Felt hat basics

[Matt Deckard]

FOR THE DIRTY HAT

Always brush your hat in an anti-clockwise direction.
We all know brushing keeps the dust away and a hat can collect dust for decades that can be pushed off with the whisk (felt is really resilient), yet for those more hearty deep down (the brush doesn't help) felt problems, I pull out my thick off white rubber hat sponge.
It takes out easy to get grease and salt stains (most from me handling the brim with my hands).

If that doesn't work I go heavy duty with Scout hat cleaner. Just spray it on and let it dry to a powder then brush it off.

If the stain is deeper and you are not used to using Naphtha or other cleaning agents, I suggest you take your hat to a professional. For Dress hats I highly recommend Graham Thompson of Optimo hats and Art Fawcett of Vintage Silhouettes

FOR THE WET HAT

Felt tends to stay in the shape that it dries.

If it is a soft felt hat like a fedora with a snap brim and the hat is soaked, leave the hat, brim turned up, on a flat surface with a towel underneath. If you leave the hat upside down on its crown (as many hatters suggest)you will end up with flat spots on the top of the crown. If you turn out the sweatband the brim will droop.

If it is a firm hat like a Western hat or like some of the Indiana Jones hats on the market, or a homburg, place a towel on the arm of a chair or a sofa and place the hat on the towell with the brim hanging over the sides. If you leave the hat on a flat surface the hat will conform to that surface.

FOR THE FIT OF A HAT

You want a hat that doesn't bind when worn... something you don't have to tug off your head as with time such a tight hat will cause headache. You also don't want the hat falling over your ears.

With modern hats, if you feel you are in between sizes it is better to go for the larger size. I know you may think you want a snug fit that won't blow away in a gust, though hat leathers tend to get tighter over time with the expansion from moisture then drying out constantly. Modern day felt shrinks.

Addendum

More info on fit for those with marks on their heads.

Today, hatters don't make blocks for our specific heads. Back in the old days there were blocks for stars and they were custom yes... though that much custom is too costly (and questionably useful) for the time hatters have to make a modern hat., and when they sew in the sweat they tend to sew it in following where the felt lies. They do change the shape here and there to make the fit better... I have a German oval head (square forehead) with a bump on the right and I have had hatter corrct for that, though all in all if the felt isn't soft enough and the leather sweat is too stiff I'll feel it too much on my head. Alot of the difference is in the sweatband used. I prefer a rubber band feel. Kangaroo leather would be great though only a couple hatters use Kangaroo... not even Akubra uses roo.

In the end you may need to just wear the hat around and let the band soak in some sweat and let the leather break in. And if that doesn't work go a hare bigger in size.

FOR HAT QUALITY

Most vintage dress hats are far better in quality than those you can have made by the the best hatters on the modern market.

Resilience to rain is one of the most important factors. Your felt hat will soak through in a downpour... felt acts like a sponge. The determiner of quality comes from how much the hat can take the rain without drooping over time.

With soft hats like fedora or homburgs, pliability and the ability to take being crushed and rumpled and squeezed is a determiner of a soft hat's quality. Can the hat be crushed or rolled and return to it's original shape without the integrity being compromised. No hat can take constant rolling and crushing, just like no dollar bill can last forever under the constant folding and crushing. Some papers as some felts are better than others. I don't recommend rolling your hats for travel, though it is something I have done.

 

[Mycroft]

Thanks a lot, I was looking for this the other night, when my hat got wet. Well, now I know, thanks.

 

[adamgottschalk]

Hat on a flat?

I completely understand about all the concerns when dealing with a wet hat (though I'm a little confused as to the difference between "brim up" and "on its crown"). In general, I think I've read at least one place that when putting one's hat down on a flat surface, it's preferable to set it "brim up" or on its crown (which I'd have thought would be equivalent)--have I read wrong? Obviously, this might be different with a wet hat, but then, to really take care of your hat when it's wet, as you point out, you have to take more steps than just plunking it down on the couch. As you make clear, either way you do it if you only have a flat surface you're you're sort of screwed if your hat's wet.

But what about a dry hat out in a public place with no coat/hat rack? I worry that putting my hat flat as I would on my head, the snap to the brim will be mucked with, and potential nastiness (on a seat in a restaurant, for example) might get that much closer to my face; whereas, if gunk gets on the crown, there are all the recourses you note. I suppose those same answers apply to cleaning the underside of the brim... Am I making sense? I guess I don't completely understand.

Also, Mr. Deckard, I can't help but ask: you point out clearly that a hat should not be worn ridinig on one's ears. Is that nice hat in your current avatar just too big for you?

 

[scotrace]

Also, Mr. Deckard, I can't help but ask: you point out clearly that a hat should not be worn ridinig on one's ears. Is that nice hat in your current avatar just too big for you?

I think I remember that picture from a previous thread that Matt posted as a big favorite hat that he'd like to have.

 

[Matt Deckard]

Many hatters suggest you turn your hat upside down and rest the hat on its crown when wet. This I have found leaves flat marks on soft felts.

Shouldn't be but it can be... I have plenty of hats with salt marks from riding on my ears. It's a matter of prefference and a general idea of fit. Fit after all is up to you.

 

[Virgil Ante]

Wet hat care

I think he meant to snap the brim up all the way around. Then you place the hat right side up on the towel until it dries. After it's dry, you can snap the brim back down. I didn't get that the brim was "up" as in setting it on its crown.

 

[Dick Tracy]

Thanks for the info Matt.

 

[Feraud]

Here is a visual explanation of resting the hat on its crown versus snapping up the brim and setting it right side up.
a - resting on the crown -


b - snap up the brim and set down -


Matt, please correct/clarify if necessary. Thanks.

 

[John in Covina]

Clockwise versus Counterclockwise

"Brush your hat in a counter-clockwise direction, against the lay of the nap, so that the felt is worked well and dust is best removed."

From what perspective are we viewing the hat, looking down at the top?

Or are we looking simply at a specific spot?

 

[John in Covina]

mORE QUESTIONS.

FOR THE DIRTY HAT I pull out my thick off white rubber hat sponge. If that doesn't work I go heavy duty with Scout hat cleaner. Just spray it on and let it dry to a powder, then brush it off.

Matt! Did you get all of the cleaners from Village Hats?

Also someone spoke about a dry cleaning accessory similar to the sponge, any one get a line on where to get it and what the brand name is?

Best regards,

 

[Matt Deckard]

I actually get my own hat cleaning gear from Boot Barn, though I'm sure Village Hatshop has the same stuff.

I have found that the thicker off white sponges are harder to find, the brushes are everywhere and the cleaner I use is made by Scout.

 

[Briscoeteque]

Could a suede cleaning brush clean up a fur felt hat?

 

[John in Covina]

Could a suede cleaning brush clean up a fur felt hat?

*******
Most hat brushes are made from soft, natural bristles that I have seen. Most suede brushes are wire like Brass, Bronze or Copper which are very stiff and the ends of the wire bristles tend to be sharp. I believe the stiffness and sharp ends would tear up the hat felt.

 

[John in Covina]

Big offwhite sponge

Hey Matt!

The big offwhite sponge in your picture, it works like a big eraser?

Have you ever used the Orange ones that look a little like a mesh of netting?

 

[Matt Deckard]

I have used the orange ones too, though I preffer the thick white ones. Works like an eraser, just go in the direction of the felt like you'd do with a brush.

 

[stylin]

Great info breakdown! Feel free to leave tid bits of info like this more often!

:eusa_clap

 

[art92101]

Good stuff

Great info breakdown! Feel free to leave tid bits of info like this more often!

:eusa_clap

Thanks for the info and naming of brand names. This sure helps!

 

[Byrne Sherwood]

For what it's worth, I leave my hats top down, resting on their crowns whenever they are not on my head. I figure that what ever marks that might be left on top of the crown are less likely to be seen than a mis-shaped brim. I guess it really varies with the type of hat, but I find this method to work especially well for cowboy hats.

 

[shortbrim]

Hat at rest

An old tiimer friend of mine told me that proper hat resting etiquette is to leave the hat setting right side up with the brim over the edge of something so as not to change the proper angle of the brim. I do know one man who always leaves his hat upside down but this is because he is in very rough country and does not want spiders or scorpions to set up house keeping and he has no unpleasant surprises when donning his hat.

 

[Matt Deckard]

Sad to say, though setting your hat upside from my experience doesn't keep out the scorpions... they'll find away, same as that darned brown recluse.