# Barbour Repair Question



## ds23pallas (Aug 22, 2006)

Good morning everyone,

I have an old and very well worn (okay, battered) Barbour Beaufort that I picked up in London many years ago. It has served me very well and now requires much TLC. I have been waxing it annually, but several small holes and a few small tears have developed, mostly in the areas that bend and crease frequently. There is also a tear of about 2 cm along the leading edge of one of the storage pockets. The bottom area of the lining has also become tatty.

Has anyone had any recent experience with sending their Barbour to the repair facility in New Hampshire? I am curious mostly about the turnaround time, and secondly cost.

I have a detachable hood that I don't use anymore. I was considering sacrificing the hood for use as patches, but I wouldn't know how to go about the next step in effecting a repair. Does Barbour simply sew on patches to cover up holes and tears? 

Where I live I use the jacket all the time, in winter and even some of summer's cool and rainy days. I do not want to be without it for a lengthy period of time. 

Thank you for your input. 

ds23pallas


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## TweedyDon (Aug 31, 2007)

Don't sacrifice the hood. Barbour sells repair kits that include swatches of wax cotton for use as patchs, swatches of lining material, their own thread, thimble, needle, and so on. they can be found relatively cheaply on eBay. I'm in the middle of renovating my almost-destroyed with wear Border, and find the kit more than adequate for the patching that I'm having to do--and I have a *lot* of patching!

From what I understand about your Beaufort, I think that you simply do the repairs yourself, or else take it to a competent alterations tailor who should be able to do them for you if you provide her or him with a repair kit. 

I'd be interested to hear from others about the NH repair facility, though! I have a very old International that needs work...


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## Naval Gent (May 12, 2007)

I've got a Beaufort with the exact same kind of wear. I have repaired it and re-repaired it, mostly on the wrists but also some holes in the body and torn seams. I just let the lining go at the bottom. I did the most repair work myself. A long time ago I did send it to the New Hampshire facility to repair the fraying cuffs, but I don't remember the turn around time.

I did want to say that once you get that thinning where the jacket creases, the jacket isn't very waterproof anymore, no matter how much wax you rub on. I wore mine on a shooting trip to Scotland in November 2005, and got pretty wet and cold. I realized then it was time for a new one. This might not matter to you if watertightness is not at a premium.

You can get repair kits that have the cloth, thread, wax and all that stuff so you need not sacrifice your hood.

My old Beaufort still hangs in my garage. I threw it on earlier this week when I went for a spin on my motorcycle.

Scott


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## M. Charles (Mar 31, 2007)

Just curious...how long, and with how much wear, does it take for a Barbour to become in this condition? I have no idea on the life expectancy of one of these jackets.


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## TweedyDon (Aug 31, 2007)

Mind took ten years to get like this--worn constantly (almost every day), and pretty much abused (carrying very heavy objects in the pockets, for example), with little care being expended on it. Looked after properly I suspect a Barbour could last for ages.


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## M. Charles (Mar 31, 2007)

TweedyDon said:


> Mind took ten years to get like this--worn constantly (almost every day), and pretty much abused (carrying very heavy objects in the pockets, for example), with little care being expended on it. Looked after properly I suspect a Barbour could last for ages.


That's great to hear. How often did you rewax it?


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## ds23pallas (Aug 22, 2006)

M. Charles said:


> Just curious...how long, and with how much wear, does it take for a Barbour to become in this condition? I have no idea on the life expectancy of one of these jackets.


I think I bought mine in 2000. It is the "Traditional" finish. I also had the "Classic" but I did not like that one as much so passed it on to a friend. I kept the hood and the liner, however.

I wear mine most days as well, and often carry a lot of junk in the pockets, especially the game pocket. It also gets a fair amount of use in the country, carrying wood, clearing brush, playing with large dogs and whatnot. I also have an even older International jacket that gets worn much less frequently. It has developed a couple of small holes near the pockets, which I found a bit surprising. Doesn't bother me much though.

ds23pallas


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## Naval Gent (May 12, 2007)

M. Charles said:


> Just curious...how long, and with how much wear, does it take for a Barbour to become in this condition? I have no idea on the life expectancy of one of these jackets.


I probably bought the one I described around 1991 or 1992. It was my primary jacket for many years.

Scott


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## TweedyDon (Aug 31, 2007)

M. Charles said:


> That's great to hear. How often did you rewax it?


Just once, last year--when it *really* needed it! I'm looking after my Barbour far better now. :icon_smile:


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## ds23pallas (Aug 22, 2006)

*Barbour Harris Tweed*

I should have added that at the same time I also purchased a Barbour Harris Tweed sports jacket. It is one of the favoured pieces in my closet. I wear it frequently and it simply gets better with age. Much softer than when new, with no signs of wear. Sadly, it has been discontinued. If you can ever find one, I would highly recommend it.

ds23pallas


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## Grayland (Oct 22, 2007)

I bought a second hand Beaufort in Jan. of 08. The sleeves had been shortened and I needed another inch in length (insert joke here!). I sent it in and also had the jacket rewaxed. Only took about 2 weeks. Cost $108. Pretty pricy, but it's a hassle to lengthen sleeves in that they had to extend the sleeve liner too. I think I've read the rewax is about $40, but I didn't receive an itemized invoice, so I'm not sure.


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## Danny (Mar 24, 2005)

I had mine rewaxed in NH about $35-40 I think. Quick turnaround, good job with the waxing. I assume if they are the 'official' Barbour service center, they will do at least a reasonable job with most repairs. Don't expect it to be dirt cheap though, I'm sure it takes some time to address individual repairs completely as well as the Barbour coats being more or less luxury products, so they will be charging appropriately.

Danny


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## MichaelB (Dec 17, 2004)

I just had my Beaufort (about 18 years old) reconditioned at Barbour New Hampshire. Waxed, repaired sleeves and cuffs, resewn pocket stitching, replaced some snaps for the pile lining. It took about ten days and cost about $140. Excellent work.


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## qwerty (Jun 24, 2005)

They do do a great job in NH.

I sent my Beaufort there for rewaxing last year. I also wrote them very specific instructions for a few repairs (e.g., a torn pocket seam). My jacket came back with shortened sleeves (2"). Clearly they had made an error. They were quite happy to fix the error (rushed, one wk turnaround, by the way). How'd they do it? Removed the original sleeves and sewed new ones on. The workmanship was incredible. The only issue is that now my sleeves are 2 years younger than the rest of the jacket. Originally this looked VERY odd in natural light. Now the jacket has pretty much evened out in color.


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## Pgolden (May 13, 2006)

They are wonderful in NH. I actually spent some time there to do a short magazine piece, and I met with all the repair and waxing folks. Very nice and dedicated.


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## Doctor Damage (Feb 18, 2005)

qwerty said:


> They do do a great job in NH.
> 
> I sent my Beaufort there for rewaxing last year. I also wrote them very specific instructions for a few repairs (e.g., a torn pocket seam). My jacket came back with shortened sleeves (2"). Clearly they had made an error. They were quite happy to fix the error (rushed, one wk turnaround, by the way). How'd they do it? Removed the original sleeves and sewed new ones on. The workmanship was incredible. The only issue is that now my sleeves are 2 years younger than the rest of the jacket. Originally this looked VERY odd in natural light. Now the jacket has pretty much evened out in color.


I'm amazed the "local" branch of Barbour can do such work. I'd have thought serious repairs or modifications would need to be done in the UK. Impressive.

DD


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## Goose (Nov 20, 2007)

I have used the NH center for some repairs and can say they are very competent, I had my cuffs and hand warmer pockets tipped in "leather" a good job as it lasted many more years without fraying or wear , My local tailor did a good job as well with the advantage of being able to say to a live person what you need/want. As much as Barbour makes out there products to be made of fairy wings and star dust- its just cotton cloth and any good tailor can work with it.


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## Sharon G (Jul 11, 2008)

I know you posted your message in April, but I only just joined, so sorry if you already have this sorted. I know in the UK that Barbour have now discontinued their repair kit and so if you havent got one, you are unlikely to be able to do so. This may be a different story in USA and Canada, Im not sure. However, if you speak to Barbour Inc in New Hampshire they should be able to let you know costs etc - (603) 673 1313. I have seen jackets that have been patched and they do make a really good job of it - in some circumstances you can hardly tell the work has been done.


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## fishertw (Jan 27, 2006)

*Barbour repair*

I have an old Barbour Bedale that is about ten years old. I had the Orvis shop in Atlanta return it to New Hampshire for rewaxing and patching. The total cost was about $45.(about 3 years ago) The turnaround time was about three weeks and the results were amazing. They not only make small repairs but added new material to each sleeve to cover the fraying and also patched the knitted cuffs on the inside of the sleeves. I would heartily recommend treating your old friend to this service.
Tom


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## ds23pallas (Aug 22, 2006)

Sharon G said:


> I know you posted your message in April, but I only just joined, so sorry if you already have this sorted. I know in the UK that Barbour have now discontinued their repair kit and so if you havent got one, you are unlikely to be able to do so. This may be a different story in USA and Canada, Im not sure. However, if you speak to Barbour Inc in New Hampshire they should be able to let you know costs etc - (603) 673 1313. I have seen jackets that have been patched and they do make a really good job of it - in some circumstances you can hardly tell the work has been done.


Thank you for the note, but I have had my jacket repaired. I got a repair kit from Austria so I took it and my Beafort to my local tailor shop. Despite a language barrier, she did a decent job of it, patching where necessary, and sewing the smaller tears to prevent further damage. I left the worn lining as is as that problem doesn't bother me. Turnaround was two days.


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## erbs (Feb 18, 2008)

I hope this is the right place to ask this; I didn't want to make a new thread.

Does anyone know if Barbour thornproof jackets can be reproofed with the Sylkoil wax? 

I don't like the shiny look and tacky feel of the thornproof cotton when it is new; my thornproof Beaufort has been broken in to the point that it has lost the shininess/tacky feeling and I don't want to have to go through that process again after it is rewaxed.


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## Epaminondas (Oct 19, 2009)

erbs said:


> I hope this is the right place to ask this; I didn't want to make a new thread.
> 
> Does anyone know if Barbour thornproof jackets can be reproofed with the Sylkoil wax?
> 
> I don't like the shiny look and tacky feel of the thornproof cotton when it is new; my thornproof Beaufort has been broken in to the point that it has lost the shininess/tacky feeling and I don't want to have to go through that process again after it is rewaxed.


The wax is exactly the same - it's only the finishing of the cotton fabric that varies between the traditional waxed cotton and the Sylkoil, i.e., there is no special Sylkoil wax. At least, I've been using the same Barbour wax on all of my coats, both traditional waxed smooth cotton and the sylkoil style - and the fabric retains it's respective original finish.


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## mhj (Oct 27, 2010)

My Border coat that I picked up on eBay has sharp creases on the front flap that covers the zipper. When I rewaxed I hoped that it would straighten out but it didn't. I'm hesitant to use an iron on it, anyone have an idea what to do with it?


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## 32rollandrock (May 1, 2008)

I wouldn't use an iron. Having a hard time envisioning what, exactly, you're talking about--is it creasing outward so that the storm flap is open, exposing the zipper? If that's the case, I would try snapping the storm flap shut and leaving it that way for awhile, perhaps lying flat with some books or other weight on top to keep the flap lying flat over the zipper.


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## mhj (Oct 27, 2010)

It looks like this:




The crease is very sharp, I've tried the book idea already.


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