Ebay Hats: Victories, Defeats, Gripes & Items of Interest

[jrbobbyh]

It makes me think that it was "deodorized" when it was packed, and that then wore off.
Hadn't heard about the newspaper. May try that.

 

[alanfgag]

Now just hoping I will find that the dowel spacing was an industry standard... Like brim width and crown height. 8^o

and so it was/is!

 

[splintercellsz]

It makes me think that it was "deodorized" when it was packed, and that then wore off.
Hadn't heard about the newspaper. May try that.

If I remember correctly, fill the bag up with newspaper, put the hat in, and cover the hat in more newspaper, and tie off the bag. Let it sit for a few days to weeks, then check the hat for smells.

 

[gtdean48]

It makes me think that it was "deodorized" when it was packed, and that then wore off.
Hadn't heard about the newspaper. May try that.

I got HEAVY pipe smoker smell out of a vintage Stetson using the crumpled newspaper trick. The paper seems to wick the odors out. Next step afterwards is to get some talcum powder & coat the hat with it. Gently work the powder into the felt then brush it off. The talc will absorb dirt & other soiling in the fibers & removes it when brushed out. HTH

 

[CaramelSmoothie]

I got HEAVY pipe smoker smell out of a vintage Stetson using the crumpled newspaper trick. The paper seems to wick the odors out. Next step afterwards is to get some talcum powder & coat the hat with it. Gently work the powder into the felt then brush it off. The talc will absorb dirt & other soiling in the fibers & removes it when brushed out. HTH

Ooh, thanks for this tip about the talcum powder. I have a ton of felt cloches and wool hats I want cleaned but just haven't put in the effort to get it done. Just out of curiosity, when men take their hats to be cleaned, what method does the hat shop use?

 

[casechopper]

A simple hat cleaning would be to dunk and rinse out the hat with dry cleaning chemicals. A more complete cleaning would involve a reblocking after cleaning. Some hatters (I believe tonyb here on the forum is one) actually prefer to clean with water and then reblock rather than dry cleaning.

 

[jrbobbyh]

Thank you
OK. I have placed it in a bag with the newspaper, and will wait...

Has anyone here ever used the product Nok-Out on a hat? It promises to address the mold-related issue, which is what this smells like.

 

[scooter]

My work hat was filthy, and I just put water and Woolite in the sink, and it was cleaner when it came out of that dunking then after a professional cleaner (who shall not be named publicly) was done with it. Just reshaped it with my fingers and let it dry on the counter. Looks just as good as before.

 

[CaramelSmoothie]

A simple hat cleaning would be to dunk and rinse out the hat with dry cleaning chemicals. A more complete cleaning would involve a reblocking after cleaning. Some hatters (I believe tonyb here on the forum is one) actually prefer to clean with water and then reblock rather than dry cleaning.

Thank you.

My work hat was filthy, and I just put water and Woolite in the sink, and it was cleaner when it came out of that dunking then after a professional cleaner (who shall not be named publicly) was done with it. Just reshaped it with my fingers and let it dry on the counter. Looks just as good as before.

What material is your work hat made of?

 

[fashion frank]

This one just came in today I got it last week for $30.00 w/S&H included .

I have a lot of summer straws but I just could not pass on this one .

All the Best ,Fashion Frank

 

[scooter]

my work hat is an old stetson sovereign, in short, fur felt. my experience with fur felt has been, don't burn them, don't cut them, and they're pretty difficult to damage. make sure and revitalize the sweatband after wetting it.

 

[Lefty]

I know you were watching the NRA hat. Heck, with all of those bids, you may have been like me and just tossed in a low ball for the heck of it.

 

[CaramelSmoothie]

This one just came in today I got it last week for $30.00 w/S&H included .

I have a lot of summer straws but I just could not pass on this one .

All the Best ,Fashion Frank

Nice hat Frank. What decade is this hat from and how do you plan to clean this straw hat when the time comes?

 

[CaramelSmoothie]

my work hat is an old stetson sovereign, in short, fur felt. my experience with fur felt has been, don't burn them, don't cut them, and they're pretty difficult to damage. make sure and revitalize the sweatband after wetting it.

Thank you so much for this information. I have a TON of hats that I want to clean and it would be cost prohibitive for me to send them out to be cleaned, since the prices I see here seem to be 40-50 per hat, no sirree! I'm thinking these hats are either wool or fur felt. I like talc powder to clean a hat but I would want to do that AFTER I ran the hat through some soap and water to give it a deeper cleaning and use the talcum powder method as maintenance. Was the water that you used cold, warm or hot? It seems like it would be a good idea to dry it while it's on the head of a mannequin to prevent shrinkage. Or does fur felt not shrink like wool?

 

[CaramelSmoothie]

I'm conflicted about this hat. I LOVE the style but I HATE these patterns at the top of it.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SENSATIONAL...735?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4ac1a408bf

 

[singlechange]

Ditto on the nice hat comment earlier Frank....especially good to see a wider brim straw hat like yours too. Is that a 3 1/2 inch brim or larger and is the ribbon brown? I have one in the works with almost a 3 3/4 inch brim I'm curious to see how it fits on me. A styling note for you: the suit, shirt and necktie works well for you but perhaps you might give a smaller knot like a simple four in hand next time to go with the smaller size collar of the white shirt. Cheers.

 

[scooter]

I think it worth while to dry the hat on an appropriately size hat shaper, but be wary, as anything too tight will leave a ridge in the felt. I didn't experience the fur felt shrinking, but it WILL stretch a bit when wet, so you can inadvertently leave a ridge where the sweatband imprints the fur. Keep in mind as well, I had nothing invests to speak of in this hat, so I could afford to experiment.

 

[CaramelSmoothie]

I think it worth while to dry the hat on an appropriately size hat shaper, but be wary, as anything too tight will leave a ridge in the felt. I didn't experience the fur felt shrinking, but it WILL stretch a bit when wet, so you can inadvertently leave a ridge where the sweatband imprints the fur. Keep in mind as well, I had nothing invests to speak of in this hat, so I could afford to experiment.

Thanks again Scooter. I plan to experiment on a couple of hats that I can afford to lose. Again, what temperature water did you use when you washed your fur felt hat? Cold, warm or hot?

 

[ofcoursemyhorse]

Knox Superfine Riding Derby

If I ever decide to do dressage, i'm all set.

 

[splintercellsz]

Very nice, OCMH!