Where to buy material or ready-made cuffs and waistband?

[Swedish_Pilot]

Hi!

The "nylon" cuffs and waistband of my old Flightsuits Civil A-2 are falling apart (them nylon things are really appalling in my opinion).

As I don't want to send the jacket to Flightsuits for replacement (it's a quite long way from Sweden to USA), I contacted them to see if it would be possible to buy knew cuffs and waistband in wool this time (as the Historical A-2s feature). I think it would be possible to find a local tailor that could have them sewed on, but FS only offer them in russet color, which I don't know if it will go well together with my dark seal colored jacket.

So does anyone know where to get wool cuffs and waistband, preferable in that rust color as Aero offers??

BTW, Aero doesn't sell just the material or ready-to-sew on items; they want to do the replacement themselves for a handsome 45£ amount (+ shipping) which is almost 1/6 part of a new Real Deal jacket!

/S_P

 

[Anonymous]

I don't know the answer but if you ever find them please let me know too.

 

[Swedish_Pilot]

don't know the answer but if you ever find them please let me know too.
I don't know the answer but if you ever find them please let me know too.

I'll do that!

So far I'm quite astonished about the lack of interest some A-2 manufacturers show in the subject.
For example, I e-mailed Eastman a week ago to ask if they do replacements or if the could just sell the things. I haven't even got an answer.

As I previously wrote, I contacted Flightsuits/G&B as they made my jacket originally. They answered about nylon cuffs and sent me a quotation. In the same time they told me that they only have russet wool ones (which I guess they meant wouldn't fit my seal brown jacket?).

But when specifying again that I'm not at all interested in any kind of nylon stuff, but only the wool ones they run (even if they are russet) and would like a quotation for them, they didn't answer me.

Is cuff/waistband replacement a sensitive or politically incorrect subject in the A-2 manufacturers' world? How about "the customer first" principle?

 

[Anonymous]

I think I can help. The "Russet" color F/S uses is a generic reddish brown and looks great on a russet color jacket or a seal. In fact the contrast on a seal jacket with F/S "russet" knits looks fantastic and very period correct in my eyes. F/S wool knits are very inexpensive to buy and IMHO look great, and most important to me, they last. Its worth an e mail or two to get some. F/S does not have an attitude about selling knits like the euro jacket makers seem to have. If they have them in stock they are happy to sell them.

 

[Swedish_Pilot]

I think I can help. The "Russet" color F/S uses is a generic reddish brown and looks great on a russet color jacket or a seal. In fact the contrast on a seal jacket with F/S "russet" knits looks fantastic and very period correct in my eyes. F/S wool knits are very inexpensive to buy and IMHO look great, and most important to me, they last. Its worth an e mail or two to get some. F/S does not have an attitude about selling knits like the euro jacket makers seem to have. If they have them in stock they are happy to sell them.

Hi wing nut!
Thanks for the info!

I'll try again with F/S then!

/S_P

 

[atkins]

Let us know how it goes, Pilot! Agree with wingnut F/S does a perfect russet knits.

Regards,
Atkins

 

[fishmeok]

Get the knits that they use on the historical A-2, it's a finer ribbing than the standard. Good stuff, for price and service FS can't be beat. Also a good place to get zippers.

Cheers
Mark

 

[Swedish_Pilot]

Thanks for the advice!

I finally got some info from F/S.

The cuffs would cost $7.50/pair and the waistband $12.50. The shipping to Sweden would be $24, a total of $44 that means.

Which alternative would then be cheaper, to buy the stuff from F/S and have a local tailor put them on, or to accept Aero's offer and send the jacket to them for a total of £45 for the replacement + shipping costs?

/S_P

 

[atkins]

I'd choose the F/S offer and have local tailor do the magic.Thanks for the FS wool 's price, i'll need them someday. Don't forget photos!photos! photos! before and after.

Good Luck,

Atkins

 

[barnes_fr]

I would like to replace the knits. What is the store you call F/S ? Do you another store for a G1 ?

 

[R7000]

I would try these outfits

http://www.800branded.com/

This is Branded/Orchard which makes MIL spec A-2s and G-1s. They recently sold me a zipper.

Also:

http://www.ourleathershop.com/cleaningleather.htm

This is Taylor's Leatherwear in Tennessee. They changed some knits for me and do excellent work for reasonable prices.
They have A-2, G-1 and rib rack knits.

Good luck. Tom

 

[jack aranda]

I recently bought a set of the historical A-2 wool knits from FlightSuits for my Star 55J14 :shock: (pause here until the gasps of horror and outrage die down at this bit of HIS--Historically Inaccurate Sacrilige ) I had them put on locally at Johnson Leather. They look great, feel fine, work swell. Cost was as you described S_P. Nice people, too.

They are of fine enough quality I do not think 'pilling' will be an issue. Nor do I think the wool/elastic will 'collapse' and become loose and floppy. Time will tell about these two issues. Like you, S_P, when I started looking around I was surprised at the paucity of options. You'd think there'd be a plethora of after-market knits available.

Hope this helps in your decision-making. And, thanks, R7000 for the info about Orchard and Taylor. Two more resources.

 

[zoomer]

A small bit of advice: There's a reason so many jacketheads send things back to the original maker: resale value.

Just remember your jackets are not just clothing: they are artifacts of authenticity, and as such, they need to be kept as original as possible.

 

[442RCT]

WW2 A-2 A2 G-1 G1 Jacket A1 Wrist Cuffs WAISTBAND
Seller in Japan sez it's BR/RM wool
http://cgi.ebay.com/WWII-WW2-A-2-A2-G-1 ... 3a563a8875

 

[deeb7]

I would like to replace the knits. What is the store you call F/S ? Do you another store for a G1 ?

F/S is Flight Suits, or Gibson & Barnes ...

http://www.gibson-barnes.com/index.php?id=53

 

[brownbanana]

Reviving this thread for a moment.

Sent F/S aka G&B an email over the weekend looking to purchase several sets wrist cuffs and waistbands. Perhaps I am impatient, but I figured to hopefully get a reply today. None so far.

From the looks of the original post, G&B took several days to reply to Swedish_Pilot's email. Is this normal? And could anyone chime in on the process/contact they've had with G&B over purchasing knits? Hope I don't sound crazy, lol, based on the pricing and availability of the M422A knits, they seem to be the perfect option for me to repair some G-1s and stash away some knits for future use.

 

[bfrench]

Reviving this thread for a moment.

Sent F/S aka G&B an email over the weekend looking to purchase several sets wrist cuffs and waistbands. Perhaps I am impatient, but I figured to hopefully get a reply today. None so far.

From the looks of the original post, G&B took several days to reply to Swedish_Pilot's email. Is this normal? And could anyone chime in on the process/contact they've had with G&B over purchasing knits? Hope I don't sound crazy, lol, based on the pricing and availability of the M422A knits, they seem to be the perfect option for me to repair some G-1s and stash away some knits for future use.

Hi, Folks,

They do reply but it can take a few days - they are busy.

If possible - it is better to call them - your order will probably be serviced the same day.

Cheers,
Bill French

 

[brownbanana]

Thanks for your reply. Reporting back on having completed the transaction.

I have just received the knits from G&B today and to my surprise the waistbands are not the bi-weave design as used on their M422As. I had specifically requested the M422A knits and had received the plain 60's style waistbands. I'm just wondering if this would be a mistake on their part or if they only stock the "plain" style waistbands?

It even says it's the dark brown wool M422A waistband on the invoice. Either way, the price was good and I wouldn't want to deal with the hassle of returning them, since I can hold on to them for future use. I guess I'll be keeping these...

 

[atkins]

Sorry to hear that.

 

[HackerF15E]

Are the sets of cuffs and waistband actually listed anywhere on the Gibson and Barnes website? On a short dig through the site, I couldn't find them.