Can a hatmaker smooth out and make a thinner feeling hat from a hat already made?

[memphislawyer]

I dont have much experience with custom hats, in fact, the only custom I had was a Buckaroo Hat. That hat is what I judge my others by. I have a Stetson Saxon and another hat I recently acquired. The Buckaroo feels warm, whereas when I put the Stetson on, that sweatband seems like it has been in a fridge for a bit. Anyway, the felts are totally different. The Stetson seems stiff, and the Buckaroo has backbone, but it is so soft and seems like it is half as thin.

So, the new hat I got is a little on the big size, I used the weatherstripping, about a 4 inch piece to shim behind the sweatband. I believe someone like Buckaroo could resize it down that small bit, but can then like sand the felt more to make both the Saxon and the recently acquired one to feel like the one Mike and Rocky did up for me? If so, do they sand it and set it on fire like I saw in a vide? I am thinking they can save the ribbon treatments, so wondering what you think the cost would be?

 

[barrowjh]

I suspect shrinking is possible, but that is a complete stripping of the felt, a hot water bath will shrink it a tiny bit, and then after it dries out re-block it and start over. If the felt needs cleaning also, this is a total refurbishment and most hatters quote a price for that, which includes putting the hat back together with a new sweatband and new ribbon (or re-use of the prior ribbon, your preference).

A refurb usually involves some pouncing, but there are limitations to this. If denatured alcohol is used to pull a good bit of the stiffener out of the felt during the refurb process, then more pouncing is possible. If there is no significant effort to pull out the stiffener then you run a risk that too much pouncing (sanding) will burn through the exterior fur we see and feel and sand right down to a harder central fur heavy with stiffener. This creates spots (different color, or appearance, because of different light reflection) that cannot come out, because you cannot add felt back. So, the thickness of the felt to begin with and the shellac content place some constraints on how much it can be sanded. The hatter with the sand paper in his hand has to make the call on when to stop, and you hope the hatter is experienced!!

 

[tonyb]

In many cases color mottling can be addressed, but just how it's done I prefer not to disclose (hard-won knowledge and all, as I'm sure you understand). Success varies quite a bit, depending mostly on the body color (some colors tend to mottle more than others) and how well the hat bodies take to the various methods of de-mottling them.

It's enough to say that it can turn into a whole lotta work. And trying to make a thinner, nicer-feeling (the "hand," as it's called) hat from an existing factory-made hat would likely be more work than building an all-new hat from scratch, for an end result that probably wouldn't be nearly as nice. As John noted, it would involve taking that existing hat apart and doing what can be done with the body before putting it all back together again.

 

[memphislawyer]

Wow, no, a little bit too involved. I love the hat. The ribbon works for me, and with the shim behind the sweatband, fits perfectly. I have learned painfully that trying to take something that say is 90% perfect and make it 100% perfect can render the item less than when it was 90%!!

It is just that when I put the Stetson on (and I get compliments and wife still likes it the best but it is the color I think) and then the Buckaroo, it is no comparison - the Buckaroo gives me such a comfort feeling. The hand of it is what I wish all my hats were. Now this other hat is second, and I would not want to risk it by having it modified based on the two above posts. The price I paid for it was great

 

[barrowjh]

If you mess around on ebay long enough you eventually gamble on a dark out-of-focus picture and end up with a hat that should go straight to the trash can. It was so cheap there isn't much point in sending it back. You can learn more from that one hat than you will learn from all the others, and try out several of the crazy ideas you see on these threads; you cannot make a throw-away into a keeper, but you can have a blast messing with it, and with the experience gained you will be a little more confident, a little less afraid of the hat.