Ask a question, get an answer

[TheDane]

I'm a little apprehensive of doing the naptha bath since I don't know how the cardboard "water repellent treated" tag will react.

That's life. Very often tags and labels are lost during cleaning/blocking. Luckily it's not the priceless scroud of some historic person, but just an old hat

 

[Roan]

Thanks Dane, that will come in handy for sure!

I know I am late to the party here but is the hat really in that bad of shape? I honestly have had a ton of success just giving it a bath in hot water and dawn soap.

It's not really in bad shape, it seems to just not have been stored very well, and there's a rather obvious stain on the center-top front portion of the pinch which, if I can clean up, will make the hat virtually immaculate.

 

[Rogera]

A very old trick I learned from my father is to soak the stain with naphta - and then put a small mount of starch on top (potato or maize flour). The starch will suck up the naphta together with the dirt - and can be brushed off in a short time ... after 10 - 15 minutes. My dad learned it from his tailoring grand dad, so the method has probably been in use from around the middle of the 1800s, and it was still widely in use when I was a kid in the 50s and 60s

I have used the same method and it definitely works

 

[John Galt]

Brad, what do use the glue for? I've just pinched the reed together on the ferrule and sewn the sweat to itself with e few stitches at the junction before sewing the body of the sweat together.

JG


"Faint hat never won fair lady."

 

[TheDane]

Should you get "rings", you can sometimes blur them by massaging the edges lightly with a cloth moistered with naphta - lightly wipe in small circles. It's like a cleaning of a teenager's room. It doesn't make it clean - but the dirt gets evened out

 

[John Galt]

A very old trick I learned from my father is to soak the stain with naphta - and then put a small mount of starch on top (potato or maize flour). The starch will suck up the naphta together with the dirt - and can be brushed off in a short time ... after 10 - 15 minutes. My dad learned it from his tailoring grand dad, so the method has probably been in use from around the middle of the 1800s, and it was still widely in use when I was a kid in the 50s and 60s

Nice trick! Thanks for sharing. My grandmother used to whiten canvas shoes with a paste of salt & water & place then by the stove to dry before brushing off the paste.


"Faint hat never won fair lady."

 

[TheDane]

My grandmother used to whiten canvas shoes with a paste of salt & water & place then by the stove to dry before brushing off the paste.

Great idea. Aside from sucking up dirt, the chlorine in the salt probably bleach the shoes a little. Smart!

 

[Brad Bowers]

Brad, what do use the glue for? I've just pinched the reed together on the ferrule and sewn the sweat to itself with e few stitches at the junction before sewing the body of the sweat together.

JG


"Faint hat never won fair lady."

Just to make sure it stays together while I sew the seam. That's the way I was taught. To tell you the truth, I never thought about crimping the ferrule until you mentioned it. I'll have to try that.

Brad

 

[John Galt]

Just to make sure it stays together while I sew the seam. That's the way I was taught. To tell you the truth, I never thought about crimping the ferrule until you mentioned it. I'll have to try that.

Brad

I use a very small pair of craft pliers with no real teeth. It doesn't take much torque to get it to hold.


"Faint hat never won fair lady."

 

[John Galt]

Great idea. Aside from sucking up dirt, the chlorine in the salt probably bleach the shoes a little. Smart!

It actually bleaches them quite well. I believe the radiant heat from the fire helped with the chemical reaction.


"Faint hat never won fair lady."

 

[Landman]

I have used a similar technique to TheDane's starch treatment except I used Johnson's Baby Powder. Without using any naptha, I will put a small pile of baby powder on the stain and let it sit overnight. On most stains, especially if it is oily, the baby powder will absorb the substance. Then just turn the hat over and thump the opposite side of the felt and the powder will fall off. You can then brush the remainder of the powder away. The baby powder actually leaves a nice smell to the hat. If that doesn't work then I will try the naptha and baby powder. I was able to remove some pretty nasty looking stains with just the powder and no naptha though.

 

[Crazy Dave]

Help me date this? It's a Brooks Brothers hat I got off ebay. I'd actually bid on a Stetson 3X Stingy, Olive Green, in a size 7. Wanted to buy it for my son (he's 9), because it's better and cheaper than a store-bought wool felt. I won the auction (cheap ) , and got this hat (dark brown Brooks Brothers, size 7 3/4) in the mail instead. It will be a bit too large for my boy, but I have some padding left from my Fed IV's, and he'll grow into it the rest of the way. I like the hat, the felt feels great, and it is beautifully made. It looks old. I looked through the hats by decade thread, and cannot say if it's from the fifties or sixties. Help me date it?

 

[Lotsahats]

I'd say 60s based on the price.

 

[TheDane]

I'd say 60s based on the price.

Based on the silhouette/style and the oilsilk behind the sweat I would also say early 60s - maybe even late 50s

 

[Crazy Dave]

Thanks guys!

 

[TheDane]

You're welcome, but please note: It's a (qualified) guess

Btw, your son is a lucky potato! I like the respect you show him with the effort you put into finding him a nice and stylish piece of headgear of high quality - and inform on it's history and properties. At the end of the day, that will most likely result in a deeper understanding of - and greater joy about - quality in life. In my book, that spells "parential seriousity"

 

[Lotsahats]

:arated: As I often say, Ole put it exactly right.

 

[mojoboots]

Vintage Dunlap whisperjet

Hi, new here, hope i'm in the right place! looking for information on Dunlap whisperjet hats - values, rarity, etc.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Robert

 

[Brad Bowers]

Welcome to the Lounge, Robert. I haven't heard of the Dunlap Whisperjet, but there was a period in the 1960s when manufacturers named some models after passenger jets. That sounds like what you might have, as the name was used by Eastern Airlines. I can find no information on a Dunlap model of the same name, but it's not too surprising, as Dunlap was a lower-tier brand of Hat Corporation of America at the time and most of the advertising budget went to their Dobbs, Knox, and Cavanagh brands. I would say it's a rare hat, as Dunlap production numbers weren't large by that time. As for value, it's hard to say, as so much depends on age, size, and condition. Any photos you could post would help, though you'll have to host them on another site, such as Photobucket, until you have enough posts here on the Lounge to have photo upload permission.

Brad

 

[mojoboots]

Thanks Brad, i will try and get some pictures up.
Robert