Eastman zipper stopper woes

Downunder G Man · Jun 19, 2018

Just yesterday had the bottom original RIRI "zipper stopper" come off my youngest Eastman Luftwaffe. jacket maybe 7 years old max, fairly light use only. I am the second owner. Zipper had been stiff or "sticky" for a while. Zipper stopper and zipper puller just both fell right off and I luckily found both. ( happened on a grassed sports oval !)

My question is :

Can this be replaced as a lone item ? I would rather not rezipper the jacket if possible ?
Zipper puller goes on no worries it is just the stopper zip end part that is giving drama

I am usually fairly handy mechanically , but struggled to get this back on last night once home from work. Indeed the original "thing" broke when I held it in pliers trying to get it back up the zipper tape. Very brittle kind of cast metal.

can the piece be bought/got as a single item ? I can't get to a leather repair place until 2 weeks or more and it is midwinter here in Australia right now !

I am also struggling to add photos to the site tonight , may be my "early onset Alzheimers" again ! photo uploaded is another jacket manufacturer but clearly shows the affected part right at the bottom

Peacoat · Jun 19, 2018

If you have a tailor or a seamstress in your area, he or she may well have the part you need. Or may be willing to sell you a zipper, take the bottom stop off the new zip and put it on your zip. Hopefully that will work for you. Having a whole new zipper put on is expensive.

rocketeer · Jun 19, 2018

Contact Eastman, they may sell you a stopper but more likely have HPA or whoever is there international dealer do it for you....at a charge. If the zip tape is torn it may be a full replacement.
This is not the old style RiRi I have in my older Luftwaffe(chromed zip)

Downunder G Man · Jun 21, 2018

Thanks fellows for those replies.

After further research ( AKA the internet !) I find this part is called a "retainer box".

And yes you can order them from alibaba.com and aliexpress.com in a 'kit'.

On the back of the riri ( all lower case) puller/slider it says riri M8 and it is chrome/"shiny"

Can I assume this is a "size 8 " or a "8#" zipper ? No previous experience personally of replacing zippers.

If my Greek leather man can't help next week then I will have a good go myself.

Had to wear my Schott Leather US740 N peacoat to work today , no zippers to worry about there haha..

Peacoat · Jun 21, 2018

Odd that it was the retainer box that went bad; usually it is the bottom stop (on the other chain) that gets all the stress. You can measure the chain (closed) to see what the size is. If it measures 8 mm then it is a #8 zip or a size 8. It is probably a # 8 based on the info from the puller.

Maybe your Greek leather man could measure it and then you would know for sure. Or you could do an internet search for measuring the size of zippers. I am out of the country or I would look at the zip on my Eastman Luftwaffe and tell you.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Downunder G Man · Jun 21, 2018

Bit of a side trip here folks. My very first "quality" leather jacket was an Eastman Luftwaffe back around 1990.

Wore that jacket to way beyond "patina" riding Harleys here in Australia for over 10 years , EVERY DAY.

Eventually the original blue lining wore out , raggedy as...Got my "Greek leather man" to re-line it , in black.

At the same time he "copied' the jacket in Black goat , made as a "less warm" alternative here in warm Australian summers.

I still have both of those , "semi-retired" now ( A BIT LIKE ME REALLY I SUPPOSE , BEING 60 NEXT YEAR !)

I now know that my first/original Eastman Luftwaffe has a YKK zipper , and I honestly cannot remember having it replaced exactly when , but must have done so.

This Eastman Luftwaffe that has just dumped the "retainer box" I bought as a "barely used" jacket from ebay in the UK.

Indeed it was exactly as described , barley used indeed and became my "work" jacket as it looks OK with dress pants etc

The other 2 , the 1990 original and the Goat/Aussie remake , both are well let's say more "biker" focussed patina !

Peacoat · Jun 22, 2018

Back home and I measured the chain on my Eastman Ostmann Luftwaffe. It is 6 mm, so it is a size 6 zipper. It says "S6" on the underside of the slide as well. It appears yours is probably a #8.

In the past I have tried putting the tailor's tape across the chain. That is fairly accurate, but the best way is to use my calipers and get an exact measurement. I don't see a MM scale on my calipers so after I get the measurement across the chain, I place the caliper jaws on the MM tape and get an exact measurement. Your Greek leather guy will know how to measure it.

willyto · Jun 23, 2018

I think I'm not the only one who would love to see those Eastman and "Greekman" jackets.

Downunder G Man · Jul 3, 2018

Well made it down to my Greek leatherworker's shop/workshop today.

He decreed my zipper to be "not repairable" , and a new zipper was required. Cost will be $120 Aussie dollars.

He described to me how the RIRI zipper was a quality item when new , and the zipper box would have been swaged onto the zipper tape during manufacture

We had a chat for a wee while , I showed/reminded him of the "copy" he made for me in the early 2000's.

I was wearing it at the time and took it off to show him and his assistant. He remarked that he had not used that internal labelling for over 18 years !

However I decided to try again myself to get just a retainer box. I did not say that to him of course , just that I was going to wear the jacket unzipped all the time. ( IT MAY ACTUALLY COME TO THAT !).

Here is what I am going to try. Can be bought from China by various ways. Ex-US as well , but same manufacture. Around $14 USD for two "kits".

Peacoat · Jul 3, 2018

Good luck in "un—swaging" that box from the tape. Let us know how it goes.

Thuggee · Jul 3, 2018

Downunder G Man said:
Well made it down to my Greek leatherworker's shop/workshop today.

He decreed my zipper to be "not repairable" , and a new zipper was required. Cost will be $120 Aussie dollars.

He described to me how the RIRI zipper was a quality item when new , and the zipper box would have been swaged onto the zipper tape during manufacture

We had a chat for a wee while , I showed/reminded him of the "copy" he made for me in the early 2000's.

I was wearing it at the time and took it off to show him and his assistant. He remarked that he had not used that internal labelling for over 18 years !

However I decided to try again myself to get just a retainer box. I did not say that to him of course , just that I was going to wear the jacket unzipped all the time. ( IT MAY ACTUALLY COME TO THAT !).

Here is what I am going to try. Can be bought from China by various ways. Ex-US as well , but same manufacture. Around $14 USD for two "kits".

View attachment 125214 View attachment 125214 View attachment 125214 View attachment 125214

Out of interest can Sinikka supply another RIRI zipper? ( was $120 supplied and installed) I’ve had them do a few repairs now on jackets they do a stellar job from my experience

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seres · Jul 4, 2018

I have an Eastman A-2 with a Talon zip. After about a month of easy use, I was sitting down and must have placed a strain on the bottom of the zip. The box pulled off the tape, unhooking about 10 teeth.

After removing the jacket, I was able to knit the teeth together and then fully unzip it. Examining the box part that pulled off the tape, I noticed the box had not been fully crimped onto the tape.

The box was of somewhat soft metal, and I was able to carefully spread the box with a small screwdriver, wide enough to slide the box over the cloth tape into it’s original position. Then I crimped the box fully, like it should have been done at the factory.

For a crimp tool, I had a small pair of pliers that I ground down the jaws to make sharp points at the ends, so I could engage the existing crimp marks in the box. Hand pressure was enough to apply the crimp.

I’ve been using it over a year with no problems. Good luck!

navetsea · Jul 4, 2018

you might need a special pliers to do it properly. jewelry pliers with spring loaded handle and smooth arms/ jaw, might do the job. or if you only have toothed pliers you might need to cover the teeth with hotmelt glue temporarily for the job.

Downunder G Man · Jul 4, 2018

Peacoat, the retainer box must not have been "swaged" properly at manufacture , it just slid south.
I myself "broke" it when trying to reinstall it . Very brittle metal with not much give or flex.

Thugee, the new $120 AUD supplied and fitted zipper would have been a YKK .

I agree their work at Sinikka leather is of a high standard , but I want to try fix it myself if possible.
Call it "male pride" or whatever.

Still not 100 % pinned down a supplier of those wee retainer box kits.
Amazon will not post to Australia ( ??)
Ali express will let me register and confirm but I have trouble using their BUY NOW or ADD TO CART buttons !

Downunder G Man · Sep 3, 2018

Well folks , I have had no luck so far finding an ebay seller who will post these zipper retainer repair box kits to Australia at a decent post cost.

Crazy I know but I blame eBay's own Global post bullshit. $14 USD for 2 repair kits but $24 USD to post them to Australia ??

Point of principle I know...I have been wearing the jacket one day per week as usual, just unzipped and not on the Harley !

Ali express do not do paypal ( they had some kind of falling out I believe !) , and require credit card details logged onto the web..

NOT HAPPENING so call me a wimp..

To put things in perspective , I have just bought an A-2 Horsehide jacket and the post cost across Australia is $14.80 Australia and that is HEAVY/BULKY

Will keep this thread updated

Jeremiah · Sep 4, 2018

well. I guess it all comes down to this. Are you wanting a zipper that works more than your pride of not having to pony up (not saying you should have to, but it is what it is. I can relate. I once lived in Malaysia and getting things shipped there from home was a nightmare to say the least)?

The Big Kahuna · Sep 7, 2022

I have a similar problem with a zipper retainer. Any news /update on the repair ?

I can see this is an older thread.

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