Stetson Billy The Kidd Felt Hat - Before and After

[photogravity]

Now the hat bug has bit, there are several hats that have landed on my doorstep. Though the Stetson fedora is in great shape, other than a slightly uneven brim, and the Knox is in perfect condition, that was not the case with the Stetson Billy The Kidd felt hat that arrived on my doorstep last week. It was in pretty good condition overall, but in need of some cleaning and the removal of the ugly (at least to me) feather hatband. Some of the feathers had been glued to the hat and one spot in particular was problematic because the glue would not easily come off the hat. Even acetone was unable to remove the glue, so I needed to resort to sanding the felt. At first, it looked as if I was making matters worse, but after working it a little while things got much better to the point where you now need to look pretty closely to see where the sanding occurred. Below are some pictures of the hat as it arrived on my doorstep. I was hoping to take a few pictures of the finished hat tonight, but the lighting wasn't working out well for me, so the pictures will need to wait until tomorrow. Also, I'm hopeful the hatband I ordered will arrive tomorrow so I can show the project finished in its entirety. Anyway, for your viewing pleasure (or displeasure).

I promise that I will post the pictures of the finished hat as soon as I can get some decent pictures, most likely tomorrow.


Stetson Billy The Kidd - Before 1


Stetson Billy The Kidd - Before 2


Stetson Billy The Kidd - Before 3


Stetson Billy The Kidd - Before 4


Stetson Billy The Kidd - Before 5

 

[Joao Encarnado]

I also hate the feather hatbands. Simply yuck.
You could had tried to remove the glue with heat by using a hair blower.
I have two of those, one of them is navy blue.

 

[B1ggles]

Ah, Billy Kidd the skier, not Billy the Kid the crook/folk hero (delete according to preference). Now I get it.

Sadly, that seems to have been the kind of hat he wore. Though it's hard to believe Stetson actually made one in his image, so to speak.

 

[photogravity]

I also hate the feather hatbands. Simply yuck.
You could had tried to remove the glue with heat by using a hair blower.
I have two of those, one of them is navy blue.

I did not think of using a hair dryer to remove the glue. That is an idea I'll file for future cleanup projects. Still even using heat, I'm not entirely sure it would have been sufficient because the glue was pretty deep in the felt.

Do you have pictures of the Billy The Kidd hats? I'd be interested in seeing them if you do.

 

[gtdean48]

I did not think of using a hair dryer to remove the glue. That is an idea I'll file for future cleanup projects. Still even using heat, I'm not entirely sure it would have been sufficient because the glue was pretty deep in the felt.

Do you have pictures of the Billy The Kidd hats? I'd be interested in seeing them if you do.

Actually, it is The Billy Kidd hat. It was his trademark look in skiing around Steamboat Springs. He was World Cup winner & on Olympic team, etc.
He is part Native American. Those feather bands were real popular late 70's/early 80's with Urban Cowboy fad & Richard Petty....

 

[photogravity]

Ah, Billy Kidd the skier, not Billy the Kid the crook/folk hero (delete according to preference). Now I get it.

Sadly, that seems to have been the kind of hat he wore. Though it's hard to believe Stetson actually made one in his image, so to speak.

Yes, I was confused also with the two Ds and the skier with a hat on the hat liner. As far as the feather hatband, I'm sure there are some out there who really like them, Billy Kidd being one, but it's not my cup of the a. Perhaps if the hatband was in better condition, I might have kept it (actually I set it aside), but in the state in which it was received many of the feathers were broken and it just looked bad.

 

[photogravity]

Actually, it is The Billy Kidd hat. It was his trademark look in skiing around Steamboat Springs. He was World Cup winner & on Olympic team, etc.
He is part Native American. Those feather bands were real popular late 70's/early 80's with Urban Cowboy fad & Richard Petty....

Thanks for the information. I read somewhere (I think it was here) that it is as I've been calling it. Unfortunately, I can't find the reference and it's not too big a deal.

Fads come and go, so I tend to be more conservative in my approach to clothing and accessories. Nonetheless, because I have an appreciation for the history of things like this, I will almost always hang onto changed items for a possible future owner should they want to put it back into its original configuration.

 

[Joao Encarnado]

Do you have pictures of the Billy The Kidd hats? I'd be interested in seeing them if you do.

This is the light brown... or dark tan... or...

 

[photogravity]

Pictures After The Cleanup

As promised, here are the after photos of the hat. The new hatband will be arriving later today, but since the light was so nice this morning I wanted to get a few pictures taken and added to the thread.

With regard to the cleaning, other than the glue spot on the front that was sanded off, the biggest issue was dust on the hat. I simply took a lint roller and rolled the hat to remove the dust. There are still a couple small stains that I've not addressed since they're not obvious without looking closely at the hat. Besides, I have no problem with a little patina as it only adds to the character.


Stetson Billy The Kidd - After 1 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr


Stetson Billy The Kidd - After 2 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr


Stetson Billy The Kidd - After 3 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr


Stetson Billy The Kidd - After 4 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr


Stetson Billy The Kidd - After 5 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr

 

[Joao Encarnado]

And the Navy blue

 

[Joao Encarnado]

As promised, here are the after photos of the hat. The new hatband will be arriving later today, but since the light was so nice this morning I wanted to get a few pictures taken and added to the thread.

With regard to the cleaning, other than the glue spot on the front that was sanded off, the biggest issue was dust on the hat. I simply took a lint roller and rolled the hat to remove the dust. There are still a couple small stains that I've not addressed since they're not obvious without looking closely at the hat. Besides, I have no problem with a little patina as it only adds to the character.

Nice color.

 

[photogravity]

This is the light brown... or dark tan... or...

That looks great. Very tasteful. I assume you changed the hatband.

 

[Joao Encarnado]

And the Navy blue

Forgot to say that the feather was lost somewhere. Yuck.

 

[Joao Encarnado]

That looks great. Very tasteful. I assume you changed the hatband.

No. I don't know if those hatbands are original to the hat. I kept them just they arrived at me (except the feather on the blue one).

 

[photogravity]

And the Navy blue

That navy blue is very nice. Your blue hat is more like mine than is your tan/light brown hat.

 

[photogravity]

Nice color.

Thank you. I wasn't sure if I would like the color, but after cleaning it up and seeing it in natural light, I quite like it. The new hatband should give it a nice finishing touch. Since it is slated to arrive today, I hope to place it on the hat and get some more pictures of the finished product.

 

[Joao Encarnado]

That navy blue is very nice. Your blue hat is more like mine than is your tan/light brown hat.

Thank you. I think both look the same. Never taken a picture with both side by side.

 

[RJR]

Anxious to see the brown trimmed out.You did a nice job cleaning it up.

 

[photogravity]

I managed to get the new hatband installed without too much difficulty. Though it was advertised as being made of leather, it is actually some kind of synthetic material. Despite that fact, it looks fine for its intended purpose. Also, the brown thread in the herringbone pattern is a very good match to the color of the hat.

There is some fading of the material which can be seen where the previous hatband was attached. For those who know hats far better than I do, I'm quite sure the spot that was sanded can be picked out without too much difficulty. Here's the hat with the new hatband in place.


Stetson Billy The Kidd - With Hatband by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr


Stetson Billy The Kidd - With Hatband by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr


Stetson Billy The Kidd - With Hatband by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr


Stetson Billy The Kidd - With Hatband by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr

 

[RJR]

The band looks good.