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Hatstruck

Familiar Face
Messages
65
Location
Los Angeles County, California
Here's my most recent vintage hat purchase, I picked this one up about 3 weeks ago...

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This is an extremely handsome hat!
 

Mr E Train

One Too Many
Messages
1,050
Location
Terminus
Middle is a nice Skimmer. Sweat Band is a little loose. The brim is bowing up a little . Can I wet the brim down and press it flat like I so with my felts?

Use a steam iron on a setting just high enough to generate steam, place the hat on a flat surface, place a cloth over the bowed-up area of the brim and press the iron and hit it with a zap of steam, then remove the iron. Don't press hard with the iron because you don't want to compress the fibers down too much. Once it's flat, just let it dry. If the brim is weak and bendable, you can spray on some hat stiffener or spray starch and do the above steps again and repeat until it's stiff and strong.
 

dlvh

New in Town
Messages
45
Location
Michigan, USA
Finally finished up my latest project hat. I won this 3X Open Road a few months back, along with another OR that needed a little work.

I will end up flipping the other hat, but I wanted to restore this one for myself. Removed the liner, cleaned the hat in Coleman fuel, dunked it, stretched it, long-ovalized it, re-flanged the brim to my liking, shaped the crease, washed the liner and put it back in.

Very happy with it. I'm a large 7 1/2 long oval. This is the first 7 3/8 hat I have successfully stretched to my size. I used my homemade full hat stretcher, and it worked very well. You have to keep stretching until the hat is very dry to achieve this much long-lasting effect.

Ande1964,

Is there any way you could re-upload the pictures of your Hat Stretcher in your "My New Homemade Hat Torture Device- Stretcher" post? The links to the pictures don't work any longer, and I'm fairly certain others would like to see those expired pictures, like I would, but can no longer see.

It sounds like that device of yours works really well, but we just can't see any longer, what you've created.

Thanks!

dlvh
 

Ande1964

Practically Family
Messages
556
Location
Kansas
Ande1964,

Is there any way you could re-upload the pictures of your Hat Stretcher in your "My New Homemade Hat Torture Device- Stretcher" post? The links to the pictures don't work any longer, and I'm fairly certain others would like to see those expired pictures, like I would, but can no longer see.

It sounds like that device of yours works really well, but we just can't see any longer, what you've created.

Thanks!

dlvh

No problem!

Just bumped that thread with a working photo.

Anj
 

Rick Blaine

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,958
Location
Saskatoon, SK CANADA
Just in time for the season

To bridge the gap 'twixt Winter & Spring, I have been looking for a vented lightweight for quite a while.

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A leather sweat covered by a petersham (or is it grossgrain?) ribbon.

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... can't quite make this out...?

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Inside crown.

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The proud owner, himself!
 

C Gregory Purbaugh

New in Town
Messages
30
Location
Baltimore, MD
You have a nice start to a collection, C Gregory. All are great hats, I especially like the thin ribbon Borsalino.
Me too. The Borsalino is outstanding.

Thanks guys, the Borsalino is a very comfortable hat, much lighter weight than the other two. however, the Black one is my daily wear, as I'm not as afraid to wear it (It's not 50+ years old!) and it isn't as apt to get pulled from my head my the wind...but yes, the borsalino is by far the best hat of the bunch.

Also, if I had to keep one, it would certainly be the Brown outback trading co.
 

Joshbru3

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,409
Location
Chicago, IL
1920's G.A. Dunn & Co (Size 6 7/8 UK OR Size 7 USA)

I’m so excited. I bought this hat from Ebay UK about a month ago and its been floating around customs for the last month or so. I finally got it yesterday after 30 days and I was kind of shocked to see what I got. The auction pictures and description stated that the hat was a 1950’s Dunn & Co fedora, but based on the sweatband and sweatband markings, I knew it was much older. The brim was very misshapen and the hat needed a good brushing. When I got the package, customs has crushed it pretty good, but when I pulled the hat out of the box, I was shocked. The quality of this hat is by far the best that Ive ever held in my hand from any manufacture. I steamed, hard brushed, soft brushed, and reshaped the brim and the end result was so much better than I had hoped.

There are a few little moth tracks here and there, but overall the hat is in excellent shape. There must be a high content of Beaver in this hat. The felt is moldable like clay. There is a softness, lightness, and firmness that can only be had by beaver. Im unsure if the hat is 100% Beaver, but I know the content is pretty high. The sweatband quality is the best that Ive seen. The Calf Leather is still extremely soft, subtle, and pliable. The coolest thing about the hat is that even though I believe it dates from the 20’s or 30’s, as soon as I applied steam, the felt stiffened right up as if it had never been crushed or never sat around for 90 years. The brim does NOT snap at all in front. This hat has that very cool 1920’s slight curl, but I didn’t know it until I steamed the brim. It was almost like the brim told me how to recurl it. The brim was pretty much flat, and then…presto…..the curl was back.

I am going on record saying that vintage felt, stiffener, and craftsmanship was FAR SUPERIOR than anything you can buy off the shelf today. I love this hat, and I actually wore it to work today. It’s the first time that ive worn this type of curled hat out of the house and it felt great. Heres some pics:

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scooter

Practically Family
Messages
905
Location
Arizona
Hey Joshbru, that's a sharp looking sombrero, my friend!!

edit: RickB, I hadn't checked the previous page when I made my first comment. That vented hat is killer, dude. I love the hat, and I wish I could find something similar. Great find, may you wear it long and prosper!
 
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