Leather replacement

[photobyalan]

I have a Knox fedora from, I'm guessing, the early 50's, with a badly dried out and cracked sweatband. Obviously it needs to be replaced.

I'm curious as to whether having a replacement sweatband is going to make a difference in the desirability of this "vintage" hat. It will no longer have the Knox logo or the original owner's initials; on the other hand, it will be a brand new sweatband. What do you think?

 

[gekisai29]

as a noob i don't know much about hats but in the car world almost anythng that is not original equipment reduces the cash & cache.

 

[Fedora]

[QUOTEI have a Knox fedora from, I'm guessing, the early 50's, with a badly dried out and cracked sweatband. Obviously it needs to be replaced.

I'm curious as to whether having a replacement sweatband is going to make a difference in the desirability of this "vintage" hat. It will no longer have the Knox logo or the original owner's initials; on the other hand, it will be a brand new sweatband. What do you think?
][/QUOTE]


I think you should put a Knox leather back in. Back when I was getting into the vintage hats heavily, I changed out a few in some old Stetsons, by cannibilizing other Stetson hats of the same line, that had moth damage. To me, part of the charm of vintage hats is the leather. They do not tan it like that anymore. Fedora

 

[Wolf]

I would think it would depend on if you are planning on wearing it a lot, or just keeping it as a collector peice.

 

[photobyalan]

That's a good idea, Fedora. I can probably find a Knox somewhere in an unpopular style that nobody else wants. If I'm going to cannibalize another hat for the sweatband, does it need to be the same size or larger? I'm guessing the answer is "yes".

 

[tonyb]

Same dilemma here. Nice felt and ribbon but a wasted sweatband. Part of what makes that old lid (and others) special is the story the sweatband tells--who made the hat, which long-defunct retailer sold it, what city that retailer was in, and, in some cases, even the original owner's initials, if not his entire name. Hard to part with all of that. I'm pondering getting a new sweatband made but holding on to the old one. Just store it in the bottom of the box, I'm thinking, to remind me of the hat's provenance.

 

[John in Covina]

Here are the questions on replacing the sweatband:

Will it just fry your butt every moment you own it or wear it that the sweat band is not original? If so then go for another of the same brand to canabalize that's got a useable band and make the replacement with that.

If your just going to wear the hat and enjoy it for what it is and aren't concerned about provenance and be totally retentive about the whole thing, have Art put in a really nice new one and enjoy the hat.

Or you could save the old one hoping against hope that all will not ridicule you knowing you so foolishly replaced the sweatband and thereby showing your commitment to vintage is all merely words written on foolscap paper!

or you can say, you know what, it's only a regular hat, it wasn't owned by anyone famous, it's not some custom made hat or the most special hat in the whole world, so you know what, it is not a big eal if you replace the band and have a nice hat that is more like new, if not original.

It's your choice, no pressure, you have ten seconds to come up with the right answer or we destroy the earth.

ten, nine, eight, seven........

 

[Fedora]

If I'm going to cannibalize another hat for the sweatband, does it need to be the same size or larger? I'm guessing the answer is "yes".

The best way to go would be with the same sized sweat. But, you could stretch one up, that was a size too small. Just put it on your stretcher after wetting the backside and let it dry to the new size. If the sweat is larger, you could cut it down, or have it cut down to fit the hat. I really like the vintage leathers, and would always opt for a replacement of like leathers in a vintage hat. Fedora