(Note: The following is a simplified description of the process for replacing broken Kiev shutter ribbons.  For a more detailed instruction, see Rick Oleson’s Contax Shutter Repair Page or Russ Pinchbeck’s Kiev Shutter Repair.)

Kiev, and the Contax cameras they were patterned after, were great cameras.  Overengineered to give a certain amount of precision that you and your mum would love.  But the complex mechanism, so full of parts and movements, made it prone for more opportunities for failure.  For instance, the shutter.  The metal focal plane shutter used in Kiev had some distinct advantages over the Leica style double cloth type.  It will never burn pinholes.  It will likely to keep its timing better too.  But it had a serious weak point- the shutter run on fibre straps.  Brass slats running, pressing, and bearing on silk ribbons would soon wear the latter out, causing it to break.  Breakage is inevitable- wear, age, and even the climate will eventually kill the ribbons.  And often this breakage happens without warning.  The ribbons aren’t visible, so their state cannot be assessed easily.

It happens quickly too.  One moment the shutter winds and fires ok.  Then suddenly, the winding knob will turn heavier than it did just a few shots ago.  The shutter will fire with a different sound.  The ‘click’ no longer sounds complete- the closing sound that completes the cycle seems to be missing.  All indicators of shutter breakage.  And when you take off the camera’s back, this is what you’ll see- an empty gaping hole where the shutter once was:

The shutter can be wound. But instead of seeing an opening and closing blind, only one set seems to be moving.  Or none at all if the two ribbons broke.

Taking off the shutter cover/film gate plate will reveal what happened.  Expect to find one ribbon- usually the one on the right (next to the large gears), and its break approximately 1 – 3mm from its stitched end.  Sometimes two ribbons break.  Same place too.

In this camera, the two ribbons snapped.  The original material used by the factory – “Арсенал” in the Ukraine- was woven acetate. The two main concerns in ribbon replacement are, 1- the mechanical aspects of repair; and 2- getting the suitable material to replace the broken ribbons.  The latter involves using substitutes such as tailoring or ornamental ribbons, or camera straps from camera repair suppliers.  Many people have reported success with ordinary acetate ribbons.  However, getting one in the right width (3mm) and thickness is not easy.  The wrong size- such as being slightly over 3mm or thicker than what the shutter eyelets can let pass – can result in shutter failure.

The repair can be done without removing anything more than the shutter cover/film gate.  This camera was taken apart more extensively to allow other repairs like Rangefinder calibration.  In Kiev and Contax, the entire shutter assembly has to be removed for simple rangefinder adjustments like vertical or horizontal/infinity alignment.

Closer examination shows that the Ribbons in this shutter failed because of age and wear.

Note and memorise the positions of the original ribbons- where they were attached, and how.  Measure the distance between the folded ends attached to the spring loaded roller at the bottom and the upper shutter blind.  With broken ribbons, this might not be possible.   This is about 11 cms long.

The ribbon material chosen for this repair is a Japanese made material sourced from a camera repair supplier.  It is made of real habutae silk. Not acetate or rayon since the fibres don’t melt and fuse when put to a flame.  It is exactly 3mm wide, just what Kiev or Contax needs.  Real silk is smooth and strong, so it has the strength needed to withstand the shutter’s strain for some years. Silk is one of the strongest natural fibres.  It’s thinner though, but the eyelets on the shutter blinds which ride on the ribbons can be crimped a bit for the grip.

I have read somewhere that the ribbons used by Zeiss for the Contax was made in Japan.  This was before WWII.  The ribbon shown in the picture is described to be suitable for Contax shutters too.  So I added one to the other and tried to see if the ribbon would work. It did.  In my initial test, I actually fired the shutter 200 times.  At around 800, there was no frilling or any signs of deterioration, even when observed at 5X magnification.  Rick Oleson suggested  to me to test a possible material for suitability by firing (the shutter it’s on) at least a hundred times.  This one went through 800 cycles without showing any changes.  Two years later, the Kiev I put it in still works.

(I also used a locally sourced acetate ribbon for some of the Kiev shutters.  This also worked.  But it’s harder to insert it into the numerous shutter parts it has to snake through.  I’m also down to my last 2 metres and I can no longer find the same thing in the tailoring suppliers.)

Cut the ribbon to suitable length.   11 cm is the distance between the shutter blind and the roller, and a bit of extra length is needed for the folded ends.   I cut a small strip of card to serve as the measuring template.  This makes the cutting of this precious material efficient with minimal or no loss.

After cutting, the 10,8 span is marked.  Folds are made on these positions.

The ends of the ribbon strips should be treated with a dopey material like nailpolish or cyanoacrylate glue to seal the ends and make them stiffer for insertion.  The end which will be used for insertion should be tapered a bit.

Once the dope sets, trim to taper one end.  Then bend on the marks.  The folds should be 10.8 – 11 cms apart.  The folds will hook on the roller and the spring blinds at their respective ends.

Insert the ribbons through the rollers, then through the eyelets of the lower shutter blind, and pull out end for attachment to the upper shutter blind.  Make sure that both ribbons have the same length between the roller and the upper shutter blind.

The ribbons need to be glued, and then sewn to keep them in place. Use a figure-8 stitch for all four ends.

Turn the lower roller to reel in the lower shutter curtain and the newly attached ribbons.  The ribbons will wrap around the lower shutter blind.  Use the tensioning screw to turn the lower roller.

Once reeled in, begin tensioning the shutter.  Tensioning is going to be very very fiddly.  The location of the tensioning screw, its size, and the procedure needed can be taxing to your patience and sanity.   On top of that, the camera must be on its side, where there is nothing to keep it in that position.   The tensioning screw is held in place by a locking plate, which in turn is locked by a smaller setscrew.

Once you are able to pass through the hurdle of tensioning the shutter spring properly, you should be able to cock and fire the shutter.   There are actually a lot of parts involved- such as the synch switch actuating lever found on the lower left side (this can detain the lower shutter blind from going up), the catches and the long spring on the lower blind, the curtain separating ramps on the upper part of the film gate, and the large retaining hook on top.

The ribbon should look tight and should pull the lower curtain evenly.  The lower curtain shouldn’t just fall down when the shutter is fired. Instead it should glide on the ribbon downwards.  If it falls too quickly, the eyelets which hold on the ribbons are too loose and need to be crimped a bit.

There is actually more work involved in making the Kiev shutter work properly after the new ribbons are installed.  A lot of procedures in disassembly and reassembly, as well as accessing camera parts have been omitted here.  Such are not discussed in this article.  Refer to the links given above for more information.