Stetson 20 in the rain

[J.T.Marcus]

Has it occured to us that rabbits and beaver do get WET?

 

[feltfan]

Has it occured to us that rabbits and beaver do get WET?

So do sheep. The issue is the way the
fibers are joined. And if they're powdered...

 

[jamespowers]

Today the hat looks absolutely perfect. Even a little
dent that had come in as a result of stretching has
gone away.

I would go so far as to say that rain improves a
Stetson 20.

I agree. It improves the hat when exposed to rain.
You never know until you try. Wear it. It won't kill the hat.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

I just yesterday wore a 1930s Borsalino in a downpour. Walking from office to Sainsbury's and back to the office the thing got soaked through.

Overhight drying - not quite completely dry yet - apparently no effects. No taper, no size alteration. Must be something to do with the mercury treatment. I've always suspected this, but alas! no proof.

bk

 

[jamespowers]

I just yesterday wore a 1930s Borsalino in a downpour. Walking from office to Sainsbury's and back to the office the thing got soaked through.

Overhight drying - not quite completely dry yet - apparently no effects. No taper, no size alteration. Must be something to do with the mercury treatment. I've always suspected this, but alas! no proof.

bk

It must have really been raining. I have never had a fur felt soak through.
Was the hat ever cleaned and reblocked to your knowledge? The water repellant treatment sure seems to have worn off.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

It absolutely lashed its ass off in WC1E for about 20 minutes. Windy as hell. A real storm.

it seems the have been reblocked at some point. (some weirdness to the placement of the ribbon suggests that the crown has been lowered and the brim widened during the reblocking process. Damn those French! - the hat was made for the French market. They loved their low crowns, apparently.)

bk

 

[jamespowers]

It absolutely lashed its ass off in WC1E for about 20 minutes. Windy as hell. A real storm.

it seems the have been reblocked at some point. (some weirdness to the placement of the ribbon suggests that the crown has been lowered and the brim widened during the reblocking process. Damn those French! - the hat was made for the French market. They loved their low crowns, apparently.)

bk

So it was treated a bit harsh and likely the water repellant wasn't replaced. Makes sense now.
Damn the French eh? Are we getting into the cheese and monkey section again?

 

[pgoat]

sorry gents, I realize this had been covered before and I know many of you have worn your nice fur felts in the rain with no ill effects. I just needed some encouragement and enlightenment.

Whilst I appreciate the natural water shedding properties of various animal hair and fur, I also think how the article of clothing is made obviously matters here - the same quality of beaver felt, for example, will presumably not fare identically if manufactured and processed differently (eg, the mercury mentioned above). As a relative newbie, I appreciate all the insights and info from more experienced hat wearers.

Fwiw, I know lots of people are araid to take a nice leather jacket or boots or a good Brooks Leather bicycle saddle out in the rain. While I don't advocate getting them totally soaked on a regular basis, with a little extra conditioning and careful drying, I've had no issues with taking leather out in the rain.

I was mostly worried about shrinking and stains/spots with my fur felts....wasn't sure if wool felt was better/worse for either/both.

 

[jamespowers]

sorry gents, I realize this had been covered before and I know many of you have worn your nice fur felts in the rain with no ill effects. I just needed some encouragement and enlightenment.

Whilst I appreciate the natural water shedding properties of various animal hair and fur, I also think how the article of clothing is made obviously matters here - the same quality of beaver felt, for example, will presumably not fare identically if manufactured and processed differently (eg, the mercury mentioned above). As a relative newbie, I appreciate all the insights and info from more experienced hat wearers.

Fwiw, I know lots of people are araid to take a nice leather jacket or boots or a good Brooks Leather bicycle saddle out in the rain. While I don't advocate getting them totally soaked on a regular basis, with a little extra conditioning and careful drying, I've had no issues with taking leather out in the rain.

I was mostly worried about shrinking and stains/spots with my fur felts....wasn't sure if wool felt was better/worse for either/both.

No reason to be sorry. It makes perfect sense to ask before running out and possibly ruining a hat.
I wouldn't worry about it. All vintage hats have been treated with water repellant to suppliment their natural ability to shed water. They sometimes denote this on the sweatband with terms like Aquanized or Cravenetted. There are a ton of different terms and brands used but they all were used to make the hat as water proof as possible.

 

[duggap]

JP, doesn't the application of water proofing cause a certain amount of stiffness to the felt?[huh]

 

[Art Fawcett]

JP, doesn't the application of water proofing cause a certain amount of stiffness to the felt?

I'm not JP but will anser anyway Duggap, not at all..waterproofing is thin enough and soaks in enough to be unnoticable.

Pgoat, when in doubt while raining, grab a VS..they aren't bulletproof but it gets no better.

 

[pgoat]

Thanks Art! On another thread I posted pics of my hats and confessed my fear of taking that natural beaver Cheyenne out in the big bad outdoors - which is a ridiculous waste of a great hat! It'll be used for sure, but I probably will grab the blue Savoy when it looks like rain.

 

[indycop]

when in doubt while raining, grab a VS..they aren't bulletproof but it gets no better.

Remembrance in the rain!!! I will just have to get another VS for that!

 

[Sefton]

I wear my VS in the rain and they have yet to show it (and we've had a bit of the wet here in the west recently!)

Be careful with that mercury Art...no tea parties for you!

 

[feltfan]

It must have really been raining. I have never had a fur felt soak through.

My Borsalino Featherweight has soaked through.
I'm confident it has never been cleaned and blocked, too
(it had almost never been worn). The felt is unbelievably thin.

Bounced right back when dry, of course.