Wedge417
Active Member
Thank you very much but an original would be a waste on that jacket.
I have found a few Japanese leads. I'll confirm and post on it for other members who might be interested.
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Zipper source
- Thread starter Youngblood1989
- Start date
I have found a few Japanese leads. I'll confirm and post on it for other members who might be interested.
Wedge417
Active Member
Ok I found a few website that sell Japanese talon in all kinds and sizes, new and old, repro and vintage.
Has anybody changed their A-2 zipper? what length would you recommend? A lot of the options on the net. that I've found are talon zippers of length max 50cm. Only just a few retailers have 56cm max.
It's in Japanese but if you're in need of talon zippers here's what I found:
Two crafting websites that seem to have some Talon zipper choice. It's not mentioned anywhere if these are made in Japan. BUT Japan shops tend to sell Japanese product or clearly state it's Chinese made. So I would lean towards thinking the zippers advertised are indeed made in Japan.
- https://www.leathercraft.jp/search?search_keyword=タロンジッパー
- https://leather-material.com/?pid=153712334
The third one is a bit of an odd ball (as often with Japanese websites)
it's not a retailer but a craftsman's shop who specialises in leather repairs and seems to have quite a bit of expertise in A-2 and G-1 jackets. I will email to see if they offer their services to worldwide clients and if it's possible to buy Talon and wool from them.
-http://ares-jp.sakura.ne.jp/flightrepairparts1.html
I'll keep searching to see if I find anything else.
Has anybody changed their A-2 zipper? what length would you recommend? A lot of the options on the net. that I've found are talon zippers of length max 50cm. Only just a few retailers have 56cm max.
It's in Japanese but if you're in need of talon zippers here's what I found:
Two crafting websites that seem to have some Talon zipper choice. It's not mentioned anywhere if these are made in Japan. BUT Japan shops tend to sell Japanese product or clearly state it's Chinese made. So I would lean towards thinking the zippers advertised are indeed made in Japan.
- https://www.leathercraft.jp/search?search_keyword=タロンジッパー
- https://leather-material.com/?pid=153712334
The third one is a bit of an odd ball (as often with Japanese websites)
it's not a retailer but a craftsman's shop who specialises in leather repairs and seems to have quite a bit of expertise in A-2 and G-1 jackets. I will email to see if they offer their services to worldwide clients and if it's possible to buy Talon and wool from them.
-http://ares-jp.sakura.ne.jp/flightrepairparts1.html
I'll keep searching to see if I find anything else.
Wedge417
Active Member
Some Update on the zippers.
I decided to go with www.leathercraft.jp
They offer the largest selection of Talon zippers. The website has a "westernised" version in English, but not all the items are displayed there. The Japanese version is much more complete. You can navigate it with google translate's web page language converter.
I contacted them directly to enquire about shipping to Europe. They offer DHL and FeDex, at a reasonable price.
As for the zippers, they are hand made repros from what I can understand and are made to demand. It takes about 2 weeks for a batch to be ready.
The communication was fast and fluid in Japanese. I don't know if they speak English, but considering they have an English version website I would imagine they can.
I ordered their most expansive zipper, a 56 cm long nickel Talon. They say it's equivalent in size to a YKK5.
https://media.leathercraft.jp/img/goods/29344/lctlnzp50n_all2.jpg
I hope this will be what I need to replace my A-2 zipper.
The price of the zipper + shipping to Europe = 32 euros or 37 dollars. And they add a freebie just because... hey! Japan customer service !
I decided to go with www.leathercraft.jp
They offer the largest selection of Talon zippers. The website has a "westernised" version in English, but not all the items are displayed there. The Japanese version is much more complete. You can navigate it with google translate's web page language converter.
I contacted them directly to enquire about shipping to Europe. They offer DHL and FeDex, at a reasonable price.
As for the zippers, they are hand made repros from what I can understand and are made to demand. It takes about 2 weeks for a batch to be ready.
The communication was fast and fluid in Japanese. I don't know if they speak English, but considering they have an English version website I would imagine they can.
I ordered their most expansive zipper, a 56 cm long nickel Talon. They say it's equivalent in size to a YKK5.
https://media.leathercraft.jp/img/goods/29344/lctlnzp50n_all2.jpg
I hope this will be what I need to replace my A-2 zipper.
The price of the zipper + shipping to Europe = 32 euros or 37 dollars. And they add a freebie just because... hey! Japan customer service !
Wedge417
Active Member
The zipper has been received.
As always with the Japanese efficiency, It was all very well packed and quickly dispatched.
Here are some pictures of the zipper. I'm no expert in Talon zippers in regards to vintage jackets. Perhaps some of you can comment on the accuracy or specify which model.
The zipper feels heavy and well made. I'm rather happy with it to replace my existing repro A-2's broken zipper. It'll do the trick just fine.
As always with the Japanese efficiency, It was all very well packed and quickly dispatched.
Here are some pictures of the zipper. I'm no expert in Talon zippers in regards to vintage jackets. Perhaps some of you can comment on the accuracy or specify which model.
The zipper feels heavy and well made. I'm rather happy with it to replace my existing repro A-2's broken zipper. It'll do the trick just fine.
Wedge417
Active Member
Getting back to that zipper business, I finally received a proper zipper for my A-2.
Still from a Japan. From a place called Phoenix Leather Crafts: https://phoenix-shop.jp
This time the ordering process was a bit more tedious as it was a small workshop and it's only run by a couple of people. Japanese language of course but you could always try in English or with google translate to communicate.
You get to choose from a wide variety of choices colours and styles. Then they make it to order in about a week or two. Count another week for shipping by EMS and there it is.
I wanted to get the cheapest shipping costs of course, but it's crazy how shipping has sky rocketed since the beginning of the gig.
DHL was as expansive as the zipper. I opted for EMS shipment instead.
Total, zipper + shipping to Europe was around ¥4500 / $39.
All in all. I got the zipper I wanted to mount on my old A-2.
I hope this can help those in need of zippers made in Japan.
Still from a Japan. From a place called Phoenix Leather Crafts: https://phoenix-shop.jp
This time the ordering process was a bit more tedious as it was a small workshop and it's only run by a couple of people. Japanese language of course but you could always try in English or with google translate to communicate.
You get to choose from a wide variety of choices colours and styles. Then they make it to order in about a week or two. Count another week for shipping by EMS and there it is.
I wanted to get the cheapest shipping costs of course, but it's crazy how shipping has sky rocketed since the beginning of the gig.
DHL was as expansive as the zipper. I opted for EMS shipment instead.
Total, zipper + shipping to Europe was around ¥4500 / $39.
All in all. I got the zipper I wanted to mount on my old A-2.
I hope this can help those in need of zippers made in Japan.
Dany McDonald
Well-Known Member
Nice tape and box, I'd slap an original Talon slider just for fun.
Thanx for sharing.
Dany
Thanx for sharing.
Dany
