Help.....tlsb Thigh Boot Zips

[Ruud]

Hi all, It's been a while since i started a new thread, but felt i needed the help of the 'wise ones' to rectify a little problem I have with my tslb thigh boots where the zips have gone...i basically need 2 new zips put on them including the full length 'tooth' part replacing but i'm unsure..... a) a high street cobler would have such a zipper available to replace a full length zip? if there's a manufacturer out there who would be able to do this work? any help would be greatly appreciated...otherwise this could see another nail in the tlsb's coffin as there won't be one of their wonderful creations still living on the streets of the uk.... THX R

[jo]

There are a number of cobblers that can do the job. You might be better off with a small single-owner shop than with a national chain. I think there has been several recommendations posted in the past, either here or at TFS forums.

[Guy N. Heels]

There are a number of cobblers that can do the job. You might be better off with a small single-owner shop than with a national chain. I think there has been several recommendations posted in the past, either here or at TFS forums.

Second that! Any reputable cobbler should be able to do the job. Even if you are a DIY, you should get this done professionally as it's almost impossible to sew the zips in straight by hand.

BTW, a little wax on the zips will help to keep them working nicely, but any time a zipper loses a "tooth" that's the death knell and it's time to look up the nearest cobbler. A snaggled-toothed zipper might actually work for a while, but it will surely have to be replaced before very long.

[shoerepairer]

a) a high street cobler would have such a zipper available to replace a full length zip?

Most High Street Cobblers buy zipping on a roll, then fit the ends & runners to fit the item. So any length is available. You will however be looking at a fair amount of labour time to replace two zips of this length & it will be fairly expensive to do.

have any of the teeth broken on the zip? or is the zip just bursting open as you pull up the zip runner?

Lee

[Ruud]

Most High Street Cobblers buy zipping on a roll, then fit the ends & runners to fit the item. So any length is available. You will however be looking at a fair amount of labour time to replace two zips of this length & it will be fairly expensive to do.

have any of the teeth broken on the zip? or is the zip just bursting open as you pull up the zip runner?

Lee

I wasn't sure what the state of the uk's cobblers zip lengths situation was so, thanks!

The boots must be 8 years old and have had a serious amount of wear so yes the teeth have gone on the right shaft and they both split open if i manage to get the right one done up. Actually the zip pullers went first, with the little pullers snaping off so i had to use a makeshift puller i.e. a small piece of cord attached to the zip puller body. The left boot isn't that bad tbh but if i'm getting the right one mended, i gonna do em both...Tips and soles to be done also!!! can't wait!

Thanks a million ....

[Crushinboots]

Hi Ruud I hope this helps but I have a pr of LSB brown leather thigh boots and when one of the zips went my friend very kindly took them to Timpsons the shoe repair place and they did a good job as the new zip that they put on is strong. I am now going to have the other boot zip done as its going now but there is no way I would get rid of the boots as I love all my boots I hope this helps Bye for now

[Guy N. Heels]

Along with Crushinboots remarks, let me say that there are zippers and then there are zippers. A big mistake that some mfgrs make is to use zippers that are really intended for garments in their leatherwork and footwear - big mistake! Most zippers that go into garments are really quite unsuitable for leatherwork products, which require a heavier duty zipper - one whose teeth are clearly visable. Any cobbler worth his salt knows this and has the heavyweight zippers on hand for repairs. Moreover, even in the heavyweight category there still are several grades of zipper. Most zips that go into jackets and footwear are near the low end of the scale. Some I've seen are so stout that the teeth begin to resemble the teeth in a chainsaw - obviously, a little bit of overkill for the average boot. For all of the above reasons, the prudent customer will take his/her repair work to a professional who knows what is required and has the materials and equipment on hand to get the job properly done. In the long run the satisfaction of a quality job is well worth the costs involved. I have had shoes and boots to last me upwards of 20 years (I actually broke through the leather upper on one pair that I'd had for about 30 years). Good quality boots and shoes that are properly cared for should easily last 10 years or more. So if the product is worth repairing, then it's worth getting the job done right! Trying to skimp on repairs is false economy.

[Ruud]

Thanks guys and gals for the suggestions on the full length zipper issue...Now i have been investigating in timpsons (UK cobblers) and other high street cobblers/repair oulets but am still struggling to find anyone who can find a zipper in 28inch in length..the most they seem to come up with is 20inches which is too short obviously! Any more suggestions as i don't feel confident in sending them to leatherworks.com for an overhaul looking at previous reports on their service levels! this will be my final and last option once i have explored the rest!! ANY IDEAS??? Thanks Ruud

[shoerepairer]

sounds very strange! As I said before, the majority of repairs buy zipping on a roll, I buy about 20 metres at a time, so you'd have to have very long legs for these not to be possible! I am also surprised Timpson could not help you either, any repairs they cannot do in branch they can send to a central workshop which just does this sort of work only. so not being able to get the zips done, just because of there length seams a bit odd to me. You can go into any haberdashery shop & buy zips of this length, you can even buy an open ended zip of 30" & have it cut to the correct 28" & have the bottom stitched into the boot, meaning the "open end" fittings are of no importance. if the only issue is the length then supply the zip. Although reading between the lines I suspect this isn't the main issue???? I would be astonished if Timpson especially didn't at least give you a price? Lee

[Guy N. Heels]

Most High Street Cobblers buy zipping on a roll, then fit the ends & runners to fit the item. So any length is available... Lee

Thanks guys and gals for the suggestions on the full length zipper issue...Now i have been investigating in timpsons (UK cobblers) and other high street cobblers/repair oulets but am still struggling to find anyone who can find a zipper in 28inch in length..the most they seem to come up with is 20inches which is too short obviously!

Any more suggestions as i don't feel confident in sending them to leatherworks.com for an overhaul looking at previous reports on their service levels! this will be my final and last option once i have explored the rest!!

ANY IDEAS???

Thanks

Ruud

As Lee stated above, many repair shops buy the zipper material on a roll. In that manner, even if you needed to replace the zipper on a case for a long-barreled shotgun with a polychoke (roughly 50 inches) - no problem.

Therefore, instead of sending the boots somewhere, you ought to phone around a bit and find out who has the zipper material on a roll so that you can be sure that they can make one long enough. Also, when you find a shop that carries the material on a roll you can be pretty sure that they have all the other things necessary to get the job done and that they've already replaced a few zippers before you ever rang-up. Then you carry your boots in and tell them what you need done. Once you've done that, they ought to be able to handle it from there.