Show us your TIES

[John in Covina]

There are a couple of threads that do discuss how to clean ties. I Googled cleaning ties and there is a page of archived posted for a thread titled "Cleaning Ties at Home" that has a lot of good info. For me i need to figure out how to press them.

 

[John in Covina]

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?14236-Cleaning-ties-at-home&highlight=cleaning+ties

 

[jamespowers]

How do you go about cleaning your ties? I often come across interesting ties for sale that I pass on, because I have no idea how to safely clean them.

You can clean ties at home as long as they are not silk or wool. I leave those fabrics to the dry cleaner---I might have done a few silks without knowing if the tag doesn't mention it though.
My way of doing it is fairly simple. Having one of these up front is s huge help:

I put a couple of neckties in a lingerie bag----like colors. Add a large scoop of Oxyclean and a measure of Cheer to the washing machine set on large load and gentle wash. I leave the top of the machine open and let it soak over night after it finishes agitating. I close the lid and let it finish rinsing and such. After it is done I heat up the neck tie iron above and run it into the tie---both drying and pressing the tie at the same tie. The Nek-Tie Iron is a bit big for the thin 50s ties though. For the 1940s ties it is prefect to get from both ends. I leave the tie a little damp to dry and set on a plastic hanger. They come out fairly well this way. I know it removed HUGE areas of staining on a tie that I figured was a total loss. Now I can wear it again.

 

[jamespowers]

The sphinx and hanging gardens ties would be solid to have...

I just came back from Sears, Roebuck, and Co., and just about all the Chinese-made ties were fairly thin in fabric.

Thin ties that would likely fall apart after the first cleaning.

 

[Pera.T]

Excellent, thanks for the info gents! I'll be keeping an eye out for one of those tie irons!

 

[Slim Tim]

I designed another tie. I need to go go out and get some more real ties sometime.

 

[Widebrim]

I designed another tie. I need to go go out and get some more real ties sometime.

Nice, but I would eliminate the bottom vertical lines.

 

[Feraud]

It feels like I've been in necktie limbo lately...

 

[in/y]

I heat up the neck tie iron above and run it into the tie---both drying and pressing the tie at the same tie. T

I never saw a neck tie iron before. How does it work? Does the iron sort of open up so that you sandwich the tie between metal plates (one inside and one on top of the tie)? Or are there metals plates that you spread out after inserting the iron into the tie that sort of tension the tie from the inside to flatten it out while heating? something else?

 

[jamespowers]

It feels like I've been in necktie limbo lately...

Sounds like a new dance craze. Everybody do the Necktie Limbo!

 

[Widebrim]

I never saw a neck tie iron before. How does it work? Does the iron sort of open up so that you sandwich the tie between metal plates (one inside and one on top of the tie)? Or are there metals plates that you spread out after inserting the iron into the tie that sort of tension the tie from the inside to flatten it out while heating? something else?

JP is alluding to the former, a necktie iron which takes out wrinkles. I use the second method you referred to, a metal rod (not plates) that are inserted into the tie before ironing.

 

[jamespowers]

JP is alluding to the former, a necktie iron which takes out wrinkles. I use the second method you referred to, a metal rod (not plates) that are inserted into the tie before ironing.

Yes, the iron is simply an iron. You slide it into a damp tie and iron the back side. Then you flip the tie over and slide it in again and iron the other side. That way it keeps the tie from being ironed flat. I hate it when dry cleaners do that.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

We talked a bit about the Grayco End-Lock ties earlier. I wore one the other day, and here're some pictures. That scrunched up label is an NRA tag, dating the tie to 1933-'36.

And here's the back with the thin end hooked through behind the End-Lock design. The little metal clip holds the tie onto the shirt placket, though this feature doesn't appear in the patent.

 

[in/y]

That way it keeps the tie from being ironed flat. I hate it when dry cleaners do that.

Agreed, ironed flat ties are awful. Thanks for clearing up the tie iron question JP.

Widebrim, I'm now a bit more curious about the rod method. Are these just plain old metal rods (what's the diameter of the rods BTW) you use? Are they something specifically designed for ties? Do you use them to support/spread out the tie while using a tie iron or a regular iron?

 

[Widebrim]

Nice to see an example of an End-Lock. They are particularly rare, so much so that I have never seen one in person...And of course it's styled in Hollywood!

 

[Baron Kurtz]

yeah, i've come across a few, but it seems to have been a short-ish lived fad. All the ones i've seen have been from c. mid-1930s.

 

[tophatman]

This may surprise some of you but I happen to be a teenager and I own at least 50 neckties, most of which are from the 1940s-1960s. All of them are in meticulous condition. I will try to reserve time to get a picture of them.

 

[jamespowers]

This may surprise some of you but I happen to be a teenager and I own at least 50 neckties, most of which are from the 1940s-1960s. All of them are in meticulous condition. I will try to reserve time to get a picture of them.

It doesn't surprise me. That is when I started collecting ties. A friend of mine gave me plenty of her husband's ties after he passed on. Those were and are some of my first vintage ties.
I really don't want to admit how many I have now but it all started with a few. Soon you will be up to where I am now.

 

[Widebrim]

Agreed, ironed flat ties are awful. Thanks for clearing up the tie iron question JP.

Widebrim, I'm now a bit more curious about the rod method. Are these just plain old metal rods (what's the diameter of the rods BTW) you use? Are they something specifically designed for ties? Do you use them to support/spread out the tie while using a tie iron or a regular iron?

Yes, it is just a plain metal rod, a couple of millimeters in diameter, quite long in length and kind of pointed at one end. When inserted, in prevents the tie from being ironed flat. Mine is from around 1960, and I'll post a photo of it when possible.

 

[Widebrim]

From today, a nice square-bottomed example from Manhattan Shirt Company, c.mid-'50s; silk.