BYSON LEATHER

 

 

Please read this.

Prices for wartime Irvin work (and to a lesser extent that on other vintage flying kit) are a guide. These garments are getting on for 80 odd years old in some cases and working on them can be a minefield. When you send an Irvin jacket (or any other vintage flying kit) to us, PLEASE don't cram it in a bag. Place it in a box, as flat and unfolded as possible -they really can be that delicate. On receipt we will go over it and send you an ESTIMATE detailing the work we consider necessary. Sometimes you may be able to "cherry pick" from this but sadly for some jackets, when we say "necessary" we mean it.
We have tried to provide this estimate service at no charge but for Irvins and some others we have to charge for time. A recent jacket took us well over an hour and a half to go over.

We would rather not alter wartime jackets. We will (and can) however alter modern reproductions within reason. As always it is easier to make them a little smaller rather than a little larger and although we CAN make them a bit larger, matching the hide for inserts is not always possible. We can't alter them blind however and a visit will almost certainly be necessary. A good opportunity to visit the IWM at Duxford.

The price guide is not exhaustive, it just covers the more common repairs on the more usual garments.

 

Prices WEF Feb1 2024

 

                   
IRVIN A2      
Mould treatment fit   £13.10     Cuffs Fit   £33.20
Front zip fit   £57.50     Cuffs Supply   £28.30
Sleeve zip long   £57.50     Cuff & waistband set Supply   £56.80
Riri zip     £30.60     Cuff & waistband set Fit   £66.40
Byson DOT profile front zip     £65.80     Waistband Supply   £28.30
DOT arm zip short   £82.90     Waistband Fit   £33.20
Riri zip     £15.30     Clean & condition Light   £38.30
With Byson DOT profile puller     £32.90     Clean & condition Heavy   £63.70
YKK zip     £15.30     Fit zips     £57.40
New banding per inch   £2.40     Talon M39 (triple marked)     £114.90
Seams under banding " from £3.70     Talon zip M-42     £71.30
"Fluff transplant" for hole   £9.00     Conmar M-41     £63.70
Shorten cuffs with zips <2"   £62.20     High quality Talon M45 repro *     £27.50
Shorten cuffs with zips >2"   £112.00     High quality Conmar M41 repro *     £34.70
Re-make collar     £65.80     Collar fit   £25.50
Wartime Lightning zip (front)     £153.70     Hook & eye     £6.30
Wartime DOT zip dt     £153.70     Re-line in cotton     £178.40
Wartime DOT zip st     £133.20     Re-line with customer provided fabric     £149.20
Neck strap     £13.10     Repair patch pocket     £25.50
D rings & strap     £15.30 min   Crown, M40 Chevron 1st Model, Brown Tape     £160.00
Area of stitching     £6.40 min   G-1      
Mend & Patch     £13.10 (each side)   Fit zips     £57.20
Repair half belt     £13.10 Complete - buckle   Cuffs fit   £28.30
Make half belt     £63.80     Cuffs supply   £25.40
Belt loop (make & fit)     £15.30     Waistband fit   £28.30
Zip puller (make & fit)     £9.00     Waistband double fit   £38.20
Hanging loop     £10.30     Waistband single supply   £49.30
Anti-fungal treatment     £38.40     Collar fit   £13.10
Clean & condition light   £51.00     Collar     £54.80
Clean & condition heavy from   £63.80     Conmar zip, brass, "safety pin" puller     £81.50
Clean to work     £13.10            
Condition only     £19.20 (each side)   G3      
Extend sleeve where cut down     £43.80     Make side strap per half   £13.10
Restore cuffs (ea)     £27.30     Buckle     £13.10
Shorten sleeves without moving zip     £62.40            
Shorten sleeves moving zip     £120.60     D1      
Restore waist (per foot)     £109.60     Make collar     £54.80
Rivets     £6.50            
Collar strap Byson repro     £35.00     M422a      
            Waistband fit   £65.80
B3                  
Replace straps     £13.10 Each.   MA1      
Replace cuffs     £61.50     Knit collar     poa
Replace collar     £82.00 (fit only)          
            Miscellany      
            Storage bag in cotton / Tyvec     £68.20

 

 

And this...

Single layer waistband knits in US jackets are MUCH harder (and therefore more expensive) to fit than single layer ones. Hence the price differential.

Original zips can be HORRIBLY expensive. A nice, working DOT zip can go for well over £100 on a well-known Internet Auction site - the DOT zips tend to be much more fragile than the stronger Lightning type. The original zips we quote above for US jackets are new old stock. They are getting harder to find & are going up in price. And we can't get them in the UK so prices are subject to the vagaries of the exchange rate and HMRC.* We can however source rather good reproduction zips which in some cases (Conmar) even use original hardware on repro tape.

A couple of times we have been asked to re-line reproduction USAAF flying jackets which are lined with an"escape and evasion" map. It is pretty much impossible to source this fabric now so we have had to fit a plain lining (or even sew the old lining to a new one) Having done a bit of research into this it is now possible to offer an alternative. To order we can fit a lining with a custom map printed. This will be a modern map in most cases, but you can choose exactly what area you would like to have on it and what scale you would like.. This is NOT a cheap option (the map would cost us in the region of £50) but will be printed to a very high standard and be cartographically correct.

 

On the subject of jacket linings, we can usually use your existing lining as a pattern for the replcement BUT if you lining is in very poor condition (or, indeed, missing altogether) we will have to draw a new one and this is a 4-5 hour job so we will have to charge for this at £12.00 per hour.

I have said this elsewhere on this site but I can't over emphasize that we carry out functional REPAIRS. We don't do museum quality restoration, which is a very different thing and not something we feel we are qualified to do.

The RiRi zips we use as replacements are made to our order and are a good match in colour and size for the originals, but we order relatively short runs so even they are expensive. They are however of very high quality and if I were going to actually WEAR a wartime Irvin fitted with DOT / AM zip I suspect I would take the DOT zips out & replace them with the RiRis then keep the DOTs in a safe & mothproof place. The DOT / Lightning "profile" zip pullers we supply are not intended to be copies of the original but just to give the right look.And on the subject of WEARING wartime Irvin or similar jackets, many of them, unless very well stored, will NEVER be good for every day wear - They are just getting too fragile. We can stabilize them to a certain extent but if they are worn they should be worn rarely and with GREAT care and very much at your own risk. Having said which we occasionally see specimens that look and feel as if they were just issued so it IS possible to find a "wearer" out there, but don't expect it to be cheap.

Payment: We cannot accept credit or debit cards as the card providers charge us for the privilege and we are not allowed to pass that charge on to the VERY small number of clients who wish to pay in that way. We COULD raise all our prices to cover the eventuality that a vanishingly small number of our customers want to pay by card but we have decide simply to cease taking card payment. We can accept cheques made out to JP or GJ Warr, cash, postal orders or direct payment to our bank (details on request). We can also take payment by Pay Pal sor sums under £50.00 (again, details on request) BUT PLEASE can you ensure that we receive the invoiced sum. Direct transfer (details are on your invoice) is probably your best option if you are not visiting us.

 

 
   

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