A glued in sweat??!

[Barry]

I seem to have had some bad luck with hat repair lately.

I bought an old beat-up Knox hat during the Fedora Lounge weekend in NYC. A quick steaming, brushing and shaping brought that hat back to life. The sweat was dried out and I knew it wouldn't last very long. After an especially hot day it basically shrunk and crumbled apart. I took the hat to my local hattery for a new sweat. I asked the owner if it needed an additional cleaning or block and he said if he did that he would be ripping me off. "You just need a new sweatband." I paid for a sweat and came back in a week and a half to pick up my hat. I plopped it on my head, chatted for a bit about spectator shoes, hats, etc. As I strolled up the street in Georgetown I pulled my brim down a bit and felt something hard and crunchy on the brim. "What the??" I looked and there was a blob of something on the hat. I started looking at the hat and turned the sweat back. I heard a crunching noise and it started to peel away from the inside of the hat.

The sweat was glued in with rubber cement!

:eusa_doh:

Barry

 

[Pilgrim]

Sic transit another customer away from a local hattery....

 

[thefedorastore]

For a new sweat, I remove the hat band, sweat and liner. Sew in a new sweat, then replace the liner and hat band. I spend about an hour on the job. I bet they spent 10 minutes! What did they charge you to glue in a sweatband if I may ask? Did they ruin any felt?

 

[Barry]

Total was $22 and change.

I haven't pulled the sweat out but there is a lot of dried glue between the felt and the leather. It's a shame - I thought this guy had a decent reputation. He has blocked a number of hats for me. I wonder if he let one of his sales assistants do it?

Barry

 

[jake_fink]

As I strolled up the street in Georgetown I pulled my brim down a bit and felt something hard and crunchy on the brim. "What the??" I looked and there was a blob of something on the hat. I started looking at the hat and turned the sweat back. I heard a crunching noise and it started to peel away from the inside of the hat.

Why didn't you stroll right back to the shop and call the miscreant out on his poor handiwork?

 

[Barry]

Why didn't you stroll right back to the shop and call the miscreant out on his poor handiwork?

You are defintely right, I should have. The store was busy and I was just too shocked and embarrased and mad all at once. He knows me well enough to walk up to me at a restaurant across from the building he operates of, say hello, and shake my hand and chat for a bit.

Since I'm off work this week due to weather related problems I might just go down there.

Barry

 

[WEEGEE]

thats indicative of

Indicative of the understanding of quality...just because it looks good or looks repaired...does not mean its done right. I think that two many
people all around take the short cuts. It is great that so many quality minded individuals and artisans hang in the Lounge.


Barry i hope your hat makes it.


regards,

WeeGee

 

[feltfan]

Since I'm off work this week due to weather related problems I might just go down there.

Barry

You really must. With enough glue, the sweat can't work the
way it is supposed to - it can't breath. And the glue can soak
through the felt over time. Must look pretty bad if the bottom
of the sweat isn't sewn in, too.

Time to look for a new hat renovator. There are good ones
on the Lounge, but you know that already. It's obviously worth
the postage.

 

[Pilgrim]

It is possible that he has a new employee who doesn't know better - and if you don't let him know the problem, he can't address it. You really do need to get in there ASAP to talk.

In the meantime, I think I'd do my best to roll the glue off the felt inside the hat with judicious application of a thumb. I darn sure wouldn't let anyone touch it with solvent that might spread the glue through the felt.

 

[Art Fawcett]

so THAT"S how you are supposed to put a sweat in...I've been doing it wrong all these years...heading off the the local hardware store..they MUST have glue guns..

not


Sorry Barry, when concerning hats there seems to be a dark cloud over you..trust me, there are some terrific hatters out there, it's just too bad the learning curve takes a while. In my previous career I spent most of the 38 yrs trying to prove that there WERE good contractors out there, but how to identify them is the problem.

 

[SHARPETOYS]

Barry,
Sounds like you used :rage: The Badhatter :rage: ...Hope you get it taken care of.

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

On one of my British hats the stitching on the sweat came loose in front. The sweat, and indeed the hat is in otherwise perfect shape. How hard is it to re-stitch the sweat? Should I just send it to Art along with my Open Road that needs cleaning and reblocking?

Oh, and I picked up a stingy on eBay that's a nice piece of beaver blend, soft and supple but badly sun-faded and in need of a flanging. I may just get a big ol' box and send all three up North. lol

 

[Andykev]

Demand a REFUND NOW.

Rule one: Being polite to a SELLER or SHOP OWNER who gives shoddy service or merchandice is , well WRONG.

YOU are the customer, and you DEMAND quality, proper service.

Rule two: how did you pay? If on plastic, CANCEL IT.

Rule three: tell him this

I came in her for a hat with no liner. Now I have a hat with no liner, and I don't have $22 dollars. I want my liner, or my money!

 

[besdor]

Tony, a good hatter ( that's me) will have access to a leather stitching machine .It's the only way to put in a leather sweatband . I'm sure that other stores that have been around for a while can help you .


Steven
www.bencrafthats.com

 

[tonyb]

Geez, Barry, your experience with that "hatter" is, well, stunning. Almost incredible. A man who presents a hatter with a vintage lid for a bit of restoration work would apparently be a man who cares about hats and knows a thing or two about them, wouldn't you think? And then they GLUE IN A SWEATBAND?!?
Call me old-fashioned, but I prefer sending my business to people who actually care enough about what they do to do it right. I patronize a shoe repair shop run by a guy who can talk your ear off about shoes. Sure, he's eccentric, but I've learned enough from his rants against certain brands of shoes to know what not to waste my money on. I mean, this guy takes personal offense at what most of the department stores carry these days.
But then, sometimes when I've received less-than-satisfactory value from a shop (don't get me started on the crooks in the adaptive-equipment business, who charge 90 bucks an hour not to fix my wife's wheelchair-accessible van), and I know I can't absolutely prove that they've burned me, I just spare myself the expense and frustration of ever dealing with them again. And then I make a point of telling everyone I know who may at some point be in need of the goods and services they (and their competition) allegedly provide.
So, Barry, if that hat shop doesn't make things right by you, do us all a favor and out them for the incompetents they are, OK?

 

[mthatter]

erased by mt

 

[Barry]

Barry,

Hard to believe a real Hat Shop would glue in a sweatband. You definately need to talk to the owner and he needs to talk to, fire or teach whoever did the repair so it doesn't happen again. And refund your money.
John
www.rockymountainhatcompany.com

I'm going to march down there tomorrow.

I pulled out the sweat. Just a few minutes ago I edited and posted two pictures in my original post and as you can see the glue is all around the inside of the hat - it's a total mess.

Barry

 

[Siirous]

Rule one: Being polite to a SELLER or SHOP OWNER who gives shoddy service or merchandice is , well WRONG.

YOU are the customer, and you DEMAND quality, proper service.

Rule two: how did you pay? If on plastic, CANCEL IT.

Rule three: tell him this

I came in her for a hat with no liner. Now I have a hat with no liner, and I don't have $22 dollars. I want my liner, or my money!

I don't agree. Start with patience and let him explain the situation, if he's a good hatter and one of his trainee's made a mistake (a big one though), he'll probably be very apologetic not to mention embarrassed. He won't want to burn a bridge with a repeat customer and will make things right.

However if he doesn't see that this is a botched job, then stop being polite and start to demand; as well as get a new hatter.

 

[Hemingway Jones]

Oh, Barry,

I sympathize! I was with you when you bought that hat and it is a very nice lid.

Could you PM me the name of the hat shop, so I know to avoid it?

With a little TLC, I am sure the hat will ultimately be restored to its previous condition.

I've found, in these situations, it is best to be calm, firm, and persistent. You're a tactful fellow, so I am sure you will be able to cajole him into resolving the problem to your satisfaction.

Good luck!

 

[Barry]

a new FL member?

I totally forgot to mention that there was an issue as to whether I had actually paid for the work on the hat. When I went to pick it up the owner said that it had paid with a question mark. I thought I had paid for it by credit card - and I said I'll have to leave the hat here and go and check my statements. He said go ahead and take it. I trust you to come back. Well, the charges were not on my cards and I went back. It's all settled now.

The owner wasn't there but I explained to another employee that I brought in a vintage Knox Cervo hat for repair and that the sweatband was glued in. The employee took down my name and number for the owner. She was very, very polite and nice. We chatted a bit about hats and when I said "vintage" she said she loved the classic style. Turns out she's a milliner and pointed out a few of her hats in the store. She does beautiful work. I told her about the FL and she said she would check it out.

Not sure if I'll get a call back...but it's settled.

Barry