keeping a vintage sweatband supple

[moontheloon]

I want to start by saying I've done a forum search and found only topics regarding sweat and preventing staining ... if I missed something I apologize in advance and by all means move this thread to its proper place....

ok... all my vintage pieces have nice supple .... (supple, I love that word by the way)... sweat bands

my question is keeping them that way.... your basic leather moisturizer ?.... maybe once a year ?...

do any of you do anything like this ?

looking forward to hearing from you

 

[JackieMatra]

The usual treatment for leather to keep it in good condition is to oil it, or polish it, in the case of shoes. (Fat/oil is a primary ingredient of shoe polish.)
Because the leather, which is no longer part of the formerly living animal from which it was made, no longer produces its own oils, it's necessary to oil it to keep it from drying out, losing its sheen, its water repellency, and eventually cracking. You'll find that the oil that you apply to leather very quickly gets absorbed into it, disappearing from its surface.
Since your skin exudes oils, I find that it's really unnecessary to oil hat sweatbands to maintain them. Just wearing the hat, even just occasionally, seems to do the trick.
That said, a little bit of oil or leather conditioner, occasionally, probably wouldn't hurt, particularly if a hat is rarely worn.

 

[moontheloon]

The usual treatment for leather to keep it in good condition is to oil it, or polish it, in the case of shoes. (Fat/oil is a primary ingredient of shoe polish.)
Because the leather, which is no longer part of the formerly living animal from which it was made, no longer produces its own oils, it's necessary to oil it to keep it from drying out, losing its sheen, its water repellency, and eventually cracking. You'll find that the oil that you apply to leather very quickly gets absorbed into it, disappearing from its surface.
Since your skin exudes oils, I find that it's really unnecessary to oil hat sweatbands to maintain them. Just wearing the hat, even just occasionally, seems to do the trick.
That said, a little bit of oil or leather conditioner, occasionally, probably wouldn't hurt, particularly if a hat is rarely worn.

thanks

my vintage pieces are pretty rarely worn ... I usually wait for a cool and dry fall or spring day to break them out

any suggestions on a particular product to get

much appreciate the response

 

[tommyK]

Moon, you're going to get as many answers as there are hat collectors.

When I get a vintage hat the first thing I do is use Chamberlain's no. 2 Straight cleaner on the sweatband. Then I'll apply Chamberlain's no.1 Leather Care Liniment. Wipe it on, any that doesn't soak in I'll wipe off with a cloth or paper towel after a minute or so.

Mainly looking to remove the salt from the previous owners sweat (or mine) that is what will destroy the leather's suppleness over time if not treated.

If I wear a hat a lot and/or sweat in it a lot I might do this again. But I don't do this that often probably not more than once a year per hat, if that. If I sweat in a hat a lot I'll do like I saw my grandfathers do; take it off and wipe the sweatband and my forehead with a handkerchief. Repeat as necessary.

 

[JackieMatra]

As I said, I wear my hats, so I don't seem to need to do anything to their sweatbands other than wipe them off after perspiring into them.
My couple of leather wearing biker acquaintances have told me that they think that most any sort of cooking oil should do for oiling (and cleaning) leather apparel, but they both personally favor olive oil. I'd guess that it depends on what you would prefer to smell like.

 

[moontheloon]

Moon, you're going to get as many answers as there are hat collectors.

When I get a vintage hat the first thing I do is use Chamberlain's no. 2 Straight cleaner on the sweatband. Then I'll apply Chamberlain's no.1 Leather Care Liniment. Wipe it on, any that doesn't soak in I'll wipe off with a cloth or paper towel after a minute or so.

Mainly looking to remove the salt from the previous owners sweat (or mine) that is what will destroy the leather's suppleness over time if not treated.

If I wear a hat a lot and/or sweat in it a lot I might do this again. But I don't do this that often probably not more than once a year per hat, if that. If I sweat in a hat a lot I'll do like I saw my grandfathers do; take it off and wipe the sweatband and my forehead with a handkerchief. Repeat as necessary.

thanks Tommy

do you get your supply of Chamberlains on line or... ?

EDIT: nevermind ... just ordered some from Amazon

 

[gtdean48]

Been using Lexol conditioner wipes for years to good results...
http://www.amazon.com/Lexol-430017-LEXOL-LEATHER-CONDITIONER-25-count/dp/B0002F9YI2

 

[RJR]

+1 on the Lexol wipes.

 

[tommyK]

thanks Tommy

do you get your supply of Chamberlains on line or... ?

EDIT: nevermind ... just ordered some from Amazon

Chamberlain's is good for any leather. I use it on a lot of my shoes and boots as well.

I haven't found anything that brings back a cracking dry rotted sweatband, though.

Lexol wipes have been recommended to me as well, I just haven't tried them yet or I might recommend them as well.

 

[Doc Glockster]

I'm told that storing your hats with a hat jack is smart because the wood in the hat jack wicks moisture away from the sweatband. Moisture condensing and drying can cause the sweatband to dry out, so this is probably a good extra little step.

 

[alanfgag]

Moon, you're going to get as many answers as there are hat collectors.

True that. I am from the school of doing nothing. If the sweatband seems to need treatment, it likely needs to be replaced. With experience, you will learn a lot about the characteristics and qualities of sweatbands over the years. Then you will be able to read a lot about the condition of the sweatband from auction photos.

 

[tommyK]

I'm thinking not keeping them in a hot attic or damp basement would go a long way in preserving the hats, sweatband and all. A fair amount of vintage hats seem to have suffered this indignity.

 

[gtdean48]

I'm thinking not keeping them in a hot attic or damp basement would go a long way in preserving the hats, sweatband and all. A fair amount of vintage hats seem to have suffered this indignity.

Damp basement is definitely a concern for supple sweats as the moisture leads to mold/mildew effects.
I agree with climate control for the vintage ones of high value for sure.
With boots, holsters, belts, spur straps, saddles, bridles, reins, saddles bags, chaps, etc. Lexol wipes are in constant use around my place.
I've also had no ill effects with it being on something pressed against my ever increasing ample forehead. YMMV

 

[Andykev]

Skidmore's is a beeswax and oils conditioner for leather. Use it on harnesses and gun slings (leather). A reputable hat maker I know personally, they use Lexol.

Dry storage of hats, in their box, is preferred. "Room temperature". Attics get bloody hot, and basements damp. A sweatband can be replaced as easily as shoe laces in fine shoes.
But if the felt/straw gets moldy or cracked, it's toast.

 

[tonyb]

A tad off topic, but indulge me ...

Often it isn't the leather itself that fails but the stitching attaching it to the hat body. And then there are all those old reed ferrules that turn green and stain the felt.

I got a few old hats around here with perfectly good leather but rotten stitching. Being that they are unreeded sweats, I'll leave 'em for that day (should it ever come) when I feel up to performing the sort of microsurgery it would take to properly reattach the original sweats. Some people do it, by hand, so I know it can be done.

 

[tommyK]

Tony, do you know of anyone that has the sewing machine to attach unreeded sweats? I've heard Optimo but have never actually seen or heard of anyone that's had one done or re-attached.

 

[tonyb]

Wish I did, Tommy.

I hear that one of the women at Paul's Hatworks in SF satisfactorily stitches in detached (or semi-detached) sweats by hand. But that's secondhand info.

 

[jlee562]

Bob at Black Sheep was going to attempt to fix an unreeded sweat I had on a Borso; but, the holes in the sweat itself had busted so the repair wasn't possible.

 

[tonyb]

Yeah, I've seen that any times -- the leather torn through at the stitches. Itty-bitty tears.

If you really want to save a sweat even that far gone, you could attach it to a new reed tape. I suppose. Never done it myself.

 

[ofcoursemyhorse]

Wish I did, Tommy.

I hear that one of the women at Paul's Hatworks in SF satisfactorily stitches in detached (or semi-detached) sweats by hand. But that's secondhand info.

My stitch work needs improvement but i've done it for several hats with great success in terms of making a hat wearable with the original sweat.
You have to make it a bit more visible on the sweatband in terms of anchoring the stitch, but its a minor concession to make to be able to not have to fully replace a sweatband.

Heres a couple more recent ones: