Ribbon Repair

Ken · January 04, 2007, 03:44:21 AM

Is there a way to repair a frayed ribbon? Because I tried to reposition a ribbon on my ribbon rack due to receiving another ribbon and the brass holder that holds the fabric in place came partially out and the fabric won't go back in.

Fixed spelling in topic title. - MIKE

MIKE · January 04, 2007, 03:50:55 AM

Easy fix is to buy new ribbons and have a few spares around.

T34 Flyer · January 04, 2007, 04:41:12 AM

http://www.ultrathin.com/

Check out this site. I like the magnetic ribbons.

Therefore I recommend just replacing.

DNall · January 04, 2007, 06:17:30 AM

^^ Lil pricy, but do great work.

You can get the metal backer in again if you're careful. If it doesn't go back in easily then it's best to take it off & try from scratch. I find the best thing is to set top or bottom in place & apply pressure to pop the other side over into place. It's a little rough, but avoids fraying. Once frayed you're in trouble. I did that to my unit citation taking it off to add a clasp, but luckly it interchangable & I could flip it so the slightly frayed side was down into other ribbons, which holds it nice & tight.

I'm going to have to reset the whole thing pretty soon here though so I might go w/ the above or just build a new set on my own. We'll see.

Al Sayre · January 04, 2007, 12:27:20 PM

IMHO it's not worth the trouble to spend more than about 5 minutes trying to fix a $.80 ribbon. Get together with a few others from your squadron and order new ones from Vanguard or the Hock and split the shipping...

MIKE · January 04, 2007, 04:15:58 PM

I kinda like the plastic ribbon bars better than the typical metal ones. I find that with the plastic ones I can snap the ribbon on exactly where I need it versus sliding them on the typical "V" channel Unimount bars, so I'm less likely to damage one... Plus it's plastic instead of thin metal which can bend out of shape and is sharp. The thing with the plastic mounts and some of the single row metal ones is that in order for them to fit correctly you should pin any attachments through both the ribbon and holding bar itself. Learned this the hard way...This could be a problem if you remount ribbons frequently and thus is the advantage of the "V" channel mounts.

The plastic ones when mounted have a thinner profile than the Unimounts also... They are the poor man's UltraThins.

A.Member · January 04, 2007, 04:34:03 PM

Are you kidding? Repair it? Just buy a new one. As pointed out, they're less than a buck.

You're not the same guy that wanted to make his own service coat are you?

Eclipse · January 04, 2007, 04:40:29 PM

Yes!

They don't last forever. You should order several when you receive one and replace regulalry, especially if you wear them a lot.

I've seen members with ribbons that are torn and dirty, literally.

Terrible.

MIKE · January 04, 2007, 04:43:50 PM

Solution: Only wear 'em on service dress.

MattPHS2002 · January 04, 2007, 05:03:57 PM

No that wasn't me, ribbons I'll buy cause they are cheap, it sucks but it happens. The service coat is to expensive to buy.

davedove · January 04, 2007, 05:07:57 PM

Quote from: MIKE on January 04, 2007, 04:43:50 PM
Solution: Only wear 'em service dress.

Some folks just like to wear their ribbons. And for those, I would recommend having a second set that you only wear on the service dress.

DNall · January 04, 2007, 08:57:54 PM

I got one set I use on service dress, and RARELY I'll pull it out for some kind of long sleeve kinda formal thing that isn't appropriate for the service coat (cause it's so much easier to just put on the coat).

For sure replacement is the best deal. However, just cause the metal backer slides halfway out doesn't mean it needs preplacement. Half of them do that when you try to put them on the bar for the first time. I don't think I'd be paying $7.80 & wait two months to give it another try. If the fabric is visually damaged, then you got no choice but to replace, but a little fray on the back cause the brass backer slid around a bit isn't a problem as long as it doesn't effect the visual appearance form the front.