Ask a question, get an answer

[Bob Roberts]

Happy birthday in advance! Win win win for you. Hats stay on better. Fewer beers to get drunk. And Ladies still liking your young physique...

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

 

[Frunobulax]

Graaaaace!!!

:eusa_clap

That's the stuff, Moon, my man.

 

[foamy]

Hi folks, my first post, though, I've been lurking for some time now. This is a nice forum and I like the encouragement folks give one another. I use it vicariously and run with it as it takes some brass to set out in public with a hat that no one else (or very few) is wearing. That and I have long hair (still), which makes everything a bit more unusual. All I ever see around here are baseball caps and an occasional bucket.

I've just recently gotten into hats (past year or so), having found a couple of very nice hats in my home. What I'm curious about is; around the ribbon of one of the hats is a thin elastic cord with a small button on it. What is that and what does it do?

 

[moontheloon]

Hi folks, my first post, though, I've been lurking for some time now. This is a nice forum and I like the encouragement folks give one another. I use it vicariously and run with it as it takes some brass to set out in public with a hat that no one else (or very few) is wearing. That and I have long hair (still), which makes everything a bit more unusual. All I ever see around here are baseball caps and an occasional bucket.

I've just recently gotten into hats (past year or so), having found a couple of very nice hats in my home. What I'm curious about is; around the ribbon of one of the hats is a thin elastic cord with a small button on it. What is that and what does it do?

that is a wind trolly or wind cord

it was used back in the day as a safety device in case your hat was blown off by the wind
the small button would slip into a mans lapel button hole ... sort of where you would put a boutonniere ...

many of them today on modern hats are just an elastic chord that is not even attached to the hat and solely for decoration

 

[foamy]

Ah! Thanks very much. I figured it had something to do with retention and had no idea how it worked. Thanks, again.

I see you're in NJ— I lived and worked in and around Philly and South Jersey for about 30 – 35 years. That and I've gotten familiar with your posts—you wear a hat very well.

 

[moontheloon]

Ah! Thanks very much. I figured it had something to do with retention and had no idea how it worked. Thanks, again.

I see you're in NJ— I lived and worked in and around Philly and South Jersey for about 30 – 35 years. That and I've gotten familiar with your posts—you wear a hat very well.

thank you sir

looking forward to seeing you in some hats

lots of wonderful people here .... enjoy

 

[Bob Roberts]

+1 GOOD PEOPLE! I really like wind trollys. Functional or not

 

[Zombie_61]

...as it takes some brass to set out in public with a hat that no one else (or very few) is wearing....

It seems that way when you first start wearing proper hats (or something other than a ball cap), but you'll be surprised by how quickly you'll stop thinking about it and your hat just becomes part of your everyday wardrobe...and then you'll start wondering why everyone else isn't wearing one.

And welcome to The Lounge! :yo:

 

[RBH]

Well, I guess so. My birth certificate says 60 in two weeks - and the leather has been more supple. The threading in my forehead has become deeper and steeper, so it takes quite a gust to blow my hat off. Then again, it takes fewer beers to make me walk and drool like a 2-year old - and the women still claim I have a body of a 14-year old

Damn Ole... you still got it.

 

[moontheloon]

It seems that way when you first start wearing proper hats (or something other than a ball cap), but you'll be surprised by how quickly you'll stop thinking about it and your hat just becomes part of your everyday wardrobe...and then you'll start wondering why everyone else isn't wearing one.

And welcome to The Lounge! :yo:

you also sort of start to get that Harley riders nod from others in the know ... a real unspoken fraternity vibe

 

[Zombie_61]

you also sort of start to get that Harley riders nod from others in the know ... a real unspoken fraternity vibe

Here in southern California I generally get one of three responses from other fedora wearers - they keep sneaking peeks at whichever hat I'm wearing trying not to be obvious, they glare at me, or they just ignore me entirely. lol

 

[Frunobulax]

Welcome to the Lounge, foamy! As you can see, you will get nothing but encouragement from us.

 

[foamy]

It seems that way when you first start wearing proper hats (or something other than a ball cap), but you'll be surprised by how quickly you'll stop thinking about it and your hat just becomes part of your everyday wardrobe...and then you'll start wondering why everyone else isn't wearing one.

And welcome to The Lounge! :yo:

Thanks very much. I appreciate it. And yes, I've just recently started to brazen it out. I've been wearing a hat out every day (dictated by weather, what I'm wearing, how I'm feeling about things or what I'm going to be doing) for the past couple of months. I mentioned to girlie-girl that they attract some attention and that I wasn't sure if I was comfortable with that as I tend to like to blend in. She smiled and said that I haven't "blended in" with anything since she's known me. She also noted that it hasn't stopped me from wearing them, so it couldn't be bothering me that much. She's right—of course.

It also helps that it's Summer and I love a straw hat. I've been cautiously feeling my way around with some inexpensive Cuenca's and now have an urge to spring for something "nicer." Some of the Panama's I've seen you fellows sporting have given me a case of the "I wants." In fact, lurking here has broadened my horizons tremendously. I see fedoras in my future and my wallet getting thinner.

Addressing the hat watching; I do that now, and have caught other hat wearers surreptitiously checking out what I have on. No biggie. I have no problem complimenting another man's (or woman's) lid, or anything else for that matter. It's a good way to meet people.

Again, thanks for the welcome.

 

[ChicagoWayVito]

How does one add ventilation holes to the crown of a hat?

I have seen several different types of ventilation holes in crowns, some use some type of grommet and others are just holes in the felt usually in some type of decorative pattern. What tools does one need to do this work themselves (both grommet and non-grommet styles)?

Cheers,
Kevin

 

[rogerstg]

You can use a leather punch to make the holes. If I wanted grommets, I'd check with a cobbler to see if they can do it.

 

[RJR]

Tandy Leather has grommet kits in several sizes.

 

[ingineer]

Grommet thread
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?16998-Now-Forming!-the-Campaign-Hat-Corps/page68
punches?
http://www.amazon.com/SE-791LP-Heav...sbs_469_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1X718MAXM9HRSYN7DRDR
grommets
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0071DM188...b117ee0100c13352e44c5_1995_5316_972865121_879
for the fancy star pattern i'd go to someone like Art

 

[ChicagoWayVito]

Grommet thread
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?16998-Now-Forming!-the-Campaign-Hat-Corps/page68
for the fancy star pattern i'd go to someone like Art

Thanks for the link to that particular thread. The star/snowflake pattern is what I would like to aspire to as I am making my own hats. Interestingly the post by Picard1138 shows the snowflake vent that was made using a heated sewing needle, there must be a tool to accomplish that work without using heated needles.

 

[volvomeister13]

Is a more or less straight-sided 5 1/2" open crown fedora sufficiently 1930's-esque or does the extra 1/4" of a 5 3/4" open crown really make a huge difference?

 

[TheDane]

Thanks for the link to that particular thread. The star/snowflake pattern is what I would like to aspire to as I am making my own hats. Interestingly the post by Picard1138 shows the snowflake vent that was made using a heated sewing needle, there must be a tool to accomplish that work without using heated needles.

Mike Moore (Buckaroo Hatters, Covington TN) bought a punch tool at the sell-out auction at Langenberg/BeaverBrand in 2013. You can see it on first page of this thread