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[Joao Encarnado]

Why do I see so many people, including on this forum, with sweat stained felt on the outside of the hat? Did you remove your sweat bands? Why do none of my Akubras develop this beloved "much loved hat" aesthetic that I crave?

From my personal experience, it takes a lot of time for the sweat (and a lot of it too) to get through the felt. It took more than a year for my walking hat to develop such stains but I only wore it 1h every day. Humid/cold weather helps since the sweat does not dry fast.
Never removed the sweatband, but it's not an Akubra, it's a 5x beaver Stetson.

 

[bradleyheathhays]

BTW Hatter thanks. Real good tip on the etsy store.

 

[Redfokker]

I have been a hat collector for almost two decades now and I have everything from silk toppers to Resistol cowboy hats.

Having family ties in Australia and having spent a lot of time in Queensland over the years, I have fallen in love with the "distressed Akubra" look - something you will see a fair amount of in Australia, if you stay out of the big towns. Being a perfectionist, I find it very difficult to allow any asymmetry to form in my Akubra and no matter how long I own, wear and sweat into my Akubras, they always look brand new.

However, one thing that makes a hat look "worn" is sweat stains in the felt, something you will see a lot of in Australia. What I don't understand is that these hats have leather sweat bands which prevent the felt from developing sweat stains. The only time an akubra of mine started to develop sweat stained felt was after a year of backpacking in Australia; the sweat band on my Akubra had shrunk so much that I was forced to remove it, otherwise the hat wouldn't fit anymore. So here's my question:

Why do I see so many people, including on this forum, with sweat stained felt on the outside of the hat? Did you remove your sweat bands? Why do none of my Akubras develop this beloved "much loved hat" aesthetic that I crave?

I personally prefer the most pristine of vintage hats. If the worn look is desired, the natural way of sweat, weather and age would be acceptable. I know there are hat makers out there who charge exorbitant amounts of money for your hat to look like it was run over by a truck (Lory to you my English friend). Just not my cup of tea. With this being said, I have what I consider as "Work" hats, they are still nice looking hats, but I don't have any qualms about wearing them for yard work, building sets at the theater, or washing cars. The vintage Stephen L. Stetson I wore today is an example of this. Still a nice hat, but a "beater". Everyone has their own favorite look, and that is the beauty of our hobby.

Welcome to the Fray! You sound like you will fit right in and be a valued member of our family.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

I personally prefer the most pristine of vintage hats. If the worn look is desired, the natural way of sweat, weather and age would be acceptable. I know there are hat makers out there who charge exorbitant amounts of money for your hat to look like it was run over by a truck (Lory to you my English friend). Just not my cup of tea. With this being said, I have what I consider as "Work" hats, they are still nice looking hats, but I don't have any qualms about wearing them for yard work, building sets at the theater, or washing cars. The vintage Stephen L. Stetson I wore today is an example of this. Still a nice hat, but a "beater". Everyone has their own favorite look, and that is the beauty of our hobby.

Welcome to the Fray! You sound like you will fit right in and be a valued member of our family.

I'm not a fan of the weathered look either. I remember seeing Quigly Down Under hats available in several grades of pre-soiling. Seemed strange to me. Artificial distressing just doesn't make any sense to my mind.

I go to some lengths to keep my hats clean so the idea of wanting them to look weathered or sweat stained is foreign to me. I guess it's more of a western or outback thing?

Everyone needs a good beater or two. Of course I know of a short balding fellow who gardens in museum quality hats and fine customs. Man, I love that guy's hats!

 

[Joao Encarnado]

I know there are hat makers out there who charge exorbitant amounts of money for your hat to look like it was run over by a truck (Lory to you my English friend). Just not my cup of tea.

Those always look fake and terrible.
I hate those. It could be a nice clean hat but someone decided to thrash it.
I do like the (real) weathered/stain hat but I do like the clean/pristine ones too.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

I only where Cordova caps have 15 of them.


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When my Powerball numbers hit....


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[deadlyhandsome]

I have several B!Wear caps.I've found that within reason Brett will do whatever you like.This one is team colors,etc. View attachment 100410

Great looking cap! This guy is only 20 minutes form me and I never knew he existed.


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[The Wiser Hatter]

I just wear nice caps Bwear caps are not in any way the style or type of I enjoy wearing. Learned long ago to enjoy wear caps and fedoras buy well made ones.


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[RJR]

I just wear nice caps Bwear caps are not in any way the style or type of I enjoy wearing. Learned long ago to enjoy wear caps and fedoras buy well made ones.


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Cant disagree,to each his own.

 

[Zombie_61]

I'm in the "Don't care for artificially distressed hats" group myself. I really appreciate the look of a well-used "beater" hat, but only when it has earned it's "scars" honestly through years of faithful service. Initially I was looking forward to one or two of my Akubras some day attaining this look, but they're such tough hats that I'm now doubting it will happen in my lifetime.

 

[cozy d]

I don't get why anyone would pay a premium for "distressed" based on aesthetic alone. It's kind of a pet peve of mine, but I will spare u guys the rant. Having said that, I would pay a premium for something to be "broken in" if it improves the comfort or function. That makes better sense to me.

Kinda why I tend to vintage fur felt hats, IMHO, they can be had at a value over new wool, and I would trust their durability relative to wool. They can also be reinvented over again, even from "beater" and back, maintaining their value.. but it took me a few years to come to that conclusion.

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[jlee562]

I'm not one for stains, but I definitely have a beater Resistol where I've mashed the crown in highly asymmetrical ways to get that kind of "distressed" look. But I'm trying to ape the John Wayne in Rio Bravo look.

And while it's not necessarily my personal choice either, some do better than others. Judging from their online pictures, Baron is actually quite good at it. I saw some Knudsen hats with "trail dust" when I was browsing at Golden Gate Western wear and those looked pretty good as well. Certainly there's a market for these hats with historical reenactors.

Oh, and actually I kinda lied because I do have the Resistol Cogburn hat which does have some artificial "dirt" on it. Oops.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[gtdean48]

I have been a hat collector for almost two decades now and I have everything from silk toppers to Resistol cowboy hats.

Having family ties in Australia and having spent a lot of time in Queensland over the years, I have fallen in love with the "distressed Akubra" look - something you will see a fair amount of in Australia, if you stay out of the big towns. Being a perfectionist, I find it very difficult to allow any asymmetry to form in my Akubra and no matter how long I own, wear and sweat into my Akubras, they always look brand new.

However, one thing that makes a hat look "worn" is sweat stains in the felt, something you will see a lot of in Australia. What I don't understand is that these hats have leather sweat bands which prevent the felt from developing sweat stains. The only time an akubra of mine started to develop sweat stained felt was after a year of backpacking in Australia; the sweat band on my Akubra had shrunk so much that I was forced to remove it, otherwise the hat wouldn't fit anymore. So here's my question:

Why do I see so many people, including on this forum, with sweat stained felt on the outside of the hat? Did you remove your sweat bands? Why do none of my Akubras develop this beloved "much loved hat" aesthetic that I crave?

I get most of my stains cleaning stalls with plenty of dust particles flying about or riding in the round pen. My head sweats even in dead of winter which usually saturates the band & bleeds to the outside of the felt around the base of the crown. Dirt & dust get on that sweat either from airborn dirt or my hat hitting the ground, which happens way too often. Some hats I do clean off with a good sponging or brushing but some I let weather with age for that worn look.

 

[belfastboy]

Sounds perfect!

I do often cook with wine- some of it even goes into the dish!

Yes, I too am from the Julia Child school of cooking!

 

[Jhoff_1979]

Hello fellow hat lovers. I have a question for you all. One of my silverbelly felts had somehow acquired a dark spot on the top of the brim. When I first noticed it tonight it looked like an ink dot. It is NOT as I have not had any pens around the hat. I cannot figure out what it could be as I didn't have it yesterday morning.

My question is what can I use to try to lift it out of the hat brim? Any common household products? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks gents.

It is a little bigger than the period at the end of this sentence.

 

[RJR]

Hello fellow hat lovers. I have a question for you all. One of my silverbelly felts had somehow acquired a dark spot on the top of the brim. When I first noticed it tonight it looked like an ink dot. It is NOT as I have not had any pens around the hat. I cannot figure out what it could be as I didn't have it yesterday morning.

My question is what can I use to try to lift it out of the hat brim? Any common household products? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks gents.

It is a little bigger than the period at the end of this sentence. View attachment 100711

Have you tried a good brushing?

 

[Hurricane Jack]

If that is a drop of oil or other petroleum product put some dry cornstarch on the spot & let it set for a few days. Just make sure it is fine ground. It's the same principal as using oilzorb on your garage floor. The cornstarch can easily be brushed or vacuumed off with no harm done to the hat. Dry Kitty Litter is another good absorbent.

 

[Jhoff_1979]

Have you tried a good brushing?

I just did. Took a little bit of it out. Still noticeable to me. Would baby powder do anything?

 

[Jhoff_1979]

If that is a drop of oil or other petroleum product put some dry cornstarch on the spot & let it set for a few days. Just make sure it is fine ground. It's the same principal as using oilzorb on your garage floor. The cornstarch can easily be brushed or vacuumed off with no harm done to the hat. Dry Kitty Litter is another good absorbent.

Whatever it is is now dry.

 

[TunedVWGti]

Question about the new light brown Stetson Open Road 6x Royal Deluxe.

I tried on a new Stetson Open Road 6x Royal Deluxe yesterday, but it was in a new light brown color. It wasn't chocolate or fawn, but a lighter brown that was almost heather brown, and it had a contrasting band in darker brown.

I need one in 7 1/4 as the 7 3/8 was too large.

Has anyone else seen this color? I contacted one seller and he said they should be back in stock in a month or so... I guess I could order the sage as I like that too, but the light brown was really my favorite.

Any opinions on these hats?

Thanks!

Troy