Filson Tin Cloth Hat and Stretching

[Beowulf]

Hello,

I am new to the forum. After searching for hat information this group was mentioned many times. I have what is probably a rather simple fix, but seeing as how I am a novice in hat knowledge, I was hoping for some guidance.

As a gift I received a Filson Tin Cloth hat, size Med. It is ever so close to fitting, but would prefer just a little more room. The Large would be gigantic on me. How should I go about trying to enlarge the size? I don't know of any shops local to Boulder, CO that can stretch hats, but I'm sure they are out there.

Any help or suggestions will be appreciated.

 

[Goose.]

Beowulf...

Have to reply...being a guy that worked a mile from the turkey processing plant in Longmont and lived at the Harvest House Boulder for almost two years. Oh, and I have an oilcloth "Packers" (two actually).

Not Filson. but oilcloth nonetheless. Get a stretcher. You can get them in price range from a couple of pesos to close to a hundred.

ANYWAY, get that hat soaking wet. Not the same advice for felt in reagard to the "soaking". If you have to stretch an oilcoth to the point of tearing, then you messed up in the original procurement by getting one way too small. Pop it on the stretcher over night at room temp. There ya go

Your mileage may vary. Objects in mirror are closer than they apprear. Don't run with scissors. Eat your vegetables.

http://www.trailspace.com/gear/filson/tin-cloth-packer-hat/

And, welcome!!!!

 

[Inusuit]

Greeley Hat Company...

Isn't that far away from you, but having dealt with them, I suspect you would be ahead to pay for a stretcher. Harbor Freight had them for under $10, but were out of stock when I tried to order. I think I paid around $20-25 for mine. I'm not badmouthing Greeley Hat. They specialize in high end customs. It cost me about $35 to get a sweatband replaced in a 3X Stetson. By the time you drive to Greeley and back and pay for the stretch, you would have covered the cost of a stretcher you can keep.

 

[Boodles]

Ditto on what Mr Goose said...

My hat is a Filson, in tan, but it looks like the hat in the photo Goose had in his reply. I have stretched my Filson by getting it wet and using one of my old wooden stretchers on it. I take my time as those old stretchers can put a load of pressure on the stitching. Works great. As a aside and from experience, I 'd like to add that steam pretty much ruins the wax coating in tin cloth. I had to recoat my hat with Filson wax.

Beowulf...


Not Filson. but oilcloth nonetheless. Get a stretcher. You can get them in price range from a couple of pesos to close to a hundred.

ANYWAY, get that hat soaking wet. Not the same advice for felt in reagard to the "soaking". If you have to stretch an oilcoth to the point of tearing, then you messed up in the original procurement by getting one way too small. Pop it on the stretcher over night at room temp. There ya go

And, welcome!!!!

 

[Beowulf]

Has anyone taken a hat stretcher like the Harbour Freight unit and custom cut the ends. I am thinking of cutting the one side the stretcher to the exact curvature of my forehead where I like to wear my hats. What do you think of doing this approach? My forehead is rather flat in the middle and I get hot spot on the corners before it begins to slope back near my temples and hopefully a custom shaped stretcher would help this.

 

[Wolfmanjack]

Has anyone taken a hat stretcher like the Harbour Freight unit and custom cut the ends. I am thinking of cutting the one side the stretcher to the exact curvature of my forehead where I like to wear my hats. What do you think of doing this approach? My forehead is rather flat in the middle and I get hot spot on the corners before it begins to slope back near my temples and hopefully a custom shaped stretcher would help this.

That's a very interesting idea, Beowulf. You could also custom-shape the stretcher to your exact forehead slope down from hairline to eyebrows.

I once shaped a sweat this way by accident. I was heating a wet hat with a hairdryer to speed up the drying. To my horror, I noticed that the sweat was softening and starting to shrink. I quickly popped the hat on my head and left it there for several hours. The result was a sweat that fits my forehead exactly, both vertically and horizontally. It is—by far—the most comfortable hat I have ever owned.

 

[Wolfmanjack]

By the way, Beowulf, welcome to the forum. You've already made an important contribution by asking these questions. Delighted to have you here.

 

[Inusuit]

I noticed that the sweat was softening and starting to shrink. I quickly popped the hat on my head and left it there for several hours. The result was a sweat that fits my forehead exactly, both vertically and horizontally. It is—by far—the most comfortable hat I have ever owned.

How long did it take for the burn marks on your forehead to go away?

 

[Wolfmanjack]

How long did it take for the burn marks on your forehead to go away?

It was not quite hot enough to burn...but close. But then, "There is no greater pain than losing a good hat."

BTW, I'm not recommending that anyone do this on purpose.

 

[Beowulf]

Well I’m glad it sounds like a good idea. I ordered three stretchers from Harbour Freight. One is for my brother, but with the other two I will keep one original and custom shape the other. I will let everyone know how it goes.

By the way, stretchers are only $4.99 on Harbour Freight. I know they are not the best of quality, but they are inexpensive.

 

[Wolfmanjack]

By the way, stretchers are only $4.99 on Harbour Freight. I know they are not the best of quality, but they are inexpensive.

Thanks for the tip, Beowulf. I just bought three. They'll be good for keeping hats in shape during long-term storage, or for very slowly, gently stretching several hats at once.

Very glad to have you here,

 

[Daoud]

Caveat emptor regarding Harbor Freight stretchers- I have had two of them break- the steel innards, to use a technical term, can push right through the wooden bows. Apparently that wood is pretty soft. Now bear in mind that I was doing some hardcore crazy hat-stretching, which most of you, one hopes, would never do. For quotidian, genteel use the H.F. would probably be just fine. As for myself, I moved up to an antique Garvé Hat Stretcher, made from cast iron and cast aluminum.....built like a tank.
So be forewarned- if you find you're having to operate the turnbuckle of your H.F. stretcher with a crescent wrench, no good will come of it.

 

[Wolfmanjack]

Caveat emptor regarding Harbor Freight stretchers- I have had two of them break- the steel innards, to use a technical term, can push right through the wooden bows. Apparently that wood is pretty soft. Now bear in mind that I was doing some hardcore crazy hat-stretching, which most of you, one hopes, would never do. For quotidian, genteel use the H.F. would probably be just fine. As for myself, I moved up to an antique Garvé Hat Stretcher, made from cast iron and cast aluminum.....built like a tank.
So be forewarned- if you find you're having to operate the turnbuckle of your H.F. stretcher with a crescent wrench, no good will come of it.

Good to know. Thanks for the warning. I plan to use mine with a gentle hand; mostly for shape retention, not shape creation. I have a DIY stretcher of my own design, that I use for power-stretching.

I'd like to see that antique Garvé Hat Stretcher; can you post some pics?

 

[Daoud]

By request- The Garvé Hat Stretcher!

Here is this fine old machine in all its slightly faded glory -

-basically you put your wetted hat on the domed part then turn the handle until the desired size is reached, as indicated on the handy indicator:

- and here is the HF stretcher, quite exploded- note it has gotten moldy- the wood is not sealed, so soaks up moisture if used with a damp hat-

The Garvé Stretcher can be found quite often on eBay, which is where I got mine. Average price seems to be $150.00- shipping can be high, as it is quite heavy- about 14 lbs. as I recall. Watch out for dents in the aluminum dome- it's hollow, and most of the ones I've seen have been dented to some extent- I doubt if such a condition would be easily fixable if the dent was very deep. Mine has some dings but not enough to affect anything. Other than the dome, the wooden bases can be pretty rough, although some are in nice shape. Other than that, they are seemingly just about bombproof.....the operating mechanism is extremely robust. I took mine off the base, cleaned out various rodent nesting materials from within, blew the dust out, put some nice oil on the works and the thing opens and closes with that indescribable feeling of Old American Tech. There are other, similar stretchers available which have an electrically heated dome- they are generally more expensive, and I'm not sure the heating feature is really that desirable....plus those ancient electrical cords with the fabric insulation? No thanks! The Garvé is all the hat stretcher I'll ever need and then some- I unhesitatingly recommend it!

 

[Wolfmanjack]

Wow, Daoud :eusa_clap :eusa_clap That Garvé Stretcher is absolutely magnificent! If I had it, I'd display it as beautiful sculpture, when I wasn't using it. I've already set up a search on eBay.

Thanks for posting the pics and all the information.

 

[Daoud]

No worries, Jack. Happy to do it. These devices are the kind of thing that it's hard to rationalise spending the money on, but you don't regret it at all. I'm very happy I got mine- as you say, it is somewhat of a work of art in and of itself.

 

[Wolfmanjack]

Wow, did you see what this one went for. A beauty though.

 

[Daoud]

Well, I hope I'm not offending anyone reading this, but I ......let's just say I prefer the non-electrical ones. I think the model in question just does not look as nice as the Garvé and as I said in a previous post I am not certain that the heating business brings anything to the party.......hell, I wouldn't even want to plug the thing in without switching out the cord first- yikes!

PS....there ARE Garvés that are nicer-looking than mine out there, too. Just keep watching and waiting. And if someone offers a Buy It Now? Do it! Don't get in a bidding war for one of these things.

 

[Wolfmanjack]

I am not certain that the heating business brings anything to the party.

I see your point, Daoud. I would think that the heat would be murder on a leather sweat.

I'll bet there are several fellow Loungers out there who have these, with heat and 'cold' ones like the Garvé. It would be interesting to hear from them.

Maybe we should start a new thread on this.

 

[Wolfmanjack]

Check out this old thread: Electric stretcher horror story.