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[The Wiser Hatter]

Found this thread:
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?5819-Repairing-A-Hole-In-fA-Felt-Fur-Hat

 

[KyleK]

Brim Trimming

I have a wide brimmed hat that I'd like to take 3/8" off of. It's a bound brim, but I'll clear the ribbon easily when cutting. Figured I'd start the cut at the seam of the ribbon at the rear of the hat. I have a nice pair of ultra sharp felting shears (my wife is crafty) at the ready. Anyone have any pointers as far as marking a line? I seem to remember reading here somewhere about sanding the edge afterwards. Is this necessary? Would I be able to smooth over small cutting errors? I've searched but can't seem to dig anything up. Thanks!

 

[scottyrocks]

I made a template from the hat I wanted to cut and a hat whose brim I liked.

The hat I wanted to cut formed the inner circle that slid down over the crown. The hat whose brim dimensions I liked served as the pattern for the outer edge of the brim.

Slide the formed template over the hat you want to cut. I used plain white chalk and drew lines outward from the template onto the brim. Draw enough of them and you get a hat colored inner area and a chalk colored outer area. Remove the template and cut to the outer edge the inner area so you dont lose more brim than you want to. Finish off with sandpaper.

 

[gtdean48]

I have a wide brimmed hat that I'd like to take 3/8" off of. It's a bound brim, but I'll clear the ribbon easily when cutting. Figured I'd start the cut at the seam of the ribbon at the rear of the hat. I have a nice pair of ultra sharp felting shears (my wife is crafty) at the ready. Anyone have any pointers as far as marking a line? I seem to remember reading here somewhere about sanding the edge afterwards. Is this necessary? Would I be able to smooth over small cutting errors? I've searched but can't seem to dig anything up. Thanks!

I use a ruler to mark the distance in from the edge making marks every so often around the brim. I then connect the dots to give me a line to cut by & using sharp scissors I cut to the edge side of the mark. I then use fine grade sandpaper to sand to the mark & just enough to get rid of it. I use ultra fine sandpaper to finish the brim edge. HTH

 

[slc]

Is there something wrong with my caribou (gray) Stetson Chatham?

I've been wearing real hats for only two months now. I am extremely careful to handle the hats only with clean hands. My first hat is a light brown Stetson Lodi and still looks as good as when I bought it. The Chatham is my second hat and after only three weeks of use, it has uneven patches of slightly darker gray on the brim where I snap it down, and on the crown where I sometimes hold the hat when I don it with one hand. I used a dark hat brush on it, and I could see a faint cloud of gray dust come off it with each wipe of the brush. The gray dust has gotten all over the black ribbon. It looks like an old hat now. Is there something wrong with the hat? Or have I done something wrong?

 

[jlee562]

Nothing wrong per se....Stetson sometimes uses a powder dye to cover up uneven spots that may remain.

 

[slc]

Thanks, jlee562. How can I clean this powder dye from the black ribbon?

 

[KyleK]

@gtdean48
@scottyrocks

Thanks for the tips. I took off about 3/8" - give or take sixteenth. The edge of the bound brim ended up being the perfect guide to eyeball the cut. Going to post a pic in the WHAYWT? thread.

 

[zetwal]

The Chatham is my second hat and after only three weeks of use, it has uneven patches of slightly darker gray on the brim where I snap it down, and on the crown where I sometimes hold the hat when I don it with one hand. I used a dark hat brush on it, and I could see a faint cloud of gray dust come off it with each wipe of the brush. The gray dust has gotten all over the black ribbon. It looks like an old hat now. Is there something wrong with the hat? Or have I done something wrong?

You have done nothing wrong. In my opinion, the product is of poor quality.

 

[fmw]

C'mon. The Stetson Chatham is a good quality hat. I don't know how long the fur fibers are but it isn't hard to get light colored felts to look dark where you touch them. It just mattes down the fibers a little. A brushing removes that. The things that don't come off with brushing are most likely soil of some sort. You can get hat cleaning stuff from any of the online hatters. it has zero to do with felt quality. They make felt today with the same equipment they've been using for a half century or more. Rabbit fur hasn't changed in millenia.

 

[Lefty]

but quality control has

 

[Aureliano]

I Agree, lefty.

 

[rlk]

They use a finishing powder to compensate for a slight unevenness in color...make what you will in terms of quality perception. I suspect you can vaccuum/brush the residue off, but the color may show some mottling.

 

[EggHead]

I love the way Stetsons look, but every time I go into a local store and try them on, feel them in my hands, examine the stitches, I put it back on the shelf. I can see that quality is not up to Akubras that I own and cannot justify the expense. Sorry, I rarely criticize something, perhaps if cost was sub-Akubra, I would feel OK with them. Akubras are good for the price.

 

[jlee562]

C'mon. The Stetson Chatham is a good quality hat. I don't know how long the fur fibers are but it isn't hard to get light colored felts to look dark where you touch them. It just mattes down the fibers a little. A brushing removes that. The things that don't come off with brushing are most likely soil of some sort. You can get hat cleaning stuff from any of the online hatters. it has zero to do with felt quality. They make felt today with the same equipment they've been using for a half century or more. Rabbit fur hasn't changed in millenia.

While it is true that the use of powder, in and of itself, does not necessarily indicate a difference in quality of the felt itself but rather the dying process, I don't think that it's true that a modern Stetson is of the same quality as a vintage Stetson.

 

[scottyrocks]

I don't think that it's true that a modern Stetson is of the same quality as a vintage Stetson.

Thats for sure, as it is for so many of today's products, in general.

 

[jimmy the lid]

I don't think that it's true that a modern Stetson is of the same quality as a vintage Stetson.

Just remember -- a vintage Stetson was made by Stetson. A modern "Stetson" is made by Hatco. Aside from the use of the "Stetson" name, there is no connection between the two.

 

[danofarlington]

They use a finishing powder to compensate for a slight unevenness in color...make what you will in terms of quality perception. I suspect you can vaccuum/brush the residue off, but the color may show some mottling.

Why do they need to do that? I don't hear of that with other new hats.

 

[Ralphin Ormond]

I Flat Out Don't Get It

A few days ago I received and then sent back a Borsalino Como fedora. The hat arrived brand new and just the shade of gray I had hoped for but it was very soft. I mean, it had no particular shape and would not hold one. The side dents would pop out on their own and the brim, though round, was strongly inclined to return up ("snap" does not apply in this case.) I can, just barely, imagine a hipster so cool that he flaunts his insouciance by wearing a hat that changes its shape every time he mashes it on his head and while he wears it. No, actually, I cannot imagine anyone finding a shapeless fedora acceptable. So what gives? Are all Borsalino hats like this? All high end hats? Is there a finishing process I am supposed to know how to do? Or want to do? Ok, my question is, how can I avoid doing this again? I looked over the ad and can find no clue there that the hat would turn out this way. So please, cure my ignorance about how to always buy nice, pre-shaped hats and I will be forever grateful. Best Regards, Ralph

 

[danofarlington]

A few days ago I received and then sent back a Borsalino Como fedora. The hat arrived brand new and just the shade of gray I had hoped for but it was very soft. I mean, it had no particular shape and would not hold one. The side dents would pop out on their own and the brim, though round, was strongly inclined to return up ("snap" does not apply in this case.) I can, just barely, imagine a hipster so cool that he flaunts his insouciance by wearing a hat that changes its shape every time he mashes it on his head and while he wears it. No, actually, I cannot imagine anyone finding a shapeless fedora acceptable. So what gives? Are all Borsalino hats like this? All high end hats? Is there a finishing process I am supposed to know how to do? Or want to do? Ok, my question is, how can I avoid doing this again? I looked over the ad and can find no clue there that the hat would turn out this way. So please, cure my ignorance about how to always buy nice, pre-shaped hats and I will be forever grateful. Best Regards, Ralph

I have a number of Borsalinos, and they are notorious among hatters as soft hats. All of those I have hold their shape though. It is not as stiff a shape as most other hats, which latter use shellac to harden the shell. I have been very happy with Borsalinos, softness and all. I would restore it to the original shape with your hand, and know that that is the intended look. Not all high-end hats are like that. Borsalino is on the extreme "soft" end of the spectrum. My advice is, don't worry about it, wear it with the original shape, unless you just don't like it.