A submerging and thorough soaking, and all bets are off re shrinkage
Ha ha Doug sounds familiar.I'd try a bath in white gas first. I took apart a beater Stetson No. 1 and nothing got it clean. White gas first, then hot soapy water. It took forever to rinse out all the soap and the felt was still dirty. As it dried over the next several days at room temperature, I kept stretching it over the top of my head to keep it from shrinking too much.
It's still sitting here while I figure out what to do with it. Maybe I'll dye it a dark moss green color and go from there...
Hi folks, I’ve recently begun to wear a felt fedora after years of wearing straw and canvas hats. I have always treated my hats as daily working garb. I work outside and it gets a little hot and dirty. I am not overtly hard on stuff, but my older hats have sweat stains and dirt, like a patina. I have a Stetson felt fedora that I’ve been wearing out quite a bit, and it still looks pretty nice. I’m looking forward to watching it become more broken in, although I doubt it will ever get to the point of Fred C. Dobbs’ or Indiana Jones’ fedora. So, who wears their nice felt fedora as a hard working daily driver, and how well has it held up?
I concur with Deadly's post above. With so many hats I doubt I will ever wear any one of them enough to beat it up. I do however have hat cataHi folks, I’ve recently begun to wear a felt fedora after years of wearing straw and canvas hats. I have always treated my hats as daily working garb. I work outside and it gets a little hot and dirty. I am not overtly hard on stuff, but my older hats have sweat stains and dirt, like a patina. I have a Stetson felt fedora that I’ve been wearing out quite a bit, and it still looks pretty nice. I’m looking forward to watching it become more broken in, although I doubt it will ever get to the point of Fred C. Dobbs’ or Indiana Jones’ fedora. So, who wears their nice felt fedora as a hard working daily driver, and how well has it held up?
Wow!Hats are worked hard in the Outback.
A couple of wedgetail's Woomera's:
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https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/akubra-woomera.86749/
And Eric Feinblatt's:
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https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/akubra-woomera.86749/page-8
I like the one with the top of the crown completely gone.Hats are worked hard in the Outback.
A couple of wedgetail's Woomera's:
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View attachment 143779
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https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/akubra-woomera.86749/
And Eric Feinblatt's:
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https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/akubra-woomera.86749/page-8
Yep, from distressed all the way to traumatized!Wow. Jack, that takes “distressed” to a whole new level!
I through the point of the tread was what do we do with are "beaten down" requiring attention. I have a Stetson 7X non clear beaver I am guessing 60s base on sweat and linner the size tag is long gone. I purchased this hat on the bay about 10 years back it was a daily wearer for 3 or 4 years. The stetson is now my shop -yard work hat, rain hat. I removed the sweat because the leather had harden due to wear, many napa baths and rain soakings. I decided the hat was not ready to toss I did not want to spend $150 on a complete refurb and shipping. I still need a beater and my beater needs a sweat so decided to install a sweat I has sitting around with spray adhesive.At what point do you retire your hat? Or maybe send it off for a renovation job? Lets hear about it, or maybe better yet, see it.
I can relate. The worse wear my hats have are some bleeding on the inside liner, and some cracking in the leather band of my Dobbs homburg that had belonged to my grandfather.I sincerely wish I had a hat for this thread. I got my first real hat (i.e., not a cheap mass-produced wool p.o.s.) in August of 2008--a dark brown Akubra Fed IV, looking forward to the day when it would attain the character exhibited by the hats in this thread. 10.5 years later, the damned thing looks just as good as it did the day I got it; maybe better. I'm beginning to think the only way I'll ever own a true beater hat is to find and buy one already in that condition.