Advice Needed: Stretching a NOS Johnnyphi

[jazzncocktails]

So, how many of these "New Old Stock" hats shrunk? It sounds like quite a few.

Actually, I won two Johnnyphi vintage hats...this one, and an Adam Executive thin ribbon 7 1/2. That doesn't seem to have shrunken at all...without padding, my head swims in it. But with padding, it's quite wearable. Thus my surprise at the significantly smaller second win. I wasn't sure whether the size was due to shrinkage over time--otherwise, the lid is in perfect condition--or if this make just ran small. GWD won the same hat in a 7 and he reports small size, too...

 

[Lefty]

I don't think I've ever seen a 4 way stretcher go for under $60 on ebay. You can get a new one here for $89. As to the electric stretchers, one just sold on ebay for over $500 - far too much, imo, for a non-hatter.

If the hat re-shrinks after stretching and you don't want to deal with constantly stretching it, you'll need to have it resized. That means sending it to a hatter, where the original sweat will be stripped, the hat will be reblocked, and a new sweat will be installed. Whether or not this is a good option depends upon whether you're a purist or a pragmatist. I'm the former, but can understand the latter. (You beat me to your answer on that one).

 

[Pilgrim]

I've used the old style hat stretchers with good luck to expand 7 1/8 hats to 7 1/4. IMO the old stretchers work because they're wide enough to extend some distance above the sweatband. I agree that there may be a faint line in the felt when the stretcher is removed, but with wear it disappears.

This is the kind of stretcher - not mine, which are in better shape. but they are about 3 to 4" tall, so they contact quite a bit of the inner area of the hat.

I dab some shoe stretch on the sweatband, put the stretcher in as far into the hat as possible while maintaining contact with the base of the sweatband, then crank it on firmly. I then let it sit for at least a week, and I repeat this three or four times...gaining just a bit each time. I have had good success doing this with one Stetson, and moderate success doing it with a Borsalino which seems to have an unusually resilient sweatband.

Let me also say that I don't have a fear of the dreaded "taper" as long as it's not something that jumps out at me. Hats are hats, they're made to be worn and conform to the user's head, and to me they're not objects of art. I don't want mine to look like Dumbledore's wizard hat, but a stretcher isn't going to do that anyway.

In fact, I can tell you exactly how my old cowboy friend in Idaho would fix this. He'd dunk the hat in a bathtub full of clean water, shape it, stick it on his head and wear it while it dried. (My black Beaver western hat was shaped this way in 1970...and it went from a 7 1/8 to a 7 1/4 in that event.) But that is not an approach for those interested in the finer points of hat shaping.

Another option - wait till you get a good stout rain, put the hat and a raincoat on and go for a half-hour walk. When you get back, it will fit. Shrinkage? YMMV.

 

[jazzncocktails]

Hat for Sale

Thanks for all of your suggestions, gentlemen. I'm sorry to say that the hat is for sale on the Classifieds page. It won't fit my 7 3/8 noggin, and in measuring it, I find it's really a 7 or 7 1/8 (22 1/2" in circumference). I don't think this is shrinkage over time--I just don't see that much shrinkage happening. I imagine it was mistagged.

And worse, as I wore it gently around the house over the past week, pulling on the front and back brim occasionally to tug it down, the vertical stitching at the back of the sweatband, below the bow, began to tear. Old leather, too small lid. Clear sign it's not for me.

So, if anyone's interested, it's on the classifieds page. I've listed it for $125 (paid $165), but I'm taking reasonable offers.
Steve

 

[Viper Man]

I don't know, but wouldn't you expect that after over 50 years of sitting in an attic that they would shrink? Considering the organic materials used in these hats it would be somewhat of a miracle that some shrinkage hadn't occurred.

I guess so. I have several hats from the 40s and 50s that I obviously bought used and they haven't shrunk. [huh]

 

[Jabos]

Man, I'm sorry to hear about that hat. I'm a 7 3/8 and wanted that one too but couldn't swing the cash. I wonder if it is common for them to shrink down over time, or if this one is just weird. There are no more JohnnyPhi 7 3/8ths left.

 

[jazzncocktails]

Man, I'm sorry to hear about that hat. I'm a 7 3/8 and wanted that one too but couldn't swing the cash. I wonder if it is common for them to shrink down over time, or if this one is just weird. There are no more JohnnyPhi 7 3/8ths left.

I'm betting this wasn't a case of shrinkage. This was a case of mistagged merchandise back when Adam created it. Some shrinkage might make sense, but this has shrunk over 1/2" if that's the case...and I would imagine that either the leather or the felt would show signs of it, and it doesn't. Oh well, what're ya gonna do?

 

[GWD]

I don't think that the plastic liner these hats have help the matter either. If the area these hats were stored got hot, they may have acted like shrink wrap and contracted the sweatband.

Just a theory.

 

[johnnyphi]

Plastic Liner Needs to be Removed

The hat doesn't fit because of the wrinkled sweatband. GWD and I both mentioned this during the auction, and GWD references it above. I think it's more of a problem than GWD describes, so I wanted to bring it up.

Some of the Adams from my collection have a plastic liner between the sweatband and the felt. The liner causes the seatband to pucker, and it needs to be removed. Dinerman and GWD have both completed this process.

You may still need to stretch the hat, but I wouldn't stretch it, until you remove the plastic liner.

The plastic liner and wrinkling are visible in these photos.

 

[jazzncocktails]

The hat doesn't fit because of the wrinkled sweatband. GWD and I both mentioned this during the auction, and GWD references it above. I think it's more of a problem than GWD describes, so I wanted to bring it up.

Some of the Adams from my collection have a plastic liner between the sweatband and the felt. The liner causes the seatband to pucker, and it needs to be removed. Dinerman and GWD have both completed this process.

You may still need to stretch the hat, but I wouldn't stretch it, until you remove the plastic liner.

The plastic liner and wrinkling are visible in these photos.

Thanks, John, but I'm quite sure it's not the plastic lining that's causing the problem, or at least not that alone. It's so thin that even with it removed, the sweatband would still be too tight.

But the problem has been resolved in a beneficial way: I'm in the midst of a trade with another Lounger who has an Adam that is too big for him. So, looks like it will be a happily ever after situation.