Stiff Felt

[Kim Steiner]

This is going to be pretty plain -- my first post. But I'm curious about felt stiffness. I have an Open Road that is just about as stiff as cardboard, but others appear to be soft judging from the photos and descriptions. Did they put some kind of sizing in the felt? Can it be removed? I would much prefer a softer, one might say flimsier, felt. Comments?

 

[John in Covina]

From what I understand the usual stiffener is a type of shellac added to the felt. (Which begs the question since shellac disolves in denatured alcohol, can you use alcohol to disolve and rinse out the shellac?)

Cowboy hats are usually noted for their stiffness and many a cowboy has used Scout brand hat stiffener to get his hat back to the stiffness they like.

 

[Kim Steiner]

Shellac . . . that is an interesting thought. Denatured alcohol would dissolve it. I wonder what it would do to the rest of the hat. Kim

 

[Kim Steiner]

I'm going to bring this to the top again. I can't believe that no one else here has knowledge of this subject. Kim

 

[John in Covina]

Shellac . . . that is an interesting thought. Denatured alcohol would dissolve it. I wonder what it would do to the rest of the hat. Kim

*****
I don't think you have to do a total immersion, if you wanted to soften the crown, you'd just dip that part, not the whole thing.