Post New Hats Here!

[DocMustang]

Crumple up some newspapers & place with the hat in a large trash bag & close tightly. Let it sit for 2 to 3 days. The newspaper will wick the odors out. I did this on a vintage OR that came from a heavy pipe smoker. Worked like a charm...HTH

I will have to label such a bag with large letters "VALUABLE HATS INSIDE! DO NOT THROW OUT" and likely hide it in our second garage to keep my wife from throwing it out! Even still I should start said project the afternoon following weekly trash pick up just to make sure!

 

[bowlerman]

Hm. I'll have to try that newspaper method.

 

[SpeedRcrX]

In time for the first day of summer !



More in the Panama canal thread

 

[jwalls]

I don't think you guys have seen many of this color!

 

[DocMustang]

I don't think you guys have seen many of this color!

Perhaps the gentleman would like to show us a photo of that hat again once it has decided exactly which color it would like to be once it matures.

 

[monbla256]

I don't think you guys have seen many of this color!

Has a Bario Camo look to it ! Would work well with both colors of a "zoot" suit

 

[MCrider]

Is that one of those black powdery Stetson I hear about that get pink spots when in the rain?

 

[gtdean48]

...
I don't think you guys have seen many of this color!

And didn't really want to see that one!!!!

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

My new Heritage Collection Campdraft deluxe.

 

[DJH]

The new CD looks very good on you Ed.
That Open Road/CD style still is one of the best.

 

[Dinerman]

$25 shipped off the ebay.

 

[randooch]

"Insured Leather"??? Sweet!

 

[James71]

Heritage collection FedIV

 

[scooter]

Not sure about the hat for me, Dinerman, but I love that band!

 

[Raider]

"New" Peters Bros Raiders in black (converted from Resistol western):

 

[Joshbru3]

Mystery Stetson

I think that's a good guess. The reed and spacing of stitching reads more 50's vintage to me... will be interesting to get your take on it when it arrives, Josh.

Well, I got the "Mystery" Stetson today and I was quite surprised. First off, the sweatband is a replacement and not a good one at that. It was a pretty crumby sweatband and the stitching was pretty bad as well, but its holding up pretty good as of right now. The felt was dirty but sooooooo soft to the touch and its EXTREMELY lightweight. When I took the hat out of the box it was so flimsy that I couldn't hold the hat any which way without it pretty much falling in on itself. It was like the stiffener was totally de-activated. The only Stetson markings are the Block/Depth/Finish tag and whats ever left of the orange re-order tag. After examining the hat, it really looks like a Playboy to me. The brim edge binding doesn't look original. Not only is the edge binding a slightly different color than the ribbon, but after close examination, the ribbon that was used for edge binding was sub par to the ribbon used to make the bow. I honestly don't think the edge binding is original. The stitching and quality of the edge binding doesn't look like any factory Stetson work that Ive ever seen. I did a little work tonight on the hat and surprisingly it came out pretty good. I steamed the hell out of the hat and the felt stiffened right up. The stiffener re-activated, but the felt is still easy to mold and shape. I stiff brushed the felt and soft brushed it just to get all the surface dirt off. The biggest challenge was re-flanging the brim. I don't have any flanges, so I had to literally reshape the brim with my own two hands. Whats funny is that as soon as I heated the brim with steam, the felts memory fell right back into place and the original flange style from many years ago came out again. The hat seems to have had a high rear flange and a flatter front, which is usually a tell tale sign of a 1930's hat. The hat needs some work, and the felt isnt perfect, but I actually really like it.

Heres the "BEFORE" auction photos:

Here's the "AFTER" pictures:

 

[Tenorclef]

P J Powell 'The Wincanton'

This is my new green felt which I got for fathers day. Its a P J Powell trilby model 'The Wincanton'. The shape, finish and fit is very good. Certainly on a par with my Christys Epsom.

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

Josh isn't amazing what some steam and a good brushing will do nice hat.

 

[DJH]

Josh isn't amazing what some steam and a good brushing will do nice hat.

That was my thought as well.

Nice job on bringing the hat back to life, Josh.

 

[Derek Cavin]

Great hat cabinet, Seth.