Ask a question, get an answer

[The Shoe]

How expensive were the hats? The hat the fellow brought in he paid $200US for a few years back. It was just a felt shell. No sweat band, no ribbon, no liner.....just a black felt hat.

I edited my post to include the link to the English page, but I don’t think I got it done before you saw my answer - it should show up if you refresh the page.

 

[Rmccamey]

Ok all you milliners out there, I've found my next new hat color. Collings calls it Charcoal Frost.

 

[BobHufford]

Ok all you milliners out there, I've found my next new hat color. Collings calls it Charcoal Frost.

View attachment 494769
View attachment 494770

Do you own the guitar or are you justifying buying it to match a soon-to-be-new hat?

 

[Rmccamey]

You know me too well, Bob!

A hat in that color is within reason. A Collings in that color, not so much

 

[Zombie_61]

Ok all you milliners out there, I've found my next new hat color. Collings calls it Charcoal Frost.

View attachment 494769

So...gray. Cool.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Anyone have a hat made from FEPSAs “pale whale” color? I’d love to see photos:

 

[wsmontana]

I have a couple of older black hats that have noticeable cracking on the felt. Besides cleaning is there a technique to repair or reduce the visibility of the cracks? I plan to experiment on the hat shown here.

Thanks for any tips.

Bill

 

[Rmccamey]

OK all you history buffs and researchers, I'm trying to track down information for a friend (yes, an actual friend). Here is the only identifier on the textured sweatband of a black bowler hat, The Waldorf Special. (Not my hat...I wish!). I'm trying to get more photo's and information but there may be something on a receipt or hat box to suggest this is pre-1923. I can't make out the trademark, FB perhaps?

Thoughts?

 

[Hurricane Jack]

OK all you history buffs and researchers, I'm trying to track down information for a friend (yes, an actual friend). Here is the only identifier on the textured sweatband of a black bowler hat, The Waldorf Special. (Not my hat...I wish!). I'm trying to get more photo's and information but there may be something on a receipt or hat box to suggest this is pre-1923. I can't make out the trademark, FB perhaps?

Thoughts?

View attachment 495790

Playing with the contrast I read The Waldorf Special Trans Mart. I believe the original Waldorf Astoria New York was the location for the ticker tape machine & the stock market big board during WWI, so 1917-1918. Make sense? If correct that may help date the derby but not identify the hat maker.

 

[Rmccamey]

Playing with the contrast I read The Waldorf Special Trans Mart. I believe the original Waldorf Astoria New York was the location for the ticker tape machine & the stock market big board during WWI, so 1917-1918. Make sense? If correct that may help date the derby but not identify the hat maker.


View attachment 495808

Thanks, Jack. That would be a logical argument. I'll see if I can find out more.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

Thanks, Jack. That would be a logical argument. I'll see if I can find out more.

If the letters are some combination of
EBC, it could be the Commonwealth of the British Empire, established in 1917. Sort of adds to the TRANS Atlantic idea?

 

[skylize]

I have a couple of older black hats that have noticeable cracking on the felt. Besides cleaning is there a technique to repair or reduce the visibility of the cracks? I plan to experiment on the hat shown here.

Thanks for any tips.

Bill
View attachment 495789
View attachment 495787 View attachment 495788

Hopefully someone will correct me if I'm giving "bad" advice here as a noob. I think you can fix those "cracks" rather easily with a bit of wet brushing.

First brush off as much dirt and whatnot as you can. Then spritz with water and brush in circles where it's wet, alternating the direction. The fibers should get hung up on each other and pull back together. After the cracks disappear, do a light pass of the same wet brushing over the whole hat for consistency.

While it's still damp, do the usual counter-clockwise brushing to get everything smooth and even. Then make any shape corrections, and hang or block to finish drying.

 

[belfastboy]

Hopefully someone will correct me if I'm giving "bad" advice here as a noob. I think you can fix those "cracks" rather easily with a bit of wet brushing.

First brush off as much dirt and whatnot as you can. Then spritz with water and brush in circles where it's wet, alternating the direction. The fibers should get hung up on each other and pull back together. After the cracks disappear, do a light pass of the same wet brushing over the whole hat for consistency.

While it's still damp, do the usual counter-clockwise brushing to get everything smooth and even. Then make any shape corrections, and hang or block to finish drying.

It would be worth a shot as there is nothing much to lose. Those cracks appear as though the felting has deteriorated and nothing will restore it to felted condition. But as you suggest if you get the fibres raised a bit and flowing in the same direction you may be able to hide the cracks. Worth a shot.

 

[wsmontana]

Hopefully someone will correct me if I'm giving "bad" advice here as a noob. I think you can fix those "cracks" rather easily with a bit of wet brushing.

First brush off as much dirt and whatnot as you can. Then spritz with water and brush in circles where it's wet, alternating the direction. The fibers should get hung up on each other and pull back together. After the cracks disappear, do a light pass of the same wet brushing over the whole hat for consistency.

While it's still damp, do the usual counter-clockwise brushing to get everything smooth and even. Then make any shape corrections, and hang or block to finish drying.

Thanks for the tip skylize! I will definitely give this a try.

Bill

 

[wsmontana]

It would be worth a shot as there is nothing much to lose. Those cracks appear as though the felting has deteriorated and nothing will restore it to felted condition. But as you suggest if you get the fibres raised a bit and flowing in the same direction you may be able to hide the cracks. Worth a shot.

Thanks Belfastboy. I’m going to experiment with a few techniques and see what helps. This is a beater hat so I’m not too concerned about messing it up. I do hope to apply lessons learned to a nicer hat that I want to keep and restore.
Bill

 

[belfastboy]

Thanks Belfastboy. I’m going to experiment with a few techniques and see what helps. This is a beater hat so I’m not too concerned about messing it up. I do hope to apply lessons learned to a nicer hat that I want to keep and restore.
Bill

I restore vintage hats as part of my custom hat making business so if you have any questions just send me a note.

 

[skylize]

Thanks for the tip skylize! I will definitely give this a try.

Bill

Also, pick a brush with nice stiff bristles for this. A stiff boars hair will be way more effective at breaking the fibers apart than a soft horse hair. Then the alternating circlular motion will hopefully twist those newly loosened fibers back together. You can go back to a softer brush for smoothing things out at the end.

 

[belfastboy]

Also, pick a brush with nice stiff bristles for this. A stiff boars hair will be way more effective at breaking the fibers apart than a soft horse hair. Then the alternating circlular motion will hopefully twist those newly loosened fibers back together. You can go back to a softer brush for smoothing things out at the end.

Be very careful using a stiff haired brush. A stiff brush and vigorous rubbing will pull/tear the fibres away and you will lose felt and expose the crack even more.

 

[skylize]

Be very careful using a stiff haired brush. A stiff brush and vigorous rubbing will pull/tear the fibres away and you will lose felt and expose the crack even more.

Good point! To clarify:

Use a stiff brush, but be gentle. Using a stiff brush will be more effective than elbow grease with a soft one.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

Those cracks appear as though the felting has deteriorated and nothing will restore it to felted condition.

Those “cracks” are known as spiderwebbing & you will soon have a hole in the felt there unless you leave it absolutely alone.