and prior to buying the jacket the owner indicated that the Conmatic zipper length is 22.5 inches. I received the jacket a few days ago, used a seam ripper to carefully remove the zipper and then layed the zipper on top of my Irvin Foster leather jacket to see how the zipper looks with it... then I noticed the size is less... the top of the zipper where the teeth ends is exactly 20.5 inches and about an extra half inch of cloth zipper tape extends above that.

I layed the measuring tape against the zipper, snapped a picture and emailed it to the eBay seller asking him how on earth he measured 22.5". Either way I'm screwed since I removed the zipper already from the suede jacket. Live and learn I guess... next time if I do this I'll be sure to measure the zipper while on the jacket before I remove the zipper... I guess I trusted the seller too much to do that.

If I don't find a Conmatic zipper I may just decide to go with a YKK zipper that my leather jacket repair guy would normally use to replace his customers jacket zippers. I'd still prefer to find a zipper from the same time period but I definitely don't want to go thru the same bad experience like this one again.

 

[Navin323i]

I lucked out... the seller who sold me the Conmatic zipper has graciously offered to take back the jacket and detached Conmatic zipper that's too small for my Irvin Foster jacket and refund my $25. There definitely are honest, decent people in this world.

I'm trying something different now... on my existing Conmatic zipper the zipper tape has torn where the zipper pin (i.e. the pin is what you feed into the slider) is located at the bottom of the zipper tape. I'm using good old fashioned Krazy superglue to secure the pin to the zipper tape. So far it's holding good... just waiting for it to fully dry before I attempt to put it in the slider to zip up.

If this fails then I'll just go ahead and buy the Conmar brass/nickel zipper that Mash-Japan sells for 5000 yen.

Cheers,
Navin

 

[Navin323i]

Sadly my superglue idea for securing the zipper pin to the tape did not work, therefore I have now placed my order for a NOS Conmar Brass/Nickel zipper from Mash-Japan. Estimated total including shipping all came to 6290 Yen which is $67.80... much more than I wanted to spend on a replacement zipper but worth it especially since my goal was to get a replacement zipper from the exact time period as my vintage leather Irvin Foster jacket, plus the other intact zipper on the upper chest pocket is also a Conmar zipper so it will match up zipper company-wise.

 

[jon z]

Navin
For what it's worth I think you have now made the best choice on the zip replacement. It may seem a costly option but if the jacket worth restoring it's worth restoring well. The Conmar will give you many decades of service so in $/year it's a snip.
John

 

[Navin323i]

Thanks John!

I ordered the Conmar zipper from Mash-Japan yesterday. They sent me the email confirming my order but said that they'll send me another email within the next few days with my order total and item availability... I'm not sure why it takes so long to have this information sent to me. Normally I order something then pay right away but in this case I order the zipper and wait a few days before i can send them payment via PayPal. For those of you like aswatland who have ordered from Mash-Japan before... hopefully this is the normal process for ordering from Mash-Japan.

 

[jon z]

In my experience MASH make buying from Japan a relatively easy process. I don't think you have anything to worry about. If you think this is hard work try buying something like a pair of Toys McCoy's Becks Engineer Boots as I did. Man, purchasing something that limited from Japan will have you spitting blood. At one point I almost gave up becoming convinced I wouldn't find anyone over there willing to let a pair leave their shores.

 

[Navin323i]

In my experience MASH make buying from Japan a relatively easy process. I don't think you have anything to worry about. If you think this is hard work try buying something like a pair of Toys McCoy's Becks Engineer Boots as I did. Man, purchasing something that limited from Japan will have you spitting blood. At one point I almost gave up becoming convinced I wouldn't find anyone over there willing to let a pair leave their shores.

Hey John!

I wound up getting the confirmation email today with the payment I owe in Japanese Yen. I wonder... since I'm paying with PayPal does PayPal give the option in paying in Japanese Yen instead of American dollars? I could pay the equivalent dollar amount once I do the conversion but each day the exact yen to dollar conversion amount changes.

 

[Stearmen]

Currency

I wound up getting the confirmation email today with the payment I owe in Japanese Yen. I wonder... since I'm paying with PayPal does PayPal give the option in paying in Japanese Yen instead of American dollars? I could pay the equivalent dollar amount once I do the conversion but each day the exact yen to dollar conversion amount changes.

I know what you mean! I buy British motorcycle parts from the UK and it is in Pound Sterling. Pay Pal often lags behind and I end up paying the higher exchange rate! Still, easier then getting a check made out in another currency!

 

[Navin323i]

I know what you mean! I buy British motorcycle parts from the UK and it is in Pound Sterling. Pay Pal often lags behind and I end up paying the higher exchange rate! Still, easier then getting a check made out in another currency!

True.

But I'm still confused about how exactly to do this PayPal transaction. Normally when I pay in PayPal I enter the U.S. dollar amount of the money I want to send. In this case since I want to send Japanese Yen, how do I go about doing this?