Anyone own a Hallett stretcher?

[John in Covina]

Oh my bunions!

When I worked in the shoe dept at JC Pennys we used an aerosol spray shoe stretcher. It was affective, especially for stretching small areas to offset pinching like at a toe or bunion. They had these tools like plyers with a ball on one side an a ring that the ball fit into on the other. Spray and stretch, spray and stretch.

So I know the stretcher stuff works.

Which reminds me of the story about the guy, whos dad passed away. Going thru dad's stuff he finds an old shoe repair ticket for some shoes never picked up, dropped off decades ago. Realizing the show repair store is still there, he decides to go down with the ticket. When he gets to the store he presents the ticket to the repair guy. Our repair guy looks at it for a moment and goes in the backroom. After about a minute or two of hearing stuff being moved in the back, the shoe repair guy comes out with a box and the tag. The shoe repair guy hands the man the tag and says: "They'll be ready Tuesday!"
lol
Sincerely,

 

[Magus]

I have a Halette..it does the job for the price...but isn't made perfectly and mine is not the deep one. With that said, I have successfully resized several hats up a 1/2 size or so without any unfixable difficulities. At some point I will get out the strip sander and make the Hallett shape more even. It is really best for slight adjustments rather than big movements of the hat.

As for the leather hatbands...I have done leather working for years and years, based on that I just used water on the hatband (flipped down out of the hat)...then once it was wet, romoved any excess padded it with a paper towel and streched away. No probelms at all with splitting, staining or anything.

One thing to note though and I don't see it mentioned much in these threads. I found it best to release the ribbon or you will run into problems, leave the bow area fully attached then after stretching just re-stitch the 5 or so that were holding it down and you are good to go.

Your milage may vary.

M

 

[feltfan]

Someone here (jamespowers?) recommended Lexol for
the sweatband because it softens the leather and
doesn't seal it. That has worked for me.

How does the Hallett differ from the vintage
hat stretching devices?

BTW, one of the bigger issues I have come across
is having an impression of the leather sweat band
imprinted into the felt. This is mostly an issue with
hats with Open Road style narrow hat bands, of course.
Are you all really stretching your hats with the sweat
folded out and down? I have taken to putting stiff
paper between the sweat and felt before stretching.

 

[tonyb]

Someone here (jamespowers?) recommended Lexol for
the sweatband because it softens the leather and
doesn't seal it. That has worked for me.

How does the Hallett differ from the vintage
hat stretching devices?

BTW, one of the bigger issues I have come across
is having an impression of the leather sweat band
imprinted into the felt. This is mostly an issue with
hats with Open Road style narrow hat bands, of course.
Are you all really stretching your hats with the sweat
folded out and down? I have taken to putting stiff
paper between the sweat and felt before stretching.

I turn the sweatband out only to moisten it with the leather-stretching juice, and then fold it back into position, with the folded paper towels between it and the liner and crown. Then the stretcher goes in.
DIY stretching, especially with one of those cheapo Hat Jack devices, is obviously not the equal of sending a hat to a pro, but it's inexpensive and, provided a person doesn't get too carried away, generally effective. If it weren't for an old hat's willingness to stretch up a bit, my quest for wearable vintage lids would be much more daunting. It seems that 7 1/8 was a fairly large hat size back before we mollycoddled, overfed, underworked, unappreciative baby boomers (at least that's what my dear old Dad implies about us) came along, so old hats in sizes larger than that are kinda rare. (Remember, the oldest members of the large-headed post-war generation weren't fully grown until the 1960s, and by then fedoras were nowhere near as prevalent as they had been a couple of decades earlier.) Fortunately (I suppose) I'm somewhere between a 7 1/4 and 7 3/8, so most old 7 1/8s stretch to my size without leaving any outward signs of it.
I assume that the stiff paper you use is to spread out the pressure of the stretcher over a wider area, thereby making it less likely that the impression of the sweatband and/or the stretcher will telegraph through the felt. Izzat right? I've used the cloth-bound outer covers from an old book to do just that. They bend into an arc easily enough. I put 'em between the stretcher and the inside of the hat's crown, and then, of course, I tighten the stretcher. And, as has been noted many times before, steam helps the process along.
Where is that JP?

 

[feltfan]

I assume that the stiff paper you use is to spread out the pressure of the stretcher over a wider area, thereby making it less likely that the impression of the sweatband and/or the stretcher will telegraph through the felt. Izzat right?

I guess. I just don't want that sharp edge of the sweat
to make an impression on the felt.

 

[Magus]

I guess. I just don't want that sharp edge of the sweat
to make an impression on the felt.

I havn't had that problem...and the Lexol is great for all finished surfaced leather...works wonders. I use it after the stretching. (and on my leather coats to ready them for rain)

 

[tealseal]

Saw this thread after I saw the eBay store. I'm looking for a new device to maintain hat shape, not necessarily stretch it out to a new size. I have a Hat Jack, but I get the feeling that I'd like one that's a bit thicker.
Who has one? How do you like it? Should I go for the 2 1/4" or 2 3/8" version? What would the effect of the different sizes be on the utilization?

Lots of questions, but hey, isn't that what this place is for?
All the best to you this 4th!

-TS

 

[seabass]

I have the tall 3''Hallett i used it on a Borso lite felt & i ended up sending the hat to Art Fawcett to block it because i left a indendtation around the center of the crown..
so to maintain hat shape its good
For stretching well be carefull... i do have some antique streatchers that work excellently for maintaining shape or to slightly very slightly streatch

 

[Landman]

I have the tall Hallett stretcher and found it works great for me. However, I only put it into the hat far enough to extend just slightly above the sweatband. If you put it in as far as it will go you will usually leave marks on the felt above the sweatband.

They are also great to store your hat on. The taller ones work better for me because I wear my front brims snapped down. Because of the height of the stretcher I don't have to snap up the brim. The cedar also helps to keep away moths.

 

[Grizzly Adams]

I ordered a couple of the Hallets that look like the standard "Hat Jack". The quality is on the low end, as components are pretty cheap, but functional. The problem I found with the ones I got was the curvature of the wooden blocks was not even close to correct for a hat! I was able to "adjust" them with a power sander. I use them mostly to maintain size.

 

[tealseal]

Thanks everyone! Given what I've read, what is the best device under $30 for maintaining a hat in my 7 3/8 oval head (not long oval)?