Zipper on G-1 should I replace

[bobbyball]

Hi everyone,

I think I know the answer to this but wanted some other expert opinions.

I have a Werber Sportswear 7823 contract which I recently bought off ebay. The pics were not great but it was very cheap and the jacket is magnificent.

Everything is original except the zipper. This looks to be an early replacement as it is a small tooth Ideal brass zip with a rectangular puller. and was carefully put in using existing stitch holes. It may even be a period repair but obviously is not original to the contract – Werber used Talons I believe?

To be honest, it doesn’t stand out as being a replacement and I run the risk of getting it replaced and not being done as well. Also there is the cost or sourcing of a full-length Talon which may not be that easy. From what I can make out, the cost of a NOS zipper and having it fitted may be more than I paid for the jacket.

What do others think?

 

[Atticus Finch]

I don't think replacing the zip with a new Talon will increase the value of your jacket to a collector...especially if the existing zipper was an old repair. I think many would argue that a repair that was made during the jacket's service is part of the jacket's history...and replacing the replacement would actually de-value the jacket.

But I wouldn't argue such nonsense because I've never much bought into that "jacket history" mindset.

I think that if you are OK with the existing zipper, and it still functions, then there is no reason to change it. But if you are like me, the non-spec zipper will be the first thing you see every time you look at the jacket, so sooner or later you'll get around to replacing it. Especially if, sometime down the road, you stumble onto a good deal on a NOS Talon.

AF

 

[bobbyball]

Yes Atticus, you are not far off my line of thinking.

I don’t think I would sell this as it is a rare contract and I like the fit and condition.

A compromise may be that I put a Talon Bell puller on it as the zip is the same as a Talon anyway and the stopper box is very generic.

If I had paid a lot for the jacket, I would probably be more dissapointed but I am really splitting hairs.

It doesn’t detract from the jacket and would only really be noticed by someone in the know. As you say, repairs are part of the life of a jacket. One of my M422a jackets has a period Talon which has the “civilian” shaped puller but it is late 1940s and I would never replace this – I am sure that the jackets that received a good deal of wear did have replaced zips as the treatment they got in the field was such that this type of repair was inevitable.

In many ways, I think the windflap (whilst essential to the design of these jackets) probably caused more problems than it solved due to the ease of snagging it in the zip.

When you are scrambling for a Hellcat in the Pacific the last thing on your mind is taking your time with the zip!!