[HN Gopher] YKK: Japan's Zipper King [video]
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YKK: Japan's Zipper King [video]
Author : zdw
Score : 136 points
Date : 2023-08-01 13:46 UTC (9 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.youtube.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.youtube.com)
| Thoeu388 wrote:
| [flagged]
| michaelteter wrote:
| Zippers are a tough problem. When the best, YKK, doesn't work
| reliably, you must wonder.
|
| I would ponder that velcro would be more reliable in a lot of use
| cases. And maybe there are solutions which don't require physical
| sealing, and tied or looped flaps would suffice.
| lstodd wrote:
| Even the best velcro wears down, gets contaminated, etc.
|
| A large-pitch metal zipper with corresponding cloth just
| doesn't fail if you don't use cheap materials.
| FourHand451 wrote:
| What makes zippers such a tough problem?
| michaelteter wrote:
| Material strength vs the forces applied. Zippers are perhaps
| rarely _just_ holding two same tension fabrics together.
| Often they are also supporting forces which press against the
| materials laterally, such as with bags.
|
| So you have some small pieces of plastic, namely the little
| tooths of zipper material, which must interleave and hold
| against forces trying to pull them apart.
|
| But even more than the static force against them is the force
| preventing the teeth from "sealing". Each zipper tooth has a
| somewhat conical outward protuding piece and corresponding
| tail indention to host the following piece. Forcing these
| cones-within-divots to interleave properly and stay in place
| is not easy. The materials involved must be strong but also a
| little pliable.
|
| Zipper tech is likely much more complex than would appear
| from the user perspective.
|
| Edit: also, in contrast, velcro doesn't have to connect
| perfectly as a zipper must. It can connect with a subset of
| overlap and still provide closure (in the literal sense). As
| long as what remains connected stays closed, the velcro is
| effective. But a zipper where a few teeth do not connect
| tends to break surrounding connections, leaving a large gap.
| wahnfrieden wrote:
| RiRi zippers are even finer. Italian producer. Visvim, Alyx, etc
| use them
| sjm wrote:
| Yeah RiRi zippers are great. John Elliott in the US also uses
| them.
| kosasbest wrote:
| I only learned about YKK when I heard it in an Outkast song[0],
| went to check out what the lyrics meant, and then I realized YKK
| is on every item of clothing that has a zipper (recency bias)
|
| > YKK on yo' zipper, lick you like a - lizard when I'm slizzard
| or sober; six million ways to fold ya
|
| [0]
| https://www.lyricsmania.com/so_fresh,_so_clean_lyrics_outkas...
| ebrewste wrote:
| Great to see Asianometry here. Jon has such a huge number of
| interesting videos from semiconductor industry based to water
| supply to failed business models.
| willio58 wrote:
| I want to like Asianometry, I find his video topics
| interesting, but my god the dryness puts me to sleep like no
| other. I understand this is a draw for many to watch his videos
| so I understand it's just not for me but I wonder if anyone
| else feels this way.
| jd3 wrote:
| His video topics are interesting, but I can't shake the
| feeling that I'm just watching what amounts to an ai-level
| summary of a slew of wikipedia articles with some added
| images and captions to keep viewers somewhat engaged.
| klelatti wrote:
| I don't think the YKK video is there yet but Jon also
| provides transcripts for many of his videos on his Substack,
| which might me more to your taste.
|
| Here is the one for the history of Intel and AMD.
|
| https://www.asianometry.com/p/intel-and-amd-the-
| first-30-yea...
| ahmadmijot wrote:
| I somehow like his way of presentation with his dry humour.
| But maybe because I'm already interested with his topics
| (mainly related to IC industry and Asian history).
| theandrewbailey wrote:
| There's plenty of times where I've outright laughed at a
| reference he's slipped into his videos, e.g. a Far Side
| reference in a video about cow cloning.
| curiousgal wrote:
| Wait until you watch NileRed.. By far the most monotone,
| vexing delivery of any interesting youtuber.
| willio58 wrote:
| NileRed and NileBlue are actually super interesting to me!
| But in that creator's case I think what they do is highly
| visual and stimulating in that way.
| pests wrote:
| What? I love NileRed!
| routerl wrote:
| +1
|
| Love his "What [course of action] did for [country]" videos.
|
| E.g. What eating the rich did for Japan.
|
| https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5_-Ac68FKG4
| elwell wrote:
| [flagged]
| eschneider wrote:
| Too soon.
| dbg31415 wrote:
| I love this sort of content. Thanks for sharing!
| mrguyorama wrote:
| I often help my girlfriend get into dresses that she buys, and I
| just cannot fathom how zippers are used in womens clothing. They
| routinely design dresses such that zipping them up in the back or
| side is the sole clamping force holding the dress together, which
| means the zipper has to withstand whatever force is required to
| squeeze you into a dress, which they all seem to require as
| designed. Then they buy the cheapest, plasticy shit zipper that
| you are terrified to break, and just kinda let you deal with that
| stupid problem.
|
| I just cannot fathom that. It's a dress that sells for $80 and
| definitely cost $8 to produce.
| dfxm12 wrote:
| I wonder if $800 dresses have the same hardware. But every
| dress I've zipped up in the back also had some kind of eye/hook
| fastening going on, too. No idea what my GF's dresses cost
| though. She usually buys 2nd hand anyway...
| wodenokoto wrote:
| Kabushiki gaisha is not "production company" but more akind to
| "stock company" or limited corporation.
|
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabushiki_gaisha
| nimajneb wrote:
| I watched this video the other day, it's really interesting.
| nereye wrote:
| Related:
|
| _YKK zippers: Why so many designers use them (2012)_ -
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32656463 - September 2022
| (157 comments)
|
| _Why YKK? The Japanese company behind the world's best zipper_ -
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8655580 - November 2014 -
| (57 comments)
|
| _Why Do So Many Zippers Say YKK? (2012)_ -
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11602988 - April 2016 (60
| comments)
| brenainn wrote:
| YKK zips is always something I look out for when going through op
| shops (charity shops, thrift shops, whatever you call them). If
| they spent a few extra cents on a zipper the chances are better
| it's decent quality clothing.
| cantSpellSober wrote:
| Slate did an article on this that backs this up
|
| > _For an apparel maker designing a garment that will cost
| $40-$65 to manufacture, and will retail for three times that
| much or more, it's simply not worth it to skimp [on zipper
| price]_
|
| > _Multiple apparel designers I talked to recalled incidents in
| which batches of non-YKK zippers failed to meet their
| standards_
|
| https://slate.com/business/2012/04/ykk-zippers-why-so-many-d...
| at-fates-hands wrote:
| I do the same for my backpacks and other hiking and
| mountaineering gear.
|
| I've bought so many high end packs, only to have the zippers
| fail and have had to re-sew them or hemm the seams back
| together. I had one mid range pack with YKK zippers about 15
| years ago and its been nails on every trip I've been on. After
| that experience, I just look for YKK zippers now on anything I
| buy.
| jd3 wrote:
| After years of thrifting/antiquing, honestly, out of all metal
| zippers I've come across, I would rate YKK last in both design
| and build quality. The brass Talons are the gold standard -- I
| won't buy a vintage leather jacket unless it has either a Talon
| or Serval zipper, for example.
| zinekeller wrote:
| > I won't buy a vintage leather jacket unless it has either a
| Talon or Serval zipper, for example.
|
| You're might be correct on this front if the jacket is fron
| the mid-to-late 20th century - but as noted in the video
| today Talon is no more (it still technically exists but as a
| brand of an HK company). It's pretty much the same story:
| while YKK is definitely improving, a siginificant factor too
| is how (usually American) leading companies are cheapening
| their products because the brands are established (which
| won't affect in the short term but definitely adds up over
| the decades).
| stracer wrote:
| > I won't buy a vintage leather jacket
|
| Are you by any chance Jensen Huang?
| JohnBooty wrote:
| A lot of Amazon product listings will explicitly mention YKK
| zippers so you can search for e.g. "backpack YKK"
|
| This is a fairly decent way to find products of good quality.
| It's far from foolproof, and is certainly ripe for gaming, but
| it hasn't steered me wrong yet.
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(page generated 2023-08-01 23:01 UTC)