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[Hat and Rehat]

I've been working on blocks now instead of felt, trying my hand at making hard ones myself.
As I thought about the staining shadow on my Sovereign a thought came to me. I did give it a naptha bath, but only for an hour. I was trying not to soak the sweat, and only had the top submerged, but realized it was wicking into the entire hat. The staining remained. I had already steamed that stain into the felt though by then, in the process of erasing the original crease. Maybe if I did everything to address the dirt first, then blocked the top of the crown, I would have less shadow.
I'm a little nervous about full immersion in naptha. One guy on YouTube eliminated all of his embossing on the sweatband. Maybe it was just a cheap hat.

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[deadlyhandsome]

I’ve never seen naptha remove the debossing; I’m assuming you mean the foil and not the actual imprint. Then again my experience is very limited.

If the leather is in good condition the naptha shouldn’t damage it. It will strip the leather of all its oils so a good conditioning is needed (some folks condition before and after, but at a minimum condition it after). If the sweatband has dry rotted, even if it still looks perfect, the naptha can cause the leather to fall apart.


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[Hat and Rehat]

me out he was pretty happy, but it did mess up something, and I believe it was sweat band markings.
I think Sovereign and my Silverbelly. It worried me enough I tried to only do the crowns.
I'll have try to find the video for review. I do remember that Kevin, from JJ Hat, who has a pretty big youtube following, was aghast at using strong chemicals on your hat. He commented in that section.

 

[Hat and Rehat]

Alert! Missing text.
I'm not sure what happened there. I don't have time right no to write it over presently.

 

[itsallgood]

Thanks. I like the image of moving the felt. Moving and kneading. I get that. Reminds me of a materials class I took over 40 years ago in my engineering program. Metal can flow, I suppose the interlocking fibers of felt can as well. A clean softball is probably as good a proxy for a block as any that I'll find laying around the house.

 

[Xylophile]

My choice for brimmed hats around water is polypropylene. Make sure it’s well-vented as it otherwise won’t breath and your head will be a sauna. I like my Akubra Country Club.


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I would second that on the Akubra Country Club, should work fine for the pool. I'll mention you can steam them kind of like felt to shape them. I needed to raise the crown to keep it from pushing down on my hair and interfering with the venting action.

 

[Rmccamey]

Body man, now that's a term I have not heard in a while. My dad, uncle, and grand dad were all body men for many years during their lives. I've done many a days work with a body hammer and sanding block myself. Maybe I'll have to give it a try with a few felts

 

[drmaxtejeda]

This is somewhat hat-related. Has anyone heard of a head massager like this thing?

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/273859734899

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[Frunobulax]

This is somewhat hat-related. Has anyone heard of a head massager like this thing?

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/273859734899

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Kinky!

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[Rockwater]

This is somewhat hat-related. Has anyone heard of a head massager like this thing?

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/273859734899

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My wife has one similar and likes it a lot.
When I tried it, it felt creepy.

 

[Greencanoes]

Stratton is currently the dominant supplier of campaign hats in the US. I don’t know if they supply the RCMP.


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Thanks for the reply. I ended up delving into the wonderful world of RCMP government tender processes and discovered the last contractor for RCMP "hats, felt" was Biltmore Hats based in Garland Texas. The last contract was for some 450 hats and was in 2017.

 

[scottyrocks]

I couldn't find a dedicated thread on it, so I'll ask here.

Any suggestions on a hat to wear to the pool?

My buddy is opening his pool up for the summer next weekend, and that's one place above all others that I've not been without a hat since I started wearing them again. I don't want to break that streak just cause I may end up wearing the hat on a floaty with a drink in my hand.

When I (used to) go in the water, I would bring/wear a cloth bucket hat because they can get wet with no damage . . . no, not no damage, but who cares if it gets wet and fades/loses shape, etc, it's a cloth bucket hat.

 

[scottyrocks]

Thanks Bill. Is there any way to get around that? I don't have a block to stretch the rather short crown over, nor do I want to increase my investment in this hat, which is about $49. Would a swish in Coleman white gas do anything to dissolve the hat stiffener that may be wanting to hold that crease line? Any other suggestions?

I've had very good (although not perfect) results using the bottom of a stainless steel tablespoon on felt hats that been pulled down on a block and steamed, and then carefully smoothed over the crease with the bottom of the spoon. Several steamings and massagings often do the trick, although there is sometimes a mark that takes time to go away.

 

[itsallgood]

The body man visual was very helpful. I had a little time today so went ahead and did it.

Here are two with the original machine-driven factory crease:

I pulled out the liner, steamed the crown and popped it out. Let things dry, repeated two more times. This was a little tricky. I didn't feel like rummaging around the shed to find a softball, so I used an apple that was sitting on the counter. Getting into the edges aggressively with my fingers left gobs of felt on my hand when I pulled away. But, then remembering the body man visual, and quite frankly remembering what it was like playing with the kids and their Play-Doh, kneading adjacent areas into the crease worked. Steaming over the tea kettle and then three fingers up into the inside of the crown and three fingers outside rolled perpendicular had the most success.

Here it is with a simple centerdent. It's a little difficult trying to represent the change because the photos foreshorten the perspective, but in person, the change is a significant improvement. To say I'm pleased would be an understatement. Thanks for your help guys.

 

[drmaxtejeda]

I have a question about wpi.
According to the seller, there are about 1100 here.
I count 1600... Am I counting wrongly?

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[deadlyhandsome]

I have a question about wpi.
According to the seller, there are about 1100 here.
I count 1600... Am I counting wrongly?

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I love you like a brother, Max, but I’m not counting those tiny weaves. My eyes give me enough trouble as it is.


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[drmaxtejeda]

I love you like a brother, Max, but I’m not counting those tiny weaves. My eyes give me enough trouble as it is.


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Hahaha. I will send you a PM in a bit.

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[Hat and Rehat]

Body man, now that's a term I have not heard in a while. My dad, uncle, and grand dad were all body men for many years during their lives. I've done many a days work with a body hammer and sanding block myself. Maybe I'll have to give it a try with a few felts

I've played with the hammers and various dollys. I figured it was best not to go into the fact you have to attempt shrinking the metal at the end.

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[Hat and Rehat]

The body man visual was very helpful. I had a little time today so went ahead and did it.

Here are two with the original machine-driven factory crease:

View attachment 170008


View attachment 170009


I pulled out the liner, steamed the crown and popped it out. Let things dry, repeated two more times. This was a little tricky. I didn't feel like rummaging around the shed to find a softball, so I used an apple that was sitting on the counter. Getting into the edges aggressively with my fingers left gobs of felt on my hand when I pulled away. But, then remembering the body man visual, and quite frankly remembering what it was like playing with the kids and their Play-Doh, kneading adjacent areas into the crease worked. Steaming over the tea kettle and then three fingers up into the inside of the crown and three fingers outside rolled perpendicular had the most success.

View attachment 170007

Here it is with a simple centerdent. It's a little difficult trying to represent the change because the photos foreshorten the perspective, but in person, the change is a significant improvement. To say I'm pleased would be an understatement. Thanks for your help guys.

View attachment 170004 View attachment 170005 View attachment 170006

On top of it all, you can't eat a softball, so the apple was a great choice!

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[Hat and Rehat]

I realized, in part by almost missing that the Champ I shared yesterday runs big for a 7, and may well be one I can wear, but also by thinking I knew more about the reeded sweats in Stetsons than I did, assuming they were all much like the three I examined in depth before my first sweat replacement, that I've been accumulating hats so quickly that I haven't even gotten to know them as they came in.

I'm setting out to correct that, first with the ones in need of repair, then with the others.
I'm already finding interesting construction differences.
My question for this thread is if a thread already exists to post pictures of different assembly/construction features of various manufacturers, and discuss their strengths and weaknesses?
Question two is, if not, is it a thread I should start, and would other loungers find it interesting?
I'm talking about things like the way sweatbands are stitched in, joined at the back, etc., and how ribbon and bows are assembled differently, variances in welts, sewn or felted, basically looking closer at the technical aspects of our hats.

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