Felt hat basics

[Marc Chevalier]

Thanks very much, Matt! I'm going to get some of that Scout hat cleaner ASAP.

 

[DanielJones]

Thank you Matt, that is most helpful.

Cheers!

Dan

 

[Fortino37]

Resting up crown

I belive that you can put your hat resting up crown just when it has "C" crown or "Rain drop" shape, in that way the crown don't hurt, but if you shape your hat in a center dent style the crown will be affected


Fortino

 

[Strider]

Will the mentioned cleaning methods also clean off the marks left by putting the hat on/taking it off by the crown over an extended period of time?

 

[shortbrim]

Hat Size question

There is a vintage Borsalino on EBay right now with the size listed as: 5-1/2. Do any of you know if the old Borsalino hats were sized the standard American way or was some other system used back then? Otherwise, this is a real small hat....Thanks!

 

[BellyTank]

5 1/2

5 1/2(old European/French sizing) is a US 7 1/4, or European 58(cm).

B
T

 

[Byrne Sherwood]

Since my earlier post on the topic, I have seen two websites that recommend resting a hat on its crown (that is, upside down) when not being worn so as to not distort the brim. One is the site for Meyer the Hatter (the local hat shop here in NOLA) and the other is the official Akubra site.

 

[Matt Deckard]

Akubra wearers hats are often times stiff. The brim will lose its dynamic curve if bearing weight. For wet hats... don't sit the soft felt fedora or homburg on the crown... as I said before it willl create a flat area. Cowboy hats are a diffent matter that i covered at the begening of the thread.

 

[WideBrimm]

Hat Cleaning

Recently I've been prowling the local thrifts and have bought a number of hats in varying conditions.

So I got a hat sponge from Sheplers. It worked great on some scuff marks on the felt of one hat. Came right off.

I've also tried a shop vac for the dust and dirt on another felt hat. Did a pretty fair job. No adverse effects.

I've also used the sticky roller clothes "brush" on felt. It did a darn good job of cleaning off both lint and pet hairs.

 

[Willi_Goat]

Thanks for the information. I have been wanting to get into buying and wearing vintage/vintage looking hats for a while, but did not until recently.

I used a lint roller to take care of any surface dust, but was not sure how to get the deeper stuff out.

I went to a local western wear store to pick up a hat brush last week and thirty minutes later finally made it out. I learned to only take cash in if I need to go there again. They must have recently installed thier credit card machine and could not quite get it all together without calling the company that provides the service.

 

[Phil]

Keeping unwanted pests out of hats

On the earlier topic of keeping bugs and such out of hats at night, I have an uncle that is quite the hat enthusiast. He travels all over the world and in the rougher countries he actually made himself a zippering hat box. From what I understand all he did was staple a zipper onto one of his sturdier hat boxes and I'd assume that's worked for him so far. I haven't heard any bug-in-hat complaints.

 

[magneto]

On the earlier topic of keeping bugs and such out of hats at night, I have an uncle that is quite the hat enthusiast. He travels all over the world and in the rougher countries he actually made himself a zippering hat box. From what I understand all he did was staple a zipper onto one of his sturdier hat boxes and I'd assume that's worked for him so far. I haven't heard any bug-in-hat complaints.

Good thinking! I have some vintage zipper cases that were meant to carry shoes while traveling that are hatboxish-shaped (slight taper)--I keep my delicate hats in them. I see the cases on ebay often.

 

[LolitaHaze]

I have a vintage ladie's round felt hat that is crushed and just sad looking. I am assuming the answer will be the same for this hat as it would a fedora so... how would I go about perking it up and bringing it back to it's original shape? I want to give strenth back to it's form. Can I do this without a block or other special tools?

 

[captain johnny]

thanks for the advise

 

[Robert Conway]

Good thinking! I have some vintage zipper cases that were meant to carry shoes while traveling that are hatboxish-shaped (slight taper)--I keep my delicate hats in them. I see the cases on ebay often.

If you are traveling you can also wrap your hat in a piece of mosquito netting or similar material at night. That way your hat could still 'breath' and dry out, while discouraging any unwanted visitors. Takes up a lot less room than a modified hat box.

RC

 

[undertaker]

Thanks for the tips

Gentlemen,
Thank you so much for offering this information on hat care. However I have another question concerning storing hats. I keep mine in hat boxes, should I put them in upside down (on the crown) or upright? This may have been address earlier but I did not see it, please advise.

JS

 

[undertaker]

Pardon me I did not read far enough into the second page, Thanks Anyway:eusa_doh:

 

[McPeppers]

I'd like to second the reference to NOLA's own "Meyer the Hatter"

Great little store

 

[Matt Deckard]

Gentlemen,
Thank you so much for offering this information on hat care. However I have another question concerning storing hats. I keep mine in hat boxes, should I put them in upside down (on the crown) or upright? This may have been address earlier but I did not see it, please advise.

JS

If the hat has a cardboard ring go ahead and put it upside down where the ring will prevent the crown from hitting the bottom of the box.

If there is no ring then put the hat in brim side down...

Check out the first post.

 

[RedPop4]

Hat Size Chart

I made a cursory glance through this thread, and I didn't see a chart of hat sizes.

http://www.millerhats.com/hatsize.html