reblocking a straw hat?

[pgoat]

Hello everyone - I am new to this board; but I've been lurking and enjoying all the great info and pics for some time now.

My apologies if this has been covered (please point me to the right thread, if so). I have an inexpensive ($25) straw fedora - a nice tear drop crown with stingy brim - which i picked up and wore through summer 2006. It is pretty well made, more like a cloth texture than straw (it is not dry or brittle feeling; you can hardly poke your finger through the way you easily can on most straw hats)

Last summer I used it a lot for travel (It's fairly soft so I was rolling it up in my bags at times). In AZ I was not dealing with hikes in the heat too well, so I started soaking it at every water fountain and bathroom sink I happened upon. Well, it kept me cool, but the hat now looks like someone wrang it out - no shape left at all.....

My question: Can a hat like this be brought back to a fedora block? Can I do it myself with tea kettle, or is this a pro job? I live near a few decent hatters in Manhattan and Brooklyn; any ideas what this would cost? (I like the hat but at $25 I wouldn't want to pay a lot).

Thanks for any help on this.

 

[Panamabob]

You'd might want to invest in a new one. From my experiences, reblocking runs between $40.00 and $100.00 (with new leather and ribbon/bow).

 

[pgoat]

yikes!

Mine has just a cloth band, no leather. Small black ribbon. I do have a 'real' panama hat - not an uber "top of the line" one but a nice one, cost around $150. That one feels like straw, quite delicate though not as delicate as a cheap $10 straw hat you'd buy for the beach. I have one of those as well.

This is totally different than either a panama or a cheap straw hat. Somewhere in between - cheap enough to serve as a beater but nice enough to wear with sport coats. I doublechecked - It's a UBI brand fedora; no other info but I believe it's actually model M3398, which is cotton Pique, not straw.....if that matters for reblocking or reshaping. It certainly feels more like cotton than straw.

I was hoping to pay around $5-10 to get the shape back..... that'd be worth it for me, but otherwise, I'd probably just get a new knockaround one as you suggested.

 

[Havana]

I've owned a number of non-premium straws over the years. A local western hat shop in my area sells dozens of straw "work hats" for under $30. Occasionally, they carry some fedoras too. They're nice looking but mostly made of glue and pressed paper instead of real straw. That make a great bargain summertime hat. I just see them as disposable. Your hat may fall into that category. It might be time to just let it go and get another low cost knock around hat. Any money invested in attempting to save it will probably amount to more than it's worth.

 

[pgoat]

Thanks guys.

I'll probably just ditch it. Kinda sad to do that, but I still have the two nice and cheapo hats for summer - and that's a long way off right now.....

On the bright side I just picked up a vintage Knox and am ordering my second custom from Art Fawcett....that should hold me till then!!

 

[J.T.Marcus]

Before you ditch it, you might try reshaping it yourself. You've already soaked it several times. Do it again, and shape it exactly the way you want it. Then hang it to dry. Be sure to put it on your head a few times, while drying, and "fine tune" the shape, if needed. Once dry, it will hold that shape.

 

[pgoat]

Before you ditch it, you might try reshaping it yourself. You've already soaked it several times. Do it again, and shape it exactly the way you want it. Then hang it to dry. Be sure to put it on your head a few times, while drying, and "fine tune" the shape, if needed. Once dry, it will hold that shape.

Thanks JT ; I figured I might try that....can't hurt, since I was just gonna toss it anyway.

It may be tough - the crown should come back okay but the brim is really floppy and it just has that awful rumpled 'beach hat' look right now. It was a fairly snazzy fedora when first purchased!

Should I really soak it again? Or steam? would starch help? anything else to stiffen cotton? sorry if that's a dumb question - I'm a newbie, after all......

 

[RBH]

This works as well on straw as it does on felt.
As the brim dries, shape it and then spray.

<a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/7409/scoutstiff55zp3.gif" border="0" alt="stiff"/></a>

 

[J.T.Marcus]

This works as well on straw as it does on felt.
After the brim has dried , shape it and then spray.

<a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/7409/scoutstiff55zp3.gif" border="0" alt="stiff"/></a>

If you don't have any of that stuff, I think deanglen recommends hair spray.

 

[pgoat]

If you don't have any of that stuff, I think deanglen recommends hair spray.

Thanks again guys, I will look into those. I don't think my wife has traditional hairspray, I'll ask her.

I wet the hat slightly last night and wore it while watching TV, with my wife helping to straighten the brim form time to time. It worked much better than I anticipated! I hung the hat up over night and it looked pretty darn good this AM!

I may tweak the brim a bit more and hit it with a stiffener spray but it is already a LOT better - it looks like a fedora again!!

Thanks so much for your help. I'm sorry I waited so long to sign up!

 

[duggap]

If you are successful with the crown but unhappy with the brim, you might try ironing it. Be sure to use a towel so as not to scorch the straw. Then apply your stiffener.

 

[deanglen]

Steam it and work it. I 've done it. You can do it.






dean

 

[RBH]

Steam it and work it. I 've done it. dean

And done damn good too!
We miss your fedora wearing and work....

 

[indycop]

And done damn good too!
We miss your fedora wearing and work....

Step back into the light DG!!!lol lol lol
You come back to fedoras and I will buy a cap next year.

 

[Johnnysan]

<a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/7409/scoutstiff55zp3.gif" border="0" alt="stiff"/></a>

Scout Felt Hat Stiffener is available at a number of places, but Manhattan Wardrobe Supply's price is pretty good. I also remembered a recommendation for Bickmore's Kahl Felt Hat Stiffener in an earlier thread.

 

[pgoat]

Scout Felt Hat Stiffener is available at a number of places, but Manhattan Wardrobe Supply's price is pretty good. I also remembered a recommendation for Bickmore's Kahl Felt Hat Stiffener in an earlier thread.

Thanks, I will look for those.
meanwhile, I was ironing shirts yesterday so I hit the hat with some starch spray and actually ironed the brim at the sides. It turned out quite well! I expect it will lose some shape the next time I wear it in the rain, but I will hopefully have the stiffener by then. Thanks again for the advice! If not for the lounge, that hat would be in the trash by now!!

PS "The Thin Man" is on as I type, TCM. Beautiful hats indeed in that film!

 

[RBH]

After you get the shape you like...
this will help protect it in the weather. Just give it a good coat and then spray it whenever you think it could use a little more protection.
<a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/2625/rainjv4.jpg" border="0" alt="protection"/></a>

....

PS "The Thin Man" is on as I type, TCM. Beautiful hats indeed in that film!

Fine fedoras indeed!

 

[pgoat]

Thanks again, I will look for these sprays soon.

re: Think Man; i know it's politically incorrect in '07 but I love how Powell is drunk thru the whole film!

Throw in the great hats, Asta the wonder dog and a young Myrna Loy (rowr-rowrrrr!!) and that first film of the series is one of my all time favorites, dated tho it may be.....