Reinforcing a straw?

[tonyb]

Among my collection of straws is but one that I would consider a "quality" hat. It's apparently a vintage Montecristi. I bought it cheap on that infamous online auction site last winter and have worn it quite a bit in recent weeks.
At the top of the right pinch is the slightest evidence that the straw is weakening. It looks like the weave is trying to separate at that spot. For maybe three-quarters of an inch the weave seems a bit rough and "elevated." I've looked at it through a spyglass and it doesn't appear that any strands are actually broken; there's just a few that are a touch "lifted." When I hold up that hat and look through it from the underside on a bright day, more sunlight does indeed come through at that spot than at the immediately surrounding areas.
The hat was in its present condition when it came into my possession, as I recall, although my paranoid imagination tells me it might be getting worse. Of course I never grab the hat by the crown.
What to do? I've reinforced that spot by placing short strips of that low-stick, paper first-aid tape on the inside of the crown. (You know, the kind that doesn't take all of your arm hair with it when it's removed.) I doubt that can hurt anything, but I question if it actually does any good, either. Panamabob's website says that breaks in straw can be rewoven, but I wonder how much that would cost, how long it might take (does the hat have to return to Ecuador?), and how conspicuous the repair would be.
The best outcome, of course, would be that the straw never break. But how realistic is that? Once a straw hat gets weak, is it inevitable that it will eventually break, provided that a person actually wears the dang thing?
A hat-store clerk once told me that hot glue on the underside of the pinch would help prevent cracks, but I would never commit such a sacrilege against this particular lid. (In defense of the clerk, I suspect she routinely offers that advice to people buying low-end straws, which wouldn't be worth preserving anyway.)
I'm not necessarily averse to buying a new, high-quality straw hat, but I suspect that one as good as this one would set me back a least a few hundred bucks, and I ain't made of money. I can live with this one the way it is, because you'd have to have that "flaw" pointed out to you before you'd ever notice it. I just want to keep it from worsening. Would it do any good to reblock it in such a way as to move that spot to a less-stressed part of the crown?
What to do? Panamabob? Sharpetoys? Art? Anyone?

 

[Art Fawcett]

hI Tony,
It sounds to me like you are already doing what you need to and to my knowledge there is little more other than sending it back to Equador to have it rewoven in that spot. Of course, because of it's age it will not be "matchable" in color so you might never have a patch that doesn't show. If after the reweave they rebleach it also you would have a better shot but no gaurantee's as to color. Robert can tell you more about the process than me as he is closer to that part. You CAN hot glue it but that is a last resort IMHO

 

[Panamabob]

I'm going to Ecuador next week, so if you really want it to go, now is the time.

Art is right on the ball. I don't know how fast a reweave would be, maybe 2-3 weeks depending, but they could resulphur the hat and get it close to a match.

 

[tonyb]

Thanks, gents.
I'd send it along with you, Bob, but it's summer and for now I'm wearing the hat. And I'm still maintaining hope the straw won't break. (Knock on wood.) I'd post a picture of that spot, but for some reason I can't get Photobucket to take my new shots.
Should it ever break, I'll send it your way. During the cool, damp months, I won't be in such a hurry to have that straw back.

 

[tonyb]

Update

So I've worn the hat just about every day over the past several weeks. I wore it on my August trip to the muggy Midwest and on a couple of journeys to the hot side of the Cascades. So I got sweaty in it on several occasions and subjected it to the rigors of travel.
Here's a photo of it, taken last winter. (I'm having difficulty getting Photobucket to accept my newer pictures.)

Pleased to report that while the hat shows some additional evidence of use (light salt stains on the ribbon, and slight discoloration in a couple of places where the brim meets the crown), that "weak spot" I alluded to back in July shows no evidence of worsening.
The weather forecast calls for rain later this week, the first measurable precipitation out here since, oh, early in July, I think it was. (Contrary to popular belief, it doesn't always rain in the Seattle area.) So it looks like the "good" straw will go into hibernation for a few months.
Now, how to touch it up? Are there gentle home remedies to try, or ought I consider sending it off to a pro? Does cleaning take any life out of the fiber? If it does, I'd be content to give it another summer's use before I have it cleaned, seeing how it still looks pretty darned good.