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 WEFApril 2 2025

 

 

IRVIN A2      
Mould treatment     13.10     Cuffs Supply   33.20
Front zip fit   57.50     Cuffs fit   28.30
Sleeve zip long   57.50     Cuff & waistband set fit   56.80
Riri zip     30.60     Cuff & waistband set supplt   66.40
Byson “DOT” front zip     65.80     Waistband fit   28.30
DOT arm zip short   82.90     Waistband supply   33.20
Riri zip     15.30     Clean & condition light   38.30
With Byson “DOT” puller     32.90     Clean & condition heavy   63.70
YKK zip per inch   15.30     Fit zips     57.40
New banding "   2.40     Talon M39 (triple marked)     114.90
Seams under banding for hole from 3.70     Talon zip M-42     71.30
Insert per sq in   1.00     Conmar M-41     63.70
Shorten cuffs with zips >2"   62.20     Talon zip M45 quality repro     27.50
Shorten cuffs with zips     112.00     Conmar M41 quality repro     34.70
Re-make collar     65.80     Crown Chevron NOS     160.00
Wartime Lightning zip (front)     153.70     Collar     25.50
Wartime DOT zip dt     153.70     Hook & eye     6.30
Wartime DOT zip st     133.20     Re-line in cotton     178.40
Neck strap     13.10     Re-line with customer provided fabric     149.20
D rings & strap     15.30     Re-line with stand collar     198.00
Area of stitching     6.40 min   Repair patch pocket     25.50
Mend & Patch     13.10 min          
Repair half belt     13.10 (each side)   G-1      
Make half belt     63.80 Complete - buckle   Fit zips     57.20
Belt loop (make & fit)     15.30     Cuffs fit   28.30
Zip puller (make & fit)     9.00     Cuffs supply   25.40
Hanging loop     10.30     Waistband fit   28.30
Anti-fungal treatment     38.40     Waistband double fit   38.20
Clean & condition light   51.00     Waistband single supply   49.30
Clean & condition heavy from   63.80     Collar fit   13.10
Clean to work     13.10     Collar     54.80
Condition only     19.20     Conmar zip, brass, "safety pin" puller     81.50
Extend sleeve where cut down     43.80 (each side)          
Restore cuffs (ea)     27.30     G3      
Shorten sleeves without moving zip     62.40     Make side strap per half   13.10
Shorten sleeves moving zip     120.60     Buckle     13.10
Restore waist     109.60            
Rivets     6.50     D1      
Hand sewing per inch     1.25     Make collar     54.80
Machine sewing per inch     0.50            
Elastic collar strap Byson repro     35.00     M422a      
      0.00     Waistband fit   65.80
B3     0.00            
Replace straps     13.10 Each.   MA1      
Replace cuffs     61.50     Knit collar     poa
Replace collar     82.00 (fit only)          
            Misc items      
            Storage bag for jackets &c     £72.48

And this...

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

Original zips for Irvin jacketscan 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 GJ Warr, cash, postal orders or direct payment to our bank (details on request). We can also take payment by Pay Pal for 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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