Felt question

[WNNFL]

I have purchase an older 3x OR. Though, I am not certain if it is "vintage" as I do not have a piece of plastic at the crown portion of the inside liner as I have seen on some on the other posts. On some areas of the brim, the felt has lines or perhaps "wrinkles" that could best be described as giving the hat the look of distressed leather. Even after cleaning and then steaming the hat these "wrinkles" remain. Is there any way to get rid of these wrinkles? Is this an indicator of an problem with the felt or is it just attributle to age? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!:fing28:

 

[tonyb]

Are you able to post pictures, WNNFL? The problem with your Open Road sounds a lot like what I see on a Thoroughbred brand hat that belongs to my brother. This one has a couple of wrinkles that look something like bent cardboard. A portion of the underside of the brim was faded when it came into his possession. It appears that the hat was stored in a position that left only that faded area exposed to strong sunlight; perhaps it hung from a peg or a hat tree near a window.
I sanded the faded area, which went some way toward restoring the color, but it made those wrinkles more pronounced. I, too, am at a loss. It's not that my brother cares much about the hat (he hadn't worn it in so long that it had a heavy layer of dust when he handed it off to me to clean it), but it had belonged to an old family friend who died several years ago, so it has some sentimental value.
I'm guessing that the problem is, ultimately, cheap felt and/or shoddy finishing. The Thoroughbred is all fur felt (it has a label on the sweatband that says so, and it feels like it is), but its quality is on a par with that of the newer Open Roads, which is to say it's not very good. That's why it would be good to get some sense of your Open Road's actual vintage.
But what the heck, it's still a serviceable hat--not one I'd wear with a new suit, but perfectly good for knocking around in. Still, if anyone has advice for us on dealing with those wrinkles, I'm all ears.

 

[WNNFL]

No pictures

Unfortunatley, I am "technicallly challenged" when it comes to posting the requested picture. I believe that the hat was from the late '60's early 70's time frame. Therefore, I am not suprised that is probaly not of the best quality. All that aside, for the price it is still a hat and it will be used to save my better hats from use in extremely bad weather or field work.