I have a couple Filson leather briefcases that have broken latches,
and I'm looking for replacement latches.  I found neilsonsessions.com,
but I'd rather have proper briefcase latches.

The pin-through-leather latches are NOT what I want, even though those
are the only latches visible on Filson's website
(http://www.filson.com/252X.htm).  What I want is the "squeeze and
push through" style of latch, where there's a metal button that gets
pushed down, and then through a metal hoop to secure it.

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Request for Question Clarification by scriptor-ga on 16 Jun 2004 18:14 PDT

Dear cjastram,

Just to make sure I'm on the right track - are thes the kind of
latches you have in mind?
http://www.hohm.com/hrdwre/hly-02.JPG
http://www.hohm.com/BAGS/hrdwre/inslck2.JPG

Regards,
Scriptor

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Clarification of Question by cjastram-ga on 16 Jun 2004 21:18 PDT

Woooo!

Yes, those are exactly the kind of latches I'm looking for.

Being able to purchase in lots of less than 100 would also be really good...!

Dear cjastram,

The search proved to be much harder than I thought. I managed to find
out that this kind of lock is known as "tuck lock", "tuck catch-lock",
"tuck tite", "tuck buckle", etc. However, finding a retail source for
those parts is almost impossible. As it seems, tuck locks are items
usually bought by leather goods manufacturers in large quantities
only.

Here are the only sources hours of research have produced:

http://www.tandyleather.com/prodinfo.asp?number=1150700&variation=&aitem=2&mitem=11

Tandy Leather offers a nickle finish tuck lock, for $2.49. However,
the company explicitly offers assistance if customers have special
needs. So you might want to inquite whether they could supply other
variants of tuck locks, too:

Tandy Leather Company
PO Box 791
Ft. Worth, TX 76101
--
Phone: 800-433-3201
Fax: 817-496-9806
E-Mail: tand-e-mail@tandyleather.com 
Website: http://www.tandyleather.com/


Another possible source is WBC Industries, a manufacturer and
distributor of hardware. They have two tuck locks in their catalog,
MBA051 and MB6PA:
http://www.wbcindustries.com/pm_corners_locks.html

WBC Industries explicitly state that they have no minimum order
requirements. So they might be able to either deliver direct or at
least name a retailer carrying those particular products:

WBC Industries
625 Central Avenue
Westfield, NJ 07090
--
Phone: 1-800-818-2932 / (908) 789-1234
Fax: (877) 483-5276 / (908) 232-5219
E-Mail: sales@wbcindustries.com
Website: http://www.wbcindustries.com/


I really hope that this will help. It's been one of the hardest
searches I have done so far, much to my surprise.
Best regards,
Scriptor

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Clarification of Answer by scriptor-ga on 17 Jun 2004 13:52 PDT

I would like to add that I still continue searching for additional retail sources.

Scriptor

---

Clarification of Answer by scriptor-ga on 17 Jun 2004 14:03 PDT

My dear colleague researcher Nancy has found this source for tuck locks:
http://www.atcoproducts.com/tucklocks.html

Though Atco is not a retailer, they might be willing to also sell a
small quantity of those locks. Here is contact information:

Atco Products, Inc.
189-V Frelinghuysen Ave.
Newark, NJ 07114-1595
--
Phone: 1-800-443-8256 (USA)
Phone: 1-973-242-5757 (International)
Fax : 1-973-242-0131
E-Mail: sales@atcoproducts.com
Website: http://www.atcoproducts.com/index.html


Also, have you already inquired with the Filson customer service? It
is possible that they would be able to send you exactly the
replacement tuck locks you need:

Phone: 1-800-297-1897
E-Mail: service@filson.com


Regards,
Scriptor

Wonderful results.  I'm usually pretty good with searching google, but
I had a stumper question, and it got answered!