How do I Shape the Brim of a Panama?

[portolan]

I just got home and this hat from Panama Bob was waiting for me. It is very soft, especially the brim I am not sure at all how to shape the brim; is that possible? The hats fits perfectly. The brim is very soft and has almost no stiffener. How do you (I) get the brim of a Panama to take the shape I want, including a snap brim? I have searched the forum, but haven't found anything.

I would appreciate any guidance. This is a really nice hat, I just don't know how to fix the brim to the shape I want? Water?

thanks, Phil

 

[Tango Yankee]

I've used steam to good effect...

Cheers,
Tom

 

[jec]

Phil,
Last year when I bought my hat from PB, and had the same questions, he sent an email with additional information about how to shape the brim - I will look for the email and forward it to you, or paste it into a PM. It involved a spray bottle, an iron and a tea towel to protect the straw. ANd I think he recommended spray starch if that wasn't enough. But I have not yet tried try the starch. Okay - let me go search for that email....

 

[jec]

Phil - my follow-up:

From what I can reconstruct from my archived emails, there was a 'care' sheet included in the box with the hat that explained how to reshape the brim using the iron and spray. Perhaps if you email Panama Bob directly, he can send you that information.

Or maybe he'll see this and post it here.

 

[portolan]

Just looked through the box again, no care sheet...

I will email Robert and see what he says. If you do find your sheet, I would love to know the process to stiffen up the brim a bit. Phil

 

[Panamabob]

The bane of Ecuadorian blocks, and even some hats done in USA. We keep the hats as natural as possible and each year I struggle on whether or not to even offer Ecuador blocks, due to issues like these.

If you send the hat back, I'll drive it down to Cincy for a flanging and some stiffener. Otherwise, I've sent an email with some hints.

 

[portolan]

JEC: Love the hat in your avatar....what is it?

That is a great look in the snow.....

 

[Tomasso]

Can you post a pic showing the brim on the left (bow) side of the hat?

 

[Panamabob]

Welcome to the roast, Tomasso. I've already offered to take it down to a hatter to reflange and add stiffener. Would you like to know the cost of the hat? Email me.

 

[portolan]

I really like the hat.....it is great in every way, I just

want the brim with a bit more definite shape....Robert has responded to my inquiries and I look forward to messing with it myself. It is so soft. I had no idea a Panama hat is so silky and soft. My wife loves it and now wants one. Thanks Robert for a terrific buy.....I simply want to shape up the brim a bit!

 

[jec]

JEC: Love the hat in your avatar....what is it? That is a great look in the snow.....

Phil - Thanks for the compliment on the hat in my avatar.

That is a vintage Stetson western style - perhaps an Open Road (the sweatband was so worn I could not read any writing on it) - that I got on EBay. It came with a curled brim and cattleman crease and was filthy - but I sent it to Optimo for a clean/reblock and conversion. I kept the original sweatband and liner, but had them replace the thin ribbon with a contrasting 1" gray ribbon.

 

[carter]

Phil, I have the same issue with the soft brim on my PB cuenca. It isn't wavy like yours but it doesn't hold any shape. I'm looking forward to reading about how your brim acquires a shape that it will hold.

 

[jec]

Phil, I have the same issue with the soft brim on my PB cuenca. It isn't wavy like yours but it doesn't hold any shape. I'm looking forward to reading about how your brim acquires a shape that it will hold.

I also have had the same issue with mine. I was able to improve its shape with the iron and spray bottle with water, and I was even able to give the brim some 'snap', but still, it is much floppier than a felt hat. There is probably not much that can be done about that.

 

[barrowjh]

Floppy Llano Brims

I cannot remember where I read this, but the post (or website?) stated that the true Montecristi Llano weave hats become more floppy as the weave count grows, reaching a point where the straw is like linen (1600 wpsi). So, the 'floppy' comes with the quality, quality and softness (actually, lightness, I think?) go together, unless you want to add disproportionate stiffener, which then begs the question, why did you want a high wpsi in the first place? I think it is better if the disproportionate stiffener is added after-the-fact by the consumer, exercising choice, rather than being faced with how to remove the extra stiffener.

It's hard to tell from the photos, but maybe portolan's straw is not a high-end Montecristi; my comments might be off-base.

 

[OddSteve]

I wanted to have a cheap beater hat for the summer, so I purchased an inexpensive panama at ebay. It is obviously not of the best quality but it doesn't look too bad.

I had to do some adjustments first, though. The brim was pretty much shapeless when it arrived, and the side dents were way too shallow for my taste.

This is the way I took care of these issues, and I have to say it was really fun to meddle around with it lol

At first I sprayed a little water on the front part of the brim and pinched it with a cushion on the couch like this for an hour:

Next thing I wanted to do was to give the brim a slight curl. So I wetted the brim again and placed the hat on a table with these round metal objects (now I finally know what they're for!) as spacers and two batteries to hold the inner part of the brim down. Came back again after an hour and it turned out fine.

So, how do we get the side dents tighter? Start with going down into the cellar and get two beers. No kidding. :cheers1:
Wet the front part of the crown, lay the beer bottles on two books and set the whole thing up like this:

And after another hour the hat looked much better!

At first I thought the downward swoop of the brim a bit too much (think of „Here's not having to look at you, kid.“ ), but it works if I tip the hat back a little.

I'm not particularly fond of the ribbon. I'd like to have a bow on it, so maybe it's time for my first DIY job.

Now, the hardest part will be to get these two beers back in the cellar... I don't think this will ever happen :eusa_doh:

So then... Prost! :cheers1: