Is hat resurrection possible?

[James71]

Gday all,

Ive been wearing Akubra cattlemen hats for years. They are actually work issue for the department that I work for, and they only tend to last two years at the most in the great outdoors in the rain until they lose all their shape and end up a floppy mess. I tend to whack them on top of the wardrobe and order a new one.....

But recently I have been getting into the fedora style hats, and have colleted a few fedora style akubras. I note that the cattleman is bashed in a teardrop style, but otherwise doesnt differ greatly in its size or construction to my new CEO.

So on to the questions....

Is there a way to starch a hat back up to wearable stiffness after its been weathered into a soft floppy mess? What do you use?

Can you reshape a cattleman into a fedora style crease? ( I note that the campdraft is a popular choice here as people shape it in a non-country fashion).

Where can I get ribbons to replace the leather band that comes on the cattleman if this project is possible.

Regards,

James

 

[Diamondback]

I don't know, and I don't know what kind of "weatherizing" treatments Akubra applies in the factory, but once you get it done you might consider hitting it with a waterproofer like 3M Scotchgard or the local equivalent. Hopefully this would prevent a relapse...

Personally, anything I'm gonna wear out in the elements I prefer to administer 3 treatments a week apart and then follow up with a refresher every six months to year thereafter, but then again I live in a place where we have the "wet season" and the "even wetter season"...

Good luck!

 

[tonyb]

So on to the questions....

Is there a way to starch a hat back up to wearable stiffness after its been weathered into a soft floppy mess? What do you use?

Can you reshape a cattleman into a fedora style crease? ( I note that the campdraft is a popular choice here as people shape it in a non-country fashion).

Where can I get ribbons to replace the leather band that comes on the cattleman if this project is possible.

Regards,

James

Yes, you can re-stiffen a hat gone floppy. The right way is to clean and block the hat. The heat from the irons, etc. used in the blocking and flanging process should reactivate the stiffener. If that isn't adequate, some fresh stiffener can be applied. Felt hat stiffener is available stateside at most Western wear shops. I use stuff I mix myself, working from a recipe I got from an old bearded guy high up on a mountainside. It's a lot less expensive, and it works every bit as well as the concoctions they sell at the Cowboy emporia. Better, probably.

Yes, you can reshape a cattleman into a fedora. This, too, is best done by cleaning and blocking, although somewhat satisfactory results might be achieved through less drastic measures.

Most any well-stocked hatter has a wide array of ribbons. You might also try eBay, if you're going the DIY route.

Unless you wish to invest in a bit of equipment, you'd be miles ahead by entrusting the work to a hatter. It's darn nigh impossible to really do it right without the right tools. Figure you'd need, at minimum, the right block (which could prove more costly and difficult to locate than you might initially expect) and flange (ditto). This is not to discourage you, though. Reworking beat-up old hats can be quite satisfying. The procedures are easy enough to understand (noodling around on the 'net should turn up enough information to get you started), but please know those steps aren't as easy as they look.

 

[BanjoMerlin]

Most hat stiffening products are basically a very light cut of shellac in alcohol. There are lots of types of shellac available and I'm sure it matters exactly which type to use. Gum tragacanth is another substance that has been used. There were a lot of secret recipes in use back in the day.

My favorite lazy man's product is Kahl Hat Stiffener which comes in a spray bottle. If the hat doesn't stiffen up with steam, a bit of Kahl's will usually do the job.

I enjoy resurrecting old hats by hand with few tools. This is mostly encouraged by the fact that I have few tools but I get pretty good results without spending much money. My wife has become accustomed to seeing me wearing a partially formed hat around the house since that is the best method I have for shaping a hat to my head.

There just HAS to be somebody in OZ who does this sort of thing and/or sells the products you might need.

 

[Bill Greene]

Figure you'd need, at minimum, the right block (which could prove more costly and difficult to locate than you might initially expect) and flange (ditto).

This is the darn truth. New blocks and flanges are expensive, and old blocks hard to find in the right shape and size. It can be done, of course, but it's a search. And Hatters are, for the most part, a secretive bunch.

 

[Mr E Train]

I just ran across this while googling hat blocks. http://www.hatshapers.com/ I don't know if they're any good or not, but it could be a cheap alternative to wooden blocks for a do-it-yourself-er.

 

[jwalls]

Please feel free too send me any over worked Akubras you have handy.:eusa_booh :eusa_booh :eusa_booh

 

[Matt Deckard]

Have you ever taken a hat in to a hatter to be cleaned and blocked?

 

[filfoster]

Cleaned and blocked

Have you ever taken a hat in to a hatter to be cleaned and blocked?

I took one into Gus Miller in Cincinnati a few years ago and was stunned at the cost: about a third of what it originally cost to buy. Still, he did a fine job and has the tools I don't have. I suppose the moral is 'be prepared...for sticker shock.'

 

[elvisroe]

Cattleman Conversion

Hey James,
Weirdly I was wearing my converted cattleman yesterday but missed this thread.
As indicated, yes you can stiffen it out again, I'd be surprised if The Hattery didn't sell a commercial spray.

As for making it more of a Fedora, I had no trouble cutting mine down with scissors and sanding off the edges but was unable to do too much with the crown. Once you steam that teardrop out of it there's not a lot to work with and I found that a looser bash didn't really work so I've settled on a diamond. I did a rough "reblock" the hat on my daughter's little paint bucket to try and take some of the taper out of it and it actually now has a touch of reverse taper from front on.

I've found good ribbon's hard to find. Again you may as well ask at the Hattery since they're in your neck of the woods, otherwise quilting and craft shops are a better option than your spotlight style option. I went with a thin ribbon mainly because I felt it worked better with the vent holes.

Here's the hat anyway...

 

[elvisroe]

And this was before...

Obviously it was in better nick than the ones you describe!

 

[James71]

Thanks guys, you have definitely talked me into having a go. They are just collecting dust on the top of the wardrobe. I also have a black akubra arena suffering from the same problem. (left over from my agriculture days). Its got a lot of felt to work with, so I might give that one a shot too.

Elvisroe, your conversion came out great. Ill post pics when Ive finished butchering mine.

 

[Spats McGee]

Gday all,

Ive been wearing Akubra cattlemen hats for years. They are actually work issue for the department that I work for, . . . .

. . . .They are just collecting dust . . . .

Welcome to the Lounge, James71!

You're going to make people jealous with work-issued Akubras, and having several of them to boot! lol

 

[James71]

Thank you for the welcome Spats,

Akubras are as common as mud where I am from.

I think all up I have 8 all up at the moment..... but Im really only wearing 4 of them regularly. The "country" style hats including the cattleman tend to just get worn till they wear out and get replaced.

Its a bit like elastic sided boots. Around here when you get a new pair they are your "going to town boots". When they wear they get downgraded progressively to "everyday boots", "around the yard and farm boots" and finally "mowing the lawn and working on the car boots".

When they get too shabby for even that job, or start leaking water through to the socks they get tossed in the bin and a new pair of "goin to town boots" shuffles them all down a peg.

 

[Matt Deckard]

For a good tough hat like an Akubra, and one which could also pass for a fedora, I'd say Call up Peter's Brothers for a complete beater with the density of a western hat. It'll wear like iron... fallbacks I've seen is that they tend to use sweatbands which are stiff and they glue in their linings. If you want something more like a vintage hat and made of good material which is also malleable and made to impeccable craftsmanship standards I'd say go to Optimo or Art. Optimo and Art's hats are made to vintage spec and they use felts which can take a tumble and pop right back.

From what you describe with the beating it would take and the weather you live through... I'd say try a westedn weight hat Like that from Peter's. You could wear it in a mud waterfall and go home to wash it off.

Since you are looking to step up and a bit of a change of look... I think it's time to go custom.

 

[James71]

Thanks Matt,

My fedora style hats are also all akubra, primarily because they are affordable, and I live in Katoomba where Hats Direct has its shopfront. They also do a good coffee, so I tend to wander in there for a coffee and end up walking out with a new hat.....Im still wearing in my fern green CEO and am sorely temped by something in silverbelly......or maybe a light grey.... hmmm.....

Im basically just looking for a project to make use of all the old akubra cattlemen I have laying about. The felt on them is fine, they are just floppy and worn.

I saw shellac in the hardware place the other day and am tempted to dissolve some in alcohol and try to stiffen them up with that....

 

[johnnycanuck]

What do you mean by too shabby? Pictures?
Johnny