What do the letters YKK on zippers mean?

While sorting out the closet, I noticed that the zipper of the Chinese jeans was marked: three mysterious YKK symbols. Out of curiosity, I checked the metal “tongue” on the new bag from Italy and saw the same letters. Interested in the question, I put off cleaning and decided to conduct my own investigation.

Who invented lightning

What do shopping in a market and in a boutique in Italy have in common? At first glance, nothing. There was only one similar sign between my things - three mysterious letters on the clasp, so that means it's her? The reasoning turned out to be correct, and I quickly picked up the trail.

It turns out that once upon a time, in 1851, the first patent for an “automatic continuous fastener for clothing” was received. The prototype of modern lightning was invented by an American named Elias Howe. But he did not work on this product, being busy with other things, and it practically sunk into oblivion.

The idea was revived in 1853, and another American inventor had a hand in it - Whitcomb Judson. The impetus was a request for help from a close friend with a bad back.It was very difficult for him to tie his shoelaces. Judson took his words to heart and designed a mechanism consisting of loops and hooks staggered on two ribbons. The tapes were fastened together with a special key in the form of a tongue. The product turned out to be unreliable and inconvenient, with complex instructions on two sheets. Production turned out to be uneconomical, and the final cost of the product exceeded the price of an ordinary pair of trousers.

This did not prevent the Whitcomb L. Judson company from obtaining a patent for the invention in 1890.

New push

Then blind chance and love come into play. Young Swedish engineer Gideon Sundback meets on his way the daughter of one of the managers of the Whitcomb L. Judson company and loses his head. It was the beloved’s father who could not organize the production and trade of fasteners. They say that at that moment the largest batch sold was a maximum of 20 pieces.

The biography notes that he worked at Westinghouse Electric, where even the famous Nikola Tesla was a consultant! But I didn’t find any mention of their meeting, which is a pity, the story could have taken another interesting turn.

A talented engineer creates a model with a slider-style lock and patents it, but success never comes. In 1917, Sundbäck finally introduced the zipper we now see on trousers, boots and bags.

Where does the word zipper come from?

Sundback zippers began to gradually come into use, and in 1923, the owner of a shoe company named Bertram Rock purchased a large batch. He had a brilliant idea to create a line of comfortable and fashionable galoshes with a clasp. When it came to the name of the new product, Rock listened to the sound, and by analogy the name Zipper Boots appeared.History was forgotten, but the slang name “zipper” stuck!

Japanese resourcefulness and meticulousness

At the end of the 20s of the last century, the resourceful Japanese Tadao Yoshida entered the arena.. In the string of inventors, he took the main position, seizing power in this niche of the world market. It was he who began to scrupulously identify all the shortcomings of the fastener. At that time, they often broke down, jammed, and ceased to cope with their function. The Japanese found the ideal solution and improved the design as much as possible.

Tadao changed the shape of the teeth, introduced brass into the composition and invented special paints for ribbons. He founded the Yoshida Company Limited factory. The success was phenomenal! True Japanese quality has attracted the attention of all major shoe and clothing manufacturers. And then comes the moment when the abbreviated name “YKK” appears almost everywhere.

Today "Yoshida Company Limited" in English or "Yoshida Kogyo Kabushikikaisha" (pronounced roughly like this in Japanese) – a recognized leader, producing more than half of the lightning bolts worldwide.

The Japanese have held the palm since 1934, and they are not going to give it up to anyone! It is estimated that the production capacity is enough to produce 7,000,000 pieces per day. Production branches are scattered across different countries; they also produce other types of fasteners, for example, the famous “Velcro”.

The abbreviation YKK has rightfully conquered the world. It is a symbol of success and engineering genius.