Replacing knits on flight jackets...

[heron163]

all the discussion on knit colors has me thinking about a couple of things...

1. I have an early version of the Aero ANJ-3 in seal goatskin with some really beat up knits. Currently brown but I would like to replace them with rust.

2. My dads original aero A2. A few years back the moth-eaten rust knits on his two jackets needed replacement. Two went out, only one came back with horrible crap looking brown knits. I would like to replace the knits on this jacket. Please don't ask me where they were sent for repair - it is water over the dam at this point. Hopefully it is in a private collection somewhere as it had a really iconic, one of a kind painted back.

Is there anyone who could do this work.? I thought about contacting the guy who builds the Goodwear jackets but he seems super busy all the time...

thoughts? recommendation?

 

[xmr]

I don't think it's too hard to do - I contacted a seamstress who's experienced in leather work and she did a great job.

 

[AdeeC]

You could try Steve S who posts here. He understands heirloom jackets and I have seen a lot of his alteration and restoration work here and on VLJ which is first class.

 

[rocketeer]

Loction indicates Northeast, USA or England? I know a guy who restores things like this in England, new cuffs on my Lucky 7 Seven jacket.

 

[heron163]

Loction indicates Northeast, USA or England? I know a guy who restores things like this in England, new cuffs on my Lucky 7 Seven jacket.

NE US

thanks

 

[heron163]

You could try Steve S who posts here. He understands heirloom jackets and I have seen a lot of his alteration and restoration work here and on VLJ which is first class.

Steve S. is his screen name?

thanks

 

[heron163]

OK - I have reached out to Steve S.

 

[rocketeer]

NE US

thanks

Funny thing, the guy who fixed the knits on my A2 in England is also a Steve S

 

[Dumpster Diver]

Why why why why!!! leave them ratty and time worn, get a needle and thread out and Darn them up a bit, and make DO just like they would have done in the olden days!!!! I dont get it with you guys, is it too much money and not enough sense? Look at whats happened Just meddling with Trying to get work done on an original A-2, one comes back hack job and the other is Now probly with someone who thought they deserved it more than you!

yeah, total flame bait and Im biting hard...and I get that you already learned a hard lesson and dont need any more guff about it from anyone, especially a fanatic like me.. after Im sure you beat yourself over the head and felt a weak stomach and blood pressure Rise over an MIA jacket. My deepest sympathy.

...You dont flash a wad of cash in a public place, its common sense if you have a classic guitar collection you need a Gun locker to keep them in!!! there are THIEVES all around us!!!

You ever see the movie: Ferris Buellers day off? handing over the Keys to his friends Fathers Ferrari? We all know what happens there.

Why do you need new knits, Why havent you learned to sew and order the proper Cuffs yourself! Afraid you might learn something?

Im mad because I would have easily done this work for you and done it well. Probably charge you less than half what anyone else would, why? because my passion for flight Jackets knows no bounds. And my Angry hate for insufficient repairs done while being Robbed blind of your hard earned dollars will never rest.

Any Original Jacket with a paint Job should stay as is, cuffs or no cuffs at all and that is that, there are enough Repros out there to drool over and wear and tear. Like If it was mine, I would get one of those hockey Jersey Glass frames and put in on the wall and cherish it for the rest of my life, Its them flakes out there who think something is broke that it needs to be broken some more!

I see it all the time with Guitars, kids always love to tamper with original parts and *upgrade* the pickups and they dont even know which end of the soldering iron gets hot let alone bother to realize there are numbers involved in measuring things, completely ruining the things original tonality and then losing the original parts etc. etc.

I tell you another thing, Is that in the analog Tape Cassette and open Reel Department in contrast to this Jacket racket...There are repair guys out there Gutting parts from ebay Decks, returning them minus parts and getting a full refund.

I will tell you water under the bridge when I see some decent photos of these Jackets you speak of.

its too early in the morning for me to be hearing reckless horror stories... please forgive my outburst.

 

[heron163]

did you read my original post? I come to this forum to learn things, exchange information, and yes, sometimes to show off stuff I have currently in my home. I do have some skill in sewing - in addition to repairing ripped jeans and hemming pants I did a costume of "Frank" from the movie "Donnie Darko" about 13 years ago for a big Halloween party. I don't own a professional or HD sewing machine suitable for the type of work you do to repair leather ....nor do I know where to buy knits...

the aero A-2 is not something that I would ever wear (not that I can even get my arm into it!). The moth eaten knits were replaced with some substandard, non original brown ones that don't belong. I am not going to do any more dishonor to the jacket by leaving it knitless or with the brown acrylic knits that look like they belong on a letterman's jacket. There is fucking with things and attempting to make things right.

my dad wore this A-2 and sweated and tore and scraped the shit out of it - 35 missions over germany in a B-17, over 100 in a P51 in the pacific and who knows how much seat time he had as instructor... I never got to know him as well as I would have liked to but this jacket has his spirit in it.

The ANJ-3 is a modern reproduction - I think it would look better with new rust knits than the current, torn up brown ones. I actually do wear this jacket a lot and it is a pain in the ass when you snag your hands on the tears when putting it on

you make a lot of assumption about me with no clue about the background or history... your insulting, condescending, rant made this very personal and you can ESAD. I wouldn't let you sew a button on if you lived next door.

 

[bn1966]

Darn where you can but certainly some knits needed replacing due to the horrible state they are in on a wearer. My favourite L-2B had knits like a colander...got some NOS USAF knits & now I'm a happy Bunny. Early CWU Jacket knits were OK but I was going to replace them as not perfect, got talked out of it & am now happy I have stuck with the originals. Horses for courses as they say

 

[Dumpster Diver]

Touche! My condescending rant was not meant to be personal. Damn right it was disrespectful since I dont know anything about you personally. But do you really need to be *That* defensive about it? at the same token there was no reason for me to be rude and I apologize. Just had to be said and SOMEONE had to say it and Im not sorry it was me. everyone else knew better than to say what had to be said at the cost of diplomacy. And you dont know the first thing about me either, well...except that Im a godless prick in the morning.

I wear the ESAD Grin of Honour in life! It Tastes better than the truth. I totally Deserve that.

Thats pretty harsh, I like your Conviction!

*I dont have a sewing machine*

Yeah, I didnt have clothes when I was born. I went and bought myself a Machine and got over the growing pains and basic Learning curve, you can easily score a Sewing machine for pennies, Get one in the thrift store for less than the Price of a Repair cost itself! they are not Expensive or rare or hard to use. No excuse. if you wanted to get one and learn how to use it, you would. Thats how it works..otherwise deal with god awful endless nightmares trying to get other people to do your work for you...you want it done right as they say...DIY.

(Replacing Knits is more of a hand Job, and I Definitely am good at those as you can clearly see. sorry for Jerkin you around a bit)

hate on me all you want, but at the end of the day you know Im here for you ultimately. Believe it or not.

 

[AdeeC]

did you read my original post? I come to this forum to learn things, exchange information, and yes, sometimes to show off stuff I have currently in my home. I do have some skill in sewing - in addition to repairing ripped jeans and hemming pants I did a costume of "Frank" from the movie "Donnie Darko" about 13 years ago for a big Halloween party. I don't own a professional or HD sewing machine suitable for the type of work you do to repair leather ....nor do I know where to buy knits...

the aero A-2 is not something that I would ever wear (not that I can even get my arm into it!). The moth eaten knits were replaced with some substandard, non original brown ones that don't belong. I am not going to do any more dishonor to the jacket by leaving it knitless or with the brown acrylic knits that look like they belong on a letterman's jacket. There is fucking with things and attempting to make things right.

my dad wore this A-2 and sweated and tore and scraped the shit out of it - 35 missions over germany in a B-17, over 100 in a P51 in the pacific and who knows how much seat time he had as instructor... I never got to know him as well as I would have liked to but this jacket has his spirit in it.

The ANJ-3 is a modern reproduction - I think it would look better with new rust knits than the current, torn up brown ones. I actually do wear this jacket a lot and it is a pain in the ass when you snag your hands on the tears when putting it on

you make a lot of assumption about me with no clue about the background or history... your insulting, condescending, rant made this very personal and you can ESAD. I wouldn't let you sew a button on if you lived next door.

If you are looking for knits and have someone local to do the job, you could try MASH militaria from Japan. There is also a seller on EBay who sells them. Both are excellent quality. See links below. As yourself I own an original that had poor quality replacement knits which I replaced with more appropriate types.
http://www.mash-japan.co.jp/oversea/
http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/lb4041j/m.html?_trksid=p3692

 

[heron163]

thank you - I will check those out...

 

[bn1966]

Yes, MASH produce / procure really quality items, ship promptly and even package for you with great attention to detail. Currently getting a set of their knits put onto a G-1.

 

[robrinay]

Yep that eBay seller is a good source of quality knits - he supplied correct types for my G1 and I had them fitted by Byson Leather in the UK who did a great job - they also supplied and fitted a nos Conmar zipper.

 

[Dumpster Diver]

Make a note I will pay good money for Used and worn out cuffs as long as they are originals.

 

[Chris Wilkinson]

Make a note I will pay good money for Used and worn out cuffs as long as they are originals.

I also have had difficulty finding an original knit replacement cuff. The new replacement cuffs I've found have problems matching the color and the knitting pattern for my Stagg B-10 jacket. My Stagg B-10 right knit cuff was hanging in shreds so I cut it off. I have even considered buying another period jacket to harvest good cuffs. The jacket is a nearly perfect original otherwise so its worth the effort to find a decent cuff. However, finding an original cuff on Ebay has been next to impossible recently. Can I ask your assistance or ask you to refer me to someone that can? I'm in California. Thank you!

 

[Dumpster Diver]

I cannot refer you unfortunately where to look specifically. I am simply the blunt instrument. There are sets on Ebay that will do the trick in a real Jam. Same boat here. And That is why I am urging you all to hang on to the originals after you swap them out. and not to lose them or try not to muck with them even if they are in tatters. leave em be.

Shredded cuffs are AWESOME!!! leave em! I wore my repro MA-1 to the bone in highschool, it was covered in Sludge and grease after years of roofing labor, Full of holes and cigarette burns and the cuffs were Just a rats nest and It felt so GOOD!

It was finally so putrid it was beyond Salvage, I cut off my Patches and said goodbye finally when I could no longer live in the rank aroma that would not wash...it got rotten and full of mildew after I stored it before cleaning.

tell you what...

Ask Larry at Flightjacketknits.com

I bought some from him and he was a pleasure to do business with!


You are baiting me with another horror story, that was not smart to cut off the original before you are able to take the next step. if you see cuffs on an original Jacket that match the original Jacket but are less than to your liking in terms of condition...as long as they are originals think twice and reconsider...try making do before your Reaping what you sew in your harvesting and cannibalizing other original Jackets for parts which is all a gamble with luck as well. It will only end when people see it for what it is and are happy with what they have to be happy with.

Someone here once sent me a spectacular pair of M422A Eastman cuffs and while I couldnt tell you how close they are to originals, they are the best set of cuffs I ever seen. I stuck them on a 50s G-1 Jacket and while they do not match the waist and are not true to the Jacket...ONLY YOU will know the difference..shshh!!! remember, its YOUR secret! Like I said if it bothers you that much and you have to fix it, the Jacket aint going nowheres...seriously it can wait!

talk to the boss at eastman and maybe if you appeal to the higher powers that be, someone will take pity on your situation as was the case in my struggle with knit replacement. Although the cuff donor himself had bought an A-2 from Eastman and the spare set of cuffs were an added bonus and paid it forward.

Like a lot of G-1 Jackets had the wool cuffs and waistbands cut off when the Jackets were de-commissioned so as to deter mothing.

I AM THE GUY who ends up restoring someone elses SHODDY WORK!..always...those are the Jackets I pick up...the ones no one wants because they arent perfect examples. I want the ones that are a challenge to restore.

I do have spare cuffs here, but they are not original and they are shredded, however I will hide them away in a box rather than toss them, its only after you toss them you will need them.

 

[AdeeC]

Yes, MASH produce / procure really quality items, ship promptly and even package for you with great attention to detail. Currently getting a set of their knits put onto a G-1.

The packaging of the Mash products is superb. Almost like gift packaging. Having bought both MASH and Ebay A2 knits, there is a difference. The Ebay knits are thicker and heavier and the MASH knits are more refined tighter looking which I prefer. Not saying one is better than the other but their respective appearance may influence choice. Then one has to consider variations in colour shades between both. I also have some MASH G1 knits also that appear well made and authentic looking and they have a great supply of reasonably priced NOS zippers.