Vintage Borso help!!!!

[PistolPete1969]

Hello All-

I have enclosed pics of my family heirloom vintage Borsolino that needs some help.

There is a rip/tear in the back where the brim meets the crown. Is there anything that can be done? Is there anywhere I can get it fixed? It there any hope of repairing it?

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks


Pete

 

[carouselvic]

I'm drawing a blank.

 

[kaosharper1]

Hello All-

I have enclosed pics of my family heirloom vintage Borsolino that needs some help.

There is a rip/tear in the back where the brim meets the crown. Is there anything that can be done? Is there anywhere I can get it fixed? It there any hope of repairing it?

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks


Pete

No pics attached.

 

[PistolPete1969]

Sorry...here are the pics

 

[gtdean48]

You can get thread that matches the felt color & tightly stitch it. With a small enough needle, you maybe able to keep the stitches hidden. This is a Stetson Open Road that I hand stitched, probably could've done a better job but it was a beater to begin with. Very Crocadile Dundee!!...

 

[carter]

Since the hat is a family heirloom, I suggest sending it to one of the professional hatters that do restorations. They may be able to stitch the felt and hide the stitches beneath a new ribbon after reblocking the hat. The sentimental value may be worth whatever expense is incurred.

 

[kaiser]

I cannot help with your problem, but that is one nasty looking tear !

 

[Wolfmanjack]

Some ideas from an amateur hatter.

It looks like the tear is along the stitch line where the sweatband is attached to the body of the hat. I think a professional hatter could repair this, but it would involve a major overhaul: removing sweatband, liner and ribbon, mending the tear (several methods are possible), then re-blocking the hat with a slightly shorter brim and taller crown, so the mended tear will now be under the ribbon on the outside and behind the sweat on the inside. But, be forewarned that the hat may have a noticeably different profile because of the shorter brim and taller crown. You may not want that.

I have successfully repaired a small 2mm hole in the crown of a western hat caused by a spark from a campfire. First, I reamed out the hole with a small file to remove all the charred felt. Then, after soaking the area in hot water, I used a needle to loosen the fibers around the perimeter of the hole and pull them into the center. Once the hole was filled, I mounted the hat on my hat block and alternately steamed the area flat with an iron and smoothed it (counter-clockwise) with a toothbrush. Next day, I gave the whole hat a light spray with shellac, with extra treatment where the hole had been. On the third day, I touched-up my work with sandpaper and a brush. The results were quite good, but remember that this was a western hat composed of thick, stiff felt; not the thin, butter-soft felt of your Borso. In addition, the hole was in the top of the crown, where it is not subjected to any stress while being worn.

Sorry about your hat, but I'm glad you asked the question. I'm eager to see what the experts on this forum have to say about your problem.

 

[J.T.Marcus]

Fortuinately, that tear is in the least obvious place on the hat. With the brim turned up in back, and the ribbon pushed down as far as it will go, few people will even notice that flaw, when you are wearing the hat. In other words, it's not a "functional" problem. You know it's there, and it obviously concerns you, but if you can forget about it, and just wear the hat, you will probably get compliments.