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[M Hatman]

@Rmccamey , they're out there. Kind of like searching for Unicorns and hens teeth. Can't find my old pics but I owned this same hat. Ecuadorian Supernatural, one of the finest Panama's I've ever had. Style was not for me and moved it on.

Damb......that is one nice hat!

 

[jlee562]

What are people's thoughts on cleaning products for their hats?

Saw the Bickmore foaming cleanser and the Bickmore guard product.
Also brushes (I've seen a brush with light hairs for light hats and dark hairs for dark hats).

But I assume for dust you'd only need to use some tape to lift it off the hat. So I'm wondering what each product is for and if it's recommended or used by anyone on here?

Many thanks!

I can't speak to the Bickmore products because I've not used them. I do have a bottle of water protectant that I got from Penman hats many years ago (he no longer sells it). It's not dissimilar from scotchguard, which some folks have also used (although noted minor changes in the feel of the felt). That having been said, Hat-Co sells Bickmore products in the back of the Stetson and Resistol catalogs, so I assume they'd be fine for spot cleaning where a naptha bath might be overkill.

The light/dark thing is more just to keep straight which brush gets used on which hat. There's nothing about brown horse hair that makes it unsuitable for light hats per se. But you do want separate brushes to avoid transferring loose fibers from one hat to another (especially from a dark hat to a light one). You should also periodically shake out the fibers from your hat brush (I give it a few brushes against my jeans every so often).

The other light cleaning tool you can look into are hat sponges. There are two kinds available, the orange one and the white one. The orange one is basically a large cell plastic sponge that works by very finely removing the outer layer of fibers...kind of like a hat exfoliator. It's basically one step below the sand paper that a maker might use in the pouncing process. The white hat sponge has some sort of chemical cleaner embedded in it...it's a little bit like a hat magic eraser. That will also remove a fine layer of the fibers (the idea being you're also removing the stain). Although this does remove a teeny tiny bit of the fibers, and provided you don't sit there and do it for hours, it's not such an intensive thing that it's going to ruin the integrity of the felt.

 

[jlee562]

Thank you, Bama, I could wear one like that!

Thanks, Brent, I'll keep that in mind.

If you feel like splurging, Brent Black does offer one:
https://www.brentblack.com/mens-montecristi-panama-hats.html#derby

Optimo has a Homburg style:
https://optimo.com/collection/the-homburg-52

I got this Homburg style from Hat Guys in Oakland when they were closing...from Lagomarsino hats, but I can't find it on their current website.

 

[Rmccamey]

Very nice, JLee. I'll keep those in mind. I wish I could afford one of those tnis summer! Thanks.

If you feel like splurging, Brent Black does offer one:
https://www.brentblack.com/mens-montecristi-panama-hats.html#derby

Optimo has a Homburg style:
https://optimo.com/collection/the-homburg-52

I got this Homburg style from Hat Guys in Oakland when they were closing...from Lagomarsino hats, but I can't find it on their current website.

 

[Bamaboots]

Damb......that is one nice hat!

It was your size, too.

 

[M Hatman]

It was your size, too.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I DID NOT need to hear (or know) that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Bamaboots]

I DID NOT need to hear (or know) that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mark, not to torture you further, but I will. I finally found a few pics of the one I had. Though it's labeled 3/8, it measured out to a 1/2 LO. Enjoy.

 

[JessieJames]

I can't speak to the Bickmore products because I've not used them. I do have a bottle of water protectant that I got from Penman hats many years ago (he no longer sells it). It's not dissimilar from scotchguard, which some folks have also used (although noted minor changes in the feel of the felt). That having been said, Hat-Co sells Bickmore products in the back of the Stetson and Resistol catalogs, so I assume they'd be fine for spot cleaning where a naptha bath might be overkill.

The light/dark thing is more just to keep straight which brush gets used on which hat. There's nothing about brown horse hair that makes it unsuitable for light hats per se. But you do want separate brushes to avoid transferring loose fibers from one hat to another (especially from a dark hat to a light one). You should also periodically shake out the fibers from your hat brush (I give it a few brushes against my jeans every so often).

The other light cleaning tool you can look into are hat sponges. There are two kinds available, the orange one and the white one. The orange one is basically a large cell plastic sponge that works by very finely removing the outer layer of fibers...kind of like a hat exfoliator. It's basically one step below the sand paper that a maker might use in the pouncing process. The white hat sponge has some sort of chemical cleaner embedded in it...it's a little bit like a hat magic eraser. That will also remove a fine layer of the fibers (the idea being you're also removing the stain). Although this does remove a teeny tiny bit of the fibers, and provided you don't sit there and do it for hours, it's not such an intensive thing that it's going to ruin the integrity of the felt.

I have the orange one but have never used it, I'm a little scared to. The orange is less invasive than the white one due to the chemicals?

 

[Bamaboots]

I have the orange one but have never used it, I'm a little scared to.

Nothing to be afraid of unless you're a little obsessive about brushing your hat. Hold the hat in sunlight as you use it and you'll see only the lightest bit of surface comes off of the felt. Great for smoothing rough spots and removing light surface grime. Helps to freshen them up. Never used a white one.

 

[M Hatman]

Mark, not to torture you further, but I will. I finally found a few pics of the one I had. Though it's labeled 3/8, it measured out to a 1/2 LO. Enjoy.
View attachment 177241 View attachment 177242 View attachment 177243 View attachment 177244 View attachment 177245 View attachment 177246

DARN YOU!!!!!!! Well, payback and all.........
YES, I would wear that one......

 

[belfastboy]

Nothing to be afraid of unless you're a little obsessive about brushing your hat. Hold the hat in sunlight as you use it and you'll see only the lightest bit of surface comes off of the felt. Great for smoothing rough spots and removing light surface grime. Helps to freshen them up. Never used a white one.

Yes, use a light hand til you get the feel for it and you have nothing to be worried about. Good felt hats can take a ton of abuse so a little care and attention will do the hat good....no risk of harm.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Has anyone seen anything like this?

I can only guess that it was some aftermarket add-on.


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[Hat and Rehat]

Is anyone familiar with this crest, and the hat brand?
I have a black Western with no markings except 5 XXXXX Beaver Quality, Water Resistant, on the left side of the sweatband, and a liner I believe is like this one, but 5X instead of three.
I can't find my liner at the moment, but the top part of the crest is blacked out by a big stain. The rear of the crown is bleached out slightly, and the dye transferred into the liner, apparently by some chemical spilled on the hat.
I actually bought the hat by accident. I had a black Boss RE on my watch list from a seller that didn't seem to know what they had. [ YIKES! I just won a Mallory by switching back to an open eBay tab and seeing I had 11 seconds to bid! It's funny, but that goes with this story] I was also watching a black 5X western in very beat up condition. One day I logged into the Bay, opened my watch list and saw I had seconds to bid on a hat. I thought it might be the Boss, but also knew it might not, but had no time to do anything but bid.
I won the auction, and was pretty elated for a minute with the possibility I was the only one who saw the boss logo stamped in the sweatband in the seller's pictures. Looking at ads and my watch list, I quickly realized that, no, I had not just got an incredible steal on a boss RE. But I did have a black western on it's way marked 5X beaver for about $45 shipped. I also knew 5Xcould mean almost anything.
The hat arrived filthy and misshapen. I gave it a good brushing and it cleaned up great. Enough shadow of the original crease was there to restore it easily, without steam, and I found I REALLY like this hat. It joined two other hats as my Western keepers. I tried to identify the brand at the time, but with only half of the crest couldn't learn anything. This picture may be the complete crest, so I'm trying again to identify my favorite black western, 5X (?), 6 1/2" crown, 3" brim, 3/4" Grosgrain with bow, and snappy feather.
Can anyone help?

 

[cozy d]

Don’t blame you a bit. A small mirror slipped behind the sweat usually is non-fatal. You do what it takes to make that hat yours! Clean, dirty, restored, whatever because it’s always gonna be a near 100 yr old Boss no matter what we think.
I get excited when other’s find a real treasure. Sometimes we/i get stale with all our treasures and to know another is in that special place with a new treasure keeps me coming back!
Thank you. Feel free to post the heck outta that. Never gets old.
B

Update: I found that I had some old Fibri-Tac glue from several years ago that had been unopened until now. The problem was that the glue had become thick and not of the consistency I would have expected so I called the manufacturer who said that the bottle should be almost full which it wasn't, and that meant the acetone had evaporated. They told me to just add acetone and it should be good as new so I did. That seemed to do the trick. I used it with some trepidation, but I'm happy to report that the repair came out very well and the sweatband feels firmly in place now. I wiped the sweat with a damp cloth which revealed what appears to be a sweatband in pretty good shape. Each time I handled the hat it seemed to have less dust on it but I decided to give it a light brushing anyway and then hit it with just a little bit of steam.

Here it is now...the pics make it look a little greyish in full sun but let me assure you that in any other light, it is black as the night now. I'd decided not to condition the leather and just see how it responds to being worn, which seems to be working out well...and it fits my head perfectly!

Now I'm feelin' like a BOSS

Sent from my LM-G710VM using Tapatalk

 

[Hat and Rehat]

Update: I found that I had some old Fibri-Tac glue from several years ago that had been unopened until now. The problem was that the glue had become thick and not of the consistency I would have expected so I called the manufacturer who said that the bottle should be almost full which it wasn't, and that meant the acetone had evaporated. They told me to just add acetone and it should be good as new so I did. That seemed to do the trick. I used it with some trepidation, but I'm happy to report that the repair came out very well and the sweatband feels firmly in place now. I wiped the sweat with a damp cloth which revealed what appears to be a sweatband in pretty good shape. Each time I handled the hat it seemed to have less dust on it but I decided to give it a light brushing anyway and then hit it with just a little bit of steam.

Here it is now...the pics make it look a little greyish in full sun but let me assure you that in any other light, it is black as the night now. I'd decided not to condition the leather and just see how it responds to being worn, which seems to be working out well...and it fits my head perfectly!

Now I'm feelin' like a BOSS

Sent from my LM-G710VM using Tapatalk

Beautiful. Some days I feel a little blue. Today I'm feeling green.

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[Hat and Rehat]

This picture may be the complete crest, so I'm trying again to identify my favorite black western, 5X (?), 6 1/2" crown, 3" brim, 3/4" Grosgrain with bow, and snappy feather.
Can anyone help?

Sent from my LGMP260 using Tapatalk

 

[cozy d]

Don’t blame you a bit. A small mirror slipped behind the sweat usually is non-fatal. You do what it takes to make that hat yours! Clean, dirty, restored, whatever because it’s always gonna be a near 100 yr old Boss no matter what we think.
I get excited when other’s find a real treasure. Sometimes we/i get stale with all our treasures and to know another is in that special place with a new treasure keeps me coming back!
Thank you. Feel free to post the heck outta that. Never gets old.
B

Don’t blame you a bit. A small mirror slipped behind the sweat usually is non-fatal.

Oh yeah and then there's this....the view from the dental mirror...looks like a reorder number? I chickened out on peeling the sweat back any further but I could see the edges of the red/orange tag with what looked like maybe some ink writing on it...I think the rest will have to remain a mystery.

Having said that, the agent that listed the hat was kind enough to inquire about the hat's history for me. She found that it belonged to "August Ekdiahl Johnson, a man of Swedish decent who settled in Decker, TX sometime before 1891. He worked in farming or the new Swedish settlement in Texas and the name was placed in the hat for identification in case of injury or death. He was the sole owner of the hat."

It's pretty fascinating to think of the history of things like this that have found their way to rest in our possession. I hope that this hat will stay with me for a long time to come.

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[Frunobulax]

Has anyone seen anything like this?

I can only guess that it was some aftermarket add-on.


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Ummmm...no, thank God.

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[humanshoes]

Has anyone seen anything like this?

I can only guess that it was some aftermarket add-on.


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A variation on the Jewish Shtreimel hat perhaps?

 

[Rmccamey]

Yes, a few weeks back. The dogs chased it out into the field and I took care of it with the shotgun. Boy did it stink!

Has anyone seen anything like this?

I can only guess that it was some aftermarket add-on.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro