Ebay Hats: Victories, Defeats, Gripes & Items of Interest

[Bob Smalser]

Does anyone have knowledge of the electrical connection on the hat stretcher? I imagine at 110 volts wire nuts and electrical tape would be safe enough.

Sure. Just insure the new cord is adequately anchored on the plug side of the wire nuts.

I've never worked on a hat stretcher per se, but I strongly suspect the heating element is a resistance coil just like on your home clothes drier. That means current can flow through it in either direction, so matching polarity between coil and plug isn't critical.

But do check the coil for shorts first using an ohm meter, as a cracked or broken coil could short out through the dome to your fingers. Test it with an ohm meter to insure it has some resistance. Zero resistance means the coil is broken.

 

[Belegnole]

this was something I was going to go all out for. Of course at the last moment my internet decided to lag out and lock up..go figure.

Who ever got this....was using his voodoo doll

 

[rlk]

Stetson No. 1 Quality

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...name=STRK:MEWNX:IT&viewitem=&salenotsupported

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

I like that western, rlk!

 

[Lefty]

Stetson 25, 7 1/8

Borso Savoy, 7 1/2

Measuring tool

terribly photographed Danbury Hat Mfg. Co.

 

[Dreispitz]

I've been Derby crazy lately. I guess I need to get a shackle and proper block and learn to make my own.

Anyway, I half-heartedly put in a smallish bid last night on this Dobbs Derby, and woke up this morning to find I had won it for a decent price. Best part is, it's my size. A little cleaning, and it should be fine. Looks to be 1922-'30s.

Brad

Hi Brad,

Derby crazy? Welcome to the club!

I think, I know, why you date your new aquisition pre 1930

Here is another one, I fetched: Leightweight UK noname

I also gave Lefty´s and Dinerman´s propositions a thought. It would, indeed, be nice to collect more information on hat dating by various features. I can think of a one-stop threat, with links to sub categories. To make it work comfortably, the individual categories have to be defined first. Maybe, we just open a brainstorming thread to collect features of interest, for a while. Then, one can compile the categories and start the actual thread.

How about that?

 

[gtdean48]

.... I may try it or I may make this my new hog-huntin' hat; its really nice otherwise so I'll kick it around.

You'll be the sharpest hatted Pig Killer on the hunt!

 

[gtdean48]

Stetson 25, 7 1/8

Under $30 for a Stetson 25 & a nice box...Man, I wish my head was smaller!!!:rage:

 

[Dinerman]

 

[Tampahound]

OH MY!

This is what I bought:

But....





This is what I got

I didn't photograph the hat straight out of the box...too heartbreaking. Here are some closeups after salvage:

The bowler is wool...will a steaming help those lovely creases?!

 

[DoctorJ]

Tampahound's Tragedy

That's terrible, but I think it will be okay with a little water mist or steam and some TLC. Wool may not be a resilient as fur, so take it slow.

I contacted a seller once after receiving a badly kicked-around box and suggested that putting a FRAGILE label on the box might help. He was happy for the feedback and said he would indeed do that from now on.

Good Luck, Man

 

[Tango Yankee]

Oh, my... Tampahound, I feel your pain!

This is definitely one that needs to go back to the seller to have the seller make it right. They failed to use a proper shipping container--their fault, not yours. Vintage cardboard boxes just do not have the strength for, and hat boxes are not designed to be, shipping boxes.

A Champ bowler... I'd have liked to have that, myself!

Good luck!
Tom

 

[Tango Yankee]

That's terrible, but I think it will be okay with a little water mist or steam and some TLC. Wool may not be a resilient as fur, so take it slow.

Bowlers are stiff hats--once crushed, they're pretty much done I think. I could be wrong, of course, but in this case I don't think so.

Regards,
Tom

 

[Dinerman]

steam should be able fix that. I've had hats arrive in shoeboxes and in mailing envelopes in much flatter states that steamed out perfectly fine. That being said, if it was shipped only in the hat box and not in a shipping box, that's the seller's fault.

The derby's a Champ? Probably late '50s or '60s if it is. Earlier derbies, if crushed, usually break, that is, the felt is thin and stiffened such that the felt tears if crushed. Later ones weren't as stiff, from the ones I've had. So long as there are no breaks in the felt- it should be fairly easily salvageable.

 

[Feraud]

Nice! Is the felt soft on this?
It looks it..

 

[Dinerman]

Nice! Is the felt soft on this?
It looks it..

It's coming from Bulgaria, so it could be quite a while before it gets here, but we'll see. It does look that way. From the looks of things, its quite old as well, and well preserved.

 

[Tampahound]

RE: OH MY!

Sadly Tango Yankee it was shipped in just the champ box.

Tango Yankee and Dinerman:
It is not in fact a Champ hat, but an Emerson if that means anything. I'd love to know anything available on dating or what not...

It does have a cool Union tag hidden under the sweatband and behind the liner

And after taking your sage advice about steaming (Dinerman and DoctorJ) here is the result:

And finally

I think after a second round of steaming it will be fine Thanks for the support!

 

[Dinerman]

Looks great. I'm going to put the date as late '50s on that, in the second wave derby revival period. Looks like it's in great shape.

As for the ribbon, you could try wetting it and letting it dry to get the wrinkle out.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Looks great. I'm going to put the date as late '50s on that, in the second wave derby revival period.

My guess is that Tampahound's hat (are you referring to that one, Dinerman?) is in fact an open-crowned homburg, not a derby.


.

 

[DoctorJ]

Right On!