stiffness relief

[Wil Tam]

I got home after work and this was waiting for me ... a vintage Beaver Hats 100% fur hat. specs on it are: size 7 1/8 with a 5" crown, 7/8" black grosgrain ribbon, 3" flat brim with no curling at all and is really stiff. The leather sweatband is pristine but the lining is missing, I reckon this lid would be a prime candidate for a brim trim. My question: Is there a way to soften the brim? Because as it is now it's stiff as a board.

Reminds me of a trooper hat but there are no vent holes or evidence of a chin strap ... can someone identify this type of hat for me? It really looks western to me but the bow is metropolitan [huh]



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[kaosharper1]

Wet it good, and manipulate the felt.

 

[KY Gentleman]

I like that hat Wil Tam. I'd say just let it soften up over time with wear.

 

[Bob Smalser]

Sizing is the chemical stiffener used in garments at the factory. I've seen two types for sale at millinery suppliers.....lacquer-based and shellac-based. The bigger the hat, the thicker the felt and the cheaper the felt, the more it seems manufacturers soak the hat in sizing.

Shellac dissolves in alcohol and lacquer in acetone or lacquer thinner, all available at Home Depot or Lowes by the gallon. I haven't tried to soften an entire cowboy hat yet, but testing with solvents to see what removes the sizing and soaking the hat in the correct one will certainly soften it. When I do I'll report the results, but you impress me as someone like me who'll try anything once.

And I wouldn't try until I was done brim trimming, sanding and repouncing, as the sizing aids those processes. What I don't like about the few conversions I've done, is that if I don't sand that felt significantly thinner in brim and crown, I end up with the unnecessary weight and felt thickness that marks the hat as a crude conversion.

 

[gtdean48]

Wet it good, and manipulate the felt.

Wil, this is what I did with the Western conversion I did posted in the Conversion Corral thread. Soak it real well in distilled water & work it fairly vigorously. The brim on mine softened up but nothing like my vintage fedoras, probably never will unless I use some solvent like explained above, if then.

 

[jimmy the lid]

Is it just me, or could this thread use a different title?...

"Softening a Brim", perhaps?



Cheers,
JtL

 

[Macheath]

Is it just me, or could this thread use a different title?...

"Softening a Brim", perhaps?



Cheers,
JtL

I had resisted, but now that the elephant in the room is in full view...

Did it not come with instructions about seeking help when the stiffness lasts longer than 4 hours? :eusa_doh: lol

 

[randooch]

Hold off trimming that brim, for a bit, Wil! It looks proportional on you, in my opinion.

 

[Wil Tam]

It made sense at the time

Is it just me, or could this thread use a different title?...

"Softening a Brim", perhaps?



Cheers,
JtL

it's exactly the way I need it to be so you that you chuckleheads would look at it and comment!




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[Wil Tam]

wasn't

Hold off trimming that brim, for a bit, Wil! It looks proportional on you, in my opinion.

I like to leave it for a little while, until I get that tool that IC used to trim his


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[Miss_Bella_Hell]

it's exactly the way I need it to be so you that you chuckleheads would look at it and comment!


Yeah, really sounds like a personal problem! lol

 

[Wil Tam]

Yeah, really sounds like a personal problem! lol

shhhhhhhh

 

[Daoud]

Man, leave that hat alone! If you want a pure city hat get a city hat.This one looks a lot like my Bushman- my favorite hat. That hat of yours has great dimensions- a hat that will hold its own out on the prairie but still looks good in town. I mean look where it came from........work the stiffness out but don't go cuttin' on it!

 

[CRH]

Wet it good, and manipulate the felt.

Get it really wet if it is really stiff, however don't manipulate the felt, massage it.

Save the manipulation for people close to you that drive you crazy .

 

[Wil Tam]

you got it brother!

Man, leave that hat alone! If you want a pure city hat get a city hat.This one looks a lot like my Bushman- my favorite hat. That hat of yours has great dimensions- a hat that will hold its own out on the prairie but still looks good in town. I mean look where it came from........work the stiffness out but don't go cuttin' on it!

This is exactly the type of input I need, so you think that this may be a Bushman clone?

 

[Daoud]

Well, I don't know if I'd call it a clone but it is a very similar hat- 3" brim, 5" crown- and a ribbon instead of a western-style string thing- and maybe it never had a liner at all- the early Bushmen didn't and in fact they had a wider ribbon much like yours. So what I'm saying is that they're both stockman's hats- good, practical hats- that you could brush off and wear into town and not look like a total goat-roper in.....anyway, that's my take on it. And as for the stiffness- I've seen many a western-style hat that was stiff as a board-Akubras too. You just gotta break 'em in, like boots or jeans.

 

[Wil Tam]

softened up...

I blocked it for a day after a hot soak in fabric softener and the felt is a lot nicer now, with a much silkier feel to it & I gave the brim some attitude, still down all the way with a dip in off-left in the back & off-right in the front

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[Daoud]

Canadian Bushman cousin?

OK, bro- tell me this isn't a LOT like your hat-

.....and this-

- and:

- my Bushman has the bound edge but that's about the only difference I'm seeing. Plus I'm not as menacing-looking as you, I don't think.

 

[Daoud]

I was kinda liking the stiff brim on that! I like that rigidity- I guess because it IS like a trooper or drill sergeant hat in that respect. It makes a statement-"MY HAT IS STIFF! DO NOT MESS WITH ME!" Whereas with a floppy brim you might be just a dirt farmer or a hippie or some such. Maybe you've struck a balance between the two.

 

[Madcap72]

Huh, thats funny, your hat is too stiff, mine isn't stiff enough! If you wash out any of the "Sizing" put it in a bottle and send it to me lol.