Beater Brotherhood

[AbbaDatDeHat]

Adam Pacesetter in Chrome. Vinegar and naphtha could not bring back the ribbon and binding. That, along with a few moth nips, will relegate this to beater status.

Hey Bob: you might try some plain old Crest toothpaste and very soft bristle toothbrush and gently scrub the ribbons. I took the rusty sweat stain out of a 7x fifty that way. Impressed the hell outta me. Old USMC trick.
Ps: try a small spot first, don’t put it on a block and take it in the shower like someone i know did. Ha
B

 

[BobHufford]

View attachment 135777
Hey Bob: you might try some plain old Crest toothpaste and very soft bristle toothbrush and gently scrub the ribbons. I took the rusty sweat stain out of a 7x fifty that way.

I’ll give that a shot Bowen. Thanks!

 

[Tukwila]

My problem is, after I gas bath, steam, crease and brush out a hat oft times it's not really a beater anymore.

I only have a couple hats I don't worry about getting dirty, blowing away in the wind or being lost or stolen.

First is this Stetson/LL Bean "Moose River" fishing hat. I wear it in the yard, by the smoker, in nasty rain and sleet, working on the car, etc, etc.

 

[Tukwila]

The 2nd is a mediocre piece of felt I took a chance on. Called Aristocrat, it looked ok in pics, but the sweat cracked and fell apart when I put the hat on my head. I gave it a gas bath and it turned the white gas black and filthy on contact. It must have been kept near a coal bin or something.

I had Mike Miller put in a new sweat for me, but because it was an unreeded sweat he had to reblock the hat and I lost brim width and crown height... I rarely wear it, but the sweat is the most expensive part of the entire lid. There are literally what appears to be pieces of ligament or sinew from the rabbits used to felt this thing, LOL... I scraped one prominent piece out and it left a fairly noticeable divot... so, Beater #2:

Before:

After:

 

[deadlyhandsome]

The 2nd is a mediocre piece of felt I took a chance on. Called Aristocrat, it looked ok in pics, but the sweat cracked and fell apart when I put the hat on my head. I gave it a gas bath and it turned the white gas black and filthy on contact. It must have been kept near a coal bin or something.

I had Mike Miller put in a new sweat for me, but because it was an unreeded sweat he had to reblock the hat and I lost brim width and crown height... I rarely wear it, but the sweat is the most expensive part of the entire lid. There are literally what appears to be pieces of ligament or sinew from the rabbits used to felt this thing, LOL... I scraped one prominent piece out and it left a fairly noticeable divot... so, Beater #2:

Before:

After:

The best felts contained sinew and gristle; it’s an old world secret. Looks good in the pictures anyway.


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[AbbaDatDeHat]

The 2nd is a mediocre piece of felt I took a chance on. Called Aristocrat, it looked ok in pics, but the sweat cracked and fell apart when I put the hat on my head. I gave it a gas bath and it turned the white gas black and filthy on contact. It must have been kept near a coal bin or something.

I had Mike Miller put in a new sweat for me, but because it was an unreeded sweat he had to reblock the hat and I lost brim width and crown height... I rarely wear it, but the sweat is the most expensive part of the entire lid. There are literally what appears to be pieces of ligament or sinew from the rabbits used to felt this thing, LOL... I scraped one prominent piece out and it left a fairly noticeable divot... so, Beater #2:

Before:

After:

Hell yes!!! Roadkill rabbit beater!!
Somebody “beat” that!! Couldn’t resist.
Hiding now
B

 

[MondoFW]

An old Marathon

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Sweet! You pull it off nicely.

 

[Tukwila]

Hell yes!!! Roadkill rabbit beater!!
Somebody “beat” that!! Couldn’t resist.
Hiding now
B

LOL, pretty sure both of these are rabbit felt...

 

[RJR]

Peters Brothers Shady Oaks.

 

[Bamaboots]

Shade for outdoor work in the AL heat. Larry Mahan by Milano Hat Co. A 30X no less. I bought it because of the 4 1/2" brim and the sweat looked good. The sweat was good, if you like naugahyde. OC is a bit less than 5" and this thing came with a cattleman crease. You could spin it on top of my head. You can't kill the POS, though.

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

Shade for outdoor work in the AL heat. Larry Mahan by Milano Hat Co. A 30X no less. I bought it because of the 4 1/2" brim and the sweat looked good. The sweat was good, if you like naugahyde. OC is a bit less than 5" and this thing came with a cattleman crease. You could spin it on top of my head. You can't kill the POS, though.
View attachment 135813 View attachment 135814 View attachment 135815

Ha ha
Man i love that thing!!
It’s 10 different kinds of cool!
You could be anybody you wanted to be in that one.
I love a big old spinner i can tuck my ears in.
B

 

[Redfokker]

Shade for outdoor work in the AL heat. Larry Mahan by Milano Hat Co. A 30X no less. I bought it because of the 4 1/2" brim and the sweat looked good. The sweat was good, if you like naugahyde. OC is a bit less than 5" and this thing came with a cattleman crease. You could spin it on top of my head. You can't kill the POS, though.
View attachment 135813 View attachment 135814 View attachment 135815

Someone at the factory got a little crazy with the xxXxx stamp! Best part of the whole hat! Dig it.

 

[Roadopen]

For starters my summer beater go to.

Cheers!

 

[BobHufford]

My wife’s favorite farm beater. Older Resistol. It HAS been through a gas bath.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

My wife’s favorite farm beater. Older Resistol. It HAS been through a gas bath.

It’s from Santa Cruz! That alone earns its placement here. The only hats you’re likely to find there now are hemp quasi hippie trustafarian getups. I loved Santa Cruz when I was a kid.

The Resistol is showing its age but it looks like a well-loved friend to me.


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[itsallgood]

My Akubra Angler got worn every day this summer working around the yard. It often got so sweat up in, it wasn't dry the next day when I put it on again. Early September, something organic inside hit a tipping point and the thing developed a stink such that I couldn't take the hat off while in the car! There wasn't a lot of thinking that went into my next move, but I was in the kitchen, the hat was there, the dish soap was there. So, in it went.




When the hat dried, it must have shrunk down to about a size 6. Working it with a hat jack, I got it back to my usual 7 1/4, but the taper was incredible. Truly looked like Jed Clampett's hat. So, I steamed the crown thoroughly, put the hat over a fence post, and tugged. Steamed some more, and tugged in the other direction, etc. A few finishing touches with the tea kettle and here you go:



I guess it's a beater now, but I think it looks pretty good!

 

[deadlyhandsome]

My Akubra Angler got worn every day this summer working around the yard. It often got so sweat up in, it wasn't dry the next day when I put it on again. Early September, something organic inside hit a tipping point and the thing developed a stink such that I couldn't take the hat off while in the car! There wasn't a lot of thinking that went into my next move, but I was in the kitchen, the hat was there, the dish soap was there. So, in it went.


View attachment 142950 View attachment 142951 View attachment 142952 View attachment 142953

When the hat dried, it must have shrunk down to about a size 6. Working it with a hat jack, I got it back to my usual 7 1/4, but the taper was incredible. Truly looked like Jed Clampett's hat. So, I steamed the crown thoroughly, put the hat over a fence post, and tugged. Steamed some more, and tugged in the other direction, etc. A few finishing touches with the tea kettle and here you go:

View attachment 142954

I guess it's a beater now, but I think it looks pretty good! View attachment 142956 View attachment 142955

I love the visual of a fence post block. I guess that even Akubra’s have a limit on what they can take. Sounds like you’ve got an excuse to get another hat(s).


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[scottyrocks]

A submerging and thorough soaking, and all bets are off re shrinkage.

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

My Akubra Angler got worn every day this summer working around the yard. It often got so sweat up in, it wasn't dry the next day when I put it on again. Early September, something organic inside hit a tipping point and the thing developed a stink such that I couldn't take the hat off while in the car! There wasn't a lot of thinking that went into my next move, but I was in the kitchen, the hat was there, the dish soap was there. So, in it went.


View attachment 142950 View attachment 142951 View attachment 142952 View attachment 142953

When the hat dried, it must have shrunk down to about a size 6. Working it with a hat jack, I got it back to my usual 7 1/4, but the taper was incredible. Truly looked like Jed Clampett's hat. So, I steamed the crown thoroughly, put the hat over a fence post, and tugged. Steamed some more, and tugged in the other direction, etc. A few finishing touches with the tea kettle and here you go:

View attachment 142954

I guess it's a beater now, but I think it looks pretty good! View attachment 142956 View attachment 142955

Well that’s steppin up to the plate problem solving. I get it too.
I guess i have a Stetson 7x 50 beater. Ha
I savaged it twice. All good.
Bowen

 

[Tukwila]

I'd try a bath in white gas first. I took apart a beater Stetson No. 1 and nothing got it clean. White gas first, then hot soapy water. It took forever to rinse out all the soap and the felt was still dirty. As it dried over the next several days at room temperature, I kept stretching it over the top of my head to keep it from shrinking too much.

It's still sitting here while I figure out what to do with it. Maybe I'll dye it a dark moss green color and go from there...