Shaping a fedora?

[K.D. Lightner]

I received my Dobbs 15 hat today and it is really a nice hat. I wanted to ask you fellows a few questions as I probably need to get it cleaned and softened.

Some of you mentioned that you steamed the hats to soften them up. Is that a difficult thing to do for a beginner? This is a neat hat and I don't want to do anything to mess it up. How do you do that?

It was from an estate sale and the elderly gent whose hat it was did wear in in a more western style (not LBJ, but still somewhat western). It has a ridge on top, not unlike the hat that Art displayed a couple weeks ago. And the brim will snap down but does not stay very well. I can bash it around and it will conform, but you can still see where the ridge was (is). I bet the old guy had it for decades and probably stored it in a closet. It hasn't been used that much, I don't believe, but may have been styled the way it was in the beginning and has been in that form all these decades (seller said the hat has from the 50's).

What would you suggest? Thanks for your input.

karol

Should I just take it in to a hat renovator and ask to have it softened, steamed and cleaned? If so, what should I ask for the renovator to do?

 

[Matt Deckard]

Art would have alot more input than I as he is a hatmaker.

Steam only softens the hat when the hat has steam applied. this is usually used only to shape a hat, and primarily to set in a desired crown or brim shape, and primarily for stiff western hats. If the hat is pliable enough you can easily bash it by hand.

The steam will not make the hat perminately soft. For that you usually have to wear it around and bend it about. If stiffness is really a problem you can always send it to a competant hatter Like Art Fawcett or Optimo who can wash it in a chemical to take out the stiffener.


I suggest a hatter.
Reblock and wash out the stiffener.

 

[Art Fawcett]

K.D,
Is the ridge from the block or sewn in? Is it just a dirt line? Can you post a pic so we could give a more detailed answer?
Most western hats can be softened somewhat but not brought back to suppleness ( is that a word?) because of the amount of stiffner used in the core. I recently renovated a hat for Ren ( Akubra) that had softened up over time but once it was exposed to the heating process of the flanging the stiffner moved closer to the surface and was as stiff as if it were new. So much depends on what the hat was when new and the process used to make it.

 

[Andykev]

Don't get steamed up on this

I use steam for two purposes (three actually):

To gently "refresh the hat" and brush off the dust (do that first".

To shape the hat, as heat and moisture loosen the fibers allowing a gentle change in desired shape

Lastly, the Straw, Montecristi. The application of steam really assists in shape. It seems the straw has a good memory.

 

[K.D. Lightner]

Hi, thanks for your advice. I am attaching an image of the hat as seen on ebay, you can see the ridge in the middle of the hat.

The hat is not stiff, it is rather soft, but not as soft as my blue fedora or my Borsalinos. Notice also that the brim is down, though it does not always stay down and the sides curl up a little.

I would just like to soften it a bit so I can work with it a little better. I have been bashing it, at this point you can still see the "ridge" line, but maybe it will go with a little more work on the crown.

Let's see if this works so you can pull up the image.

karol

 

[K.D. Lightner]

Sorry, that didn't work. I will have to do it on my computer at the office, this old thing just won't transfer the images.

If you want to view the hat, it is still on ebay; just go to the search section and type in the ebay number 8130654870 and it should come up for you.

karol

 

[Andykev]

LINK

Karol, if you look you can place a link in the message, just cut and paste the URL from the target and put it in your text.

That way we can just click the link.

Ebay stuff should just be to show an item...Matt is correct, other's go in the Classified section.

And, your pics still aren't showing up for me.

 

[Art Fawcett]

Hi Karol,
I see the ridge you are talking about and I'm afraid I don't have an instant answer other than sending it to me to reblock. This looks like a blocking ridge via the western block it has been for who knows how many years. this pinch won't come out until you do a complete reblock and even then it's not guaranteed to completely go away as there might be a wear line along with the pinch. I can't tell from the pics.
Sorry

Art
.

 

[jamespowers]

Art is right, until you get it cleaned and reblocked you will not be able to get the correct bash into it. Years of the old block just setting in the felt of the hat have cause the felt to have a "memory" of where it once was no matter what you do short of reblocking it professionally. I know because some of my old hats had to be reblocked to get out past "inadvisable decisions" from a previous owner. LOL

Regards to all,

J

 

[K.D. Lightner]

James, Art, Andykev -- Thanks for all the advice!

It is a nice hat and softer than I thought it would be. I have been bashing it and bashing it and it is a bit better, but, as you said, the ridge ghost is still there, plus the sides have a curl that gives it more of a "cowboy" look. I want it to look like a fedora.

I sent an email to you at your website, Art, so will be sending the hat to you to reblock and clean -- whatever it takes to get this lovely old hat up to snuff.

There is a hat shop here that reblocks stuff but the guy who runs the place is as friendly as a puff adder. I don't even like to go in the place. I thought maybe it was a gal thing -- you know, what are you doing in here? -- but, I found out from some folks at Wild Bills Western Emporium that the guy is just not friendly.

I'd rather give my business to friendly folks.

karol

 

[Stas Spade]

I'm sorry if there's a million threads on this already, I wouldn't be suprised.

The new hat I got that I posted a picture of... I want to bring the back up a bit and the front down a bit. I was told to steam it, over a kettle for example. Any more details? Like do I steam it for thirty seconds then hold it in place till it cools or what?

Also... the hat's made of 'litefelt' which was advertised on it's lable as basically being the titanium of the felt world, haha. Very resistant to rain etc, likes to hold its shape. Will this be a problem?

Thanks,

Stas

 

[Feraud]

Any re-shaping I have done includes steam from a kettle and patience.
I steam until the felt is pliable and shape as necessary. Half a minute or so usually warms the felt up nicely. When the shape is satisfactory I leave the hat until dry. If you shape the hat at night it should be set by the next morning.

 

[Stas Spade]

so you can just move the bits as necessary and they wont slip back over night if you dont hold them? nice...

 

[Feraud]

I assume the quality of the hat might also affect how well your shaping takes hold. Years ago I bashed a cheap felt hat from a teardrop to an Indy style without much problem.

 

[Matt Deckard]

Another way to go is using a steam iron. Hold the iron away from the felt and don't allow the metal to touch. Let the steam onto the felt and reshape when it becomes more pliable.

Tea kettles are more cumbersome to me.

The iron is more controlled and targeted.

It shoul be set when the hat cools.

 

[Micawber]

Be sure to keep direct heat and steam away from the leather sweatband though.

 

[esteban68]

I recently aquired a rather nice (but fairly modern) black Marks & Spencer fedora thing is it's as flat as flat can be...how can I get the rolled down and up at the back sides look...is it a case of just rolling the brim up and down repeatedly until it stays that way?

Also I dont like the ribbon that much can new ones be bought.
I'll post a picture later its 5" high with a 11/3/4" diameter with a 2 3/4" rolled edge brim.

 

[davidraphael]

I'm guessing that it will be a wool fedora rather than a fur felt. I suppose you could try steaming and forming, as is normally done with fur felt hats, but I'm not sure how well a wool hat from somewhere like Marks & Spencer (no offence) will react to this kind of treatment. I don't think these kind of hats were designed to be manipulated that much; they're sold pre-formed/fixed.

 

[Tomasso]

Lots of info in the archives.

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/search.php?searchid=564377


http://www.thefedoralounge.com/search.php?searchid=564381

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

David, is right wool hats are factory shaped and not meant to be changed. That's why you see fur felt hats a lot here members have found that wool hats are not that great if you want to adjust the style of the hat to your needs.