the shoe was lost

[dr greg]

I don't know about the US but here it's a tradition that shops that sell hats boots and other "western" menswear in country towns have the walls covered in the incredibly holy and beatup lids that have been traded in upon purchase of a new one. My local shop has what looks like a quite nice grey beaver fedora in pretty good condition amongst this display, (why I don't know), and I am debating as to whether I can get it out of the guy...but for one drawback, it has been NAILED to the wall right through the brim, is such an injury reparable, or should I just forget it and mourn the senseless waste of a good hat?

 

[tonyb]

Where on the brim is this injury? And how large a hole is it? I don't know of any way to make a hat so damaged as good as new again, but I have made a couple of smallish holes considerably less conspicuous through the judicious use of a felting needle. (I once witnessed a group a women make felt from wool by repeated poking with needles, and a light went off, you know.)
I suspect that once some of the surrounding felt is manipulated into covering that hole, careful use of water and heat (a spray bottle and the pointed tip of an iron, maybe?) might shrink the felt just enough to make the repair (such as it is) all but invisible.
It would be worth a try, I suppose. After all, whatcha got to lose?

 

[J.T.Marcus]

tonyb, That's fascinating! Any chance you could take some pictures, and post a mini tutorial?

 

[carter]

tonyb, That's fascinating! Any chance you could take some pictures, and post a mini tutorial?

Good idea! I'd like to see that as well.

 

[tonyb]

Well, first you get yourself a felting needle or three. I'd imagine that your local fabric store and/or crafts supply retailer would have 'em. You can kinda get the hang of using the needles by working a bit of yarn into a piece of felt. But be careful! Felting needles are a larger gauge than most sewing needles, and they are quite sharp. Believe me, when you stab yourself (as you're bound to do at least once) you will know it, and so will the neighbors.

I've had my best success with a hole on the brim of an Open Road-like Knox 25. The hole was a moth divot, maybe a quarter of an inch across at its widest place, on the top side of the brim quite near the crown. The divot was deep enough at its center that it went clear through to the underside, culminating at its deepest point in a small hole. After cleaning the hat as much as I was going to (first things first), I went after that divot with a needle, working the felt immediately surrounding the divot until it loosened up a bit and could be worked into the shallow spot. It's far from a perfect repair, but the hole is gone, and the repair isn't all THAT conspicuous. Before, the divot and hole were most noticeable when light was shining on that part of the hat. When I held the hat up to a light, it shone right through. It doesn't do that anymore, so I call it a success.

For shallower damage I'd recommend sandpaper instead, especially with heavier felts, as they can lose quite a bit of their thickness and still have plenty left.

I've worn that beater Knox in some real funky weather, including a few absolute downpours. It has a nearly 3-inch brim and it's already a well-worn hat, so it is the ideal foul-weather fedora. Old battle axe that it is, it still elicits its share of the "nice hat" comments from the unscrubbed masses, because it's got style, you know.

Among the three hats I bought (on the cheap) yesterday is a Mallory with a similar divot, but this one is near the edge of the brim and is on the underside. When I'm done with it, I'd bet you'd have to have the repair pointed out to you before you'd notice it. This one has the added advantage of its damage being on the underside, in an area that is usually snapped downward, so it scarcely shows now, in its unrepaired condition.

As long as we're talking about amateur repairs here ... Also included in yesterday's haul was a dirty, misshapen, moth-damaged old Stetson. I paid 17 bucks for it. I sanded out the worst of the bug tracks (there's still slight evidence of 'em, but it is truly slight), stitched the loose bow back down, gave the hat a fairly vigorous brushing, cleaned it with naphtha and a hat sponge and smoothed out the wrinkled ribbon. The result? It ain't the best hat in the bunch, but for 17 bucks and a little elbow grease, it ain't bad, either. I mean, it IS a vintage Mode Edge Stetson with a tall, straight-sided crown and a 2 3/4-inch brim in a very nice pale blue color. And it looks about a hundred times better than it did yesterday.

 

[J.T.Marcus]

tonyb, That's a fascinating and informative post. Thank-you. :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[dr greg]

depends

I'd say all I have to lose is whatever the guy charges me for the hat....if he lets it go, he struck me as a bit weird about it.

 

[Colby Jack]

What about some pictures of these infamous western store walls? I'd like to see that...and maybe the fact that his store will gain notoriety from the lounge...he'll sell you the hat....[huh] :eusa_clap

 

[Ron]

\ it has been NAILED to the wall right through the brim, is such an injury reparable, or should I just forget it and mourn the senseless waste of a good hat?

Have you gone back and called down fire and brimstone on the heretics that did such a thing to a perfectly good hat?

 

[dr greg]

we'll see

I'll be going in there today.

 

[dr greg]

as requested

here are SOME of the hats on the walls, but no decision on the one I want yet, as boss was out when I called in.

 

[Edward]

Blimey, some of those are unbelievably ropey - you'd wonder how anyone could get a hat into that stae (they must have worn it very ropey looking for quite some time!). One or two of the hats in that last photo look emminently saveable, though (at least from what I can make out in the photo)- shame to see them nailed up.

 

[indycop]

Wow! Who owns that shop? Vlad the impaler?:eusa_doh: lol

 

[dr greg]

rust in the dust

Blimey, some of those are unbelievably ropey - you'd wonder how anyone could get a hat into that stae (they must have worn it very ropey looking for quite some time!).

It's a thing with the bushies, they take great pride in how beat-up their hat is, a fashion statement in fact. It's the same with Drizabones, it shows you're a dinkum bushman not some weekend farmer.

 

[tandmark]

Howdy,

These nailed up hats in this shop are a real mixed bag, from tatters-&-rags to ready-to-try-on.

One question, though it's certainly fftopic: , has me puzzled. In this photo:

who's the gent on the poster? Isn't that RM Williams, the bootmaker? What's he doing up there with all the hats?

Cheers,
Mark

 

[dr greg]

fitting

The store is a "bush outfitter's" so boots and clothes are also on sale, but anyway, I got the hat, in exchange for a total beater I had given up on, the only problem is it's about 3 sizes too big, it's an AKUBRA BOGART, and as you see in the photos, the nail hole ain't that bad, I'm manipulating the felt and have improved it already, how can I shrink the bugger? I believe wetting them and leaving them in the sun might work.

 

[Colby Jack]

Great shots!

:eusa_clap I bet all those old beaters could tell a story. Yet there are a few reasonably good looking hats up there. I'd like to see shots of people actually wearing those beaters...
Great shots!:eusa_clap