Hat Horror Stories

[RobFedoraField]

hatshaper

.. I was rather succesful by using lots of water and a hatshaper (plastic hatblock), and finally i creased the hat in the best shape ever, then to bed I went...

I've seen these before, and it sounds like you've had good luck with it? do you shape the crown and the brim or just the crown?

 

[Scott Wood]

I had (operative word had) a gorgeous Churchill western hat in beaver with a pheasant hat band that fell off the rack one day. Came home to find that our new puppy really enjoyed the delicious treat. It was my best hat. The dog passed away Christmas morning at the age of 17 and I'd feed her a Borsalino to get her back . . .

fftopic:
I have had dogs all my life, am known in my area as the dog whisperer and have rescued retrained(you can teach an old dog new tricks) and found homes for a lot of dogs in particular retired greyhounds.
About 5 years ago I lost my older dog over christmas and his brother just collapsed a few months later so I know what you mean about the Borsalino :|
At the time I swore that I wasn't going to get a dog right away because I was so sad, then a friend in dog rescue as well came to us about this one:

She had 3 days to live in the shelter she was in, just had to take her!
She has been the sweetest and best ever. In this village where they will shoot dogs that they think are being pests she actually gets treats (dammit ) when she goes visiting and the kids always want to play with her.
Remember: "all dogs go to heaven"

Our condolences,

Tinker and Scott

 

[filfoster]

Signal 13

Lefty wrote: this one is also pretty ugly

That is a horrifying sight!

 

[filfoster]

Dillinger fedora for sale

The T&J mentioned in an earlier post (where the pictures were missing) was mine. I dug up the picture and here is a shot of the damage. Still breaks my heart!

Think of the eBay bucks an unscrupulous seller could make claiming this belonged to a famous bankrobber and the hole was a gunshot.

 

[steveforse]

Hatastrophes

I bought a vintage Stetson crushable fur-felt bowler that was so original, the original packing tissue had crystalized and shattered into a million pieces in the box. I was its first owner. What a dismal caretaker I was, too.

It was a wonderful hat, but the brim was too flat. I tried bending it up while it was dry, which obviously didn't work. Instead of curling, the felt tore where the grosgrain was sewed on. Not too bad, but what I did next was horrible.

Long story short, I had super glue everywhere and the had was ruined beyond wearability. If only I had discovered this site back then. I ruined a true classic and still feel guilty.

--

More recently, I was trying to reshape my favorite Dobbs fedora. I did a pretty good job by pouring hot water onto the brim and lightly massaging into the shape I wanted. Sadly, what I thought was a leather headband was actually plastic and it melted into a shriveled mess. I'm still upset about that one, too. I hate plastic.

 

[jwalls]

I was about to go out one evening when my dad called from the farm for help with a problem. After helping a cow deliver a calf I discovered a large green stain that any cattleman would reconize on a brand new Open Road that I had forgotten to remove from my head.

 

[texashatman]

I left my dressing room door open and had a number of hats (2 ORs and a modern Temple) laying on the couch. My 110# Chocolate Lab jumped right on top of them and slept all night. When I woke up in the morning I was mad more at myself than the dog. Luckily I was able to work out all the creases so it was more of a scare than a catastrophe. I will never leave that door open at night again.

 

[hatted]

The T&J mentioned in an earlier post (where the pictures were missing) was mine. I dug up the picture and here is a shot of the damage. Still breaks my heart!

Is that a Knox?

 

[djgo-cat-go]

I've seen these before, and it sounds like you've had good luck with it? do you shape the crown and the brim or just the crown?

I have only one and was succesful in blocking 2 fur-felts back into an open crown.. I just did the crown..

 

[cptjeff]

Is that a Knox?

Knox Tom an Jerry. A rare and collectible one, not to mention quite a fine hat.

 

[hatted]

Knox Tom an Jerry. A rare and collectible one, not to mention quite a fine hat.

I thought that was the knox logo on the button. The way I see it, a hat that fine can be worn even with a cigerette burn (though it does play better as a victim of gun violence).

 

[Lefty]

Go back one page and follow the link. It's one of the many incarnations of the Knox Tom 'n Jerry.

 

[Sam Craig]

new to old panama

Those are some harrowing stories, which make this tame, but it was awful at the moment.

Many years ago, I bought my first real panama ... tall crown, wide brim ... beautiful hat

I took my girl to the movies ... I was sitting on the aisle ... and a friend was walking by.

I said hello but he didn't hear me, so I reached up and grabbed his sleeve.

He whirled around ... startled, he later claimed ... and grabbed my brand new panama, breaking the straw in the pinch front.:rage:

That was some 40 years ago and we are still friends to this day, but I don't think a year has passed when I haven't brought the incident up.

Still waiting for a replacement panama, too[huh]