ThatAsianSteve
New in Town
- Messages
- 3
Yeah the only thing that I found on Westmoreland Straw Hats was some pretty tacky lookin' straw hat pottery that I'm not even sure is from the same company
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Greasehound
New in Town
- Messages
- 7
- Location
- Colorado
Greetings again folks, a friend found my this Stetson Chatham for a decent price ($50) at a second hand store. Not in my state, he sent it to me through the mail since he knew I was looking for one. Seems less stiff than I thought, but it it indeed fur felt. I thought it was supposed to have a snap brim. This hat was no used at all, despite being second hand. The box was not opened. Can I use steam to shape it or since it's too soft will it not hold?
Short Balding Guy
I'll Lock Up
- Messages
- 9,605
- Location
- Minnesota, USA
Greetings again folks, a friend found my this Stetson Chatham for a decent price ($50) at a second hand store. Not in my state, he sent it to me through the mail since he knew I was looking for one. Seems less stiff than I thought, but it it indeed fur felt. I thought it was supposed to have a snap brim. This hat was no used at all, despite being second hand. The box was not opened. Can I use steam to shape it or since it's too soft will it not hold?
Congrats on the hat. The Stetson hat you have the crown can be re-creased by using liberal amounts of steam. The warm steam will activate the "shellac" in the felt and allow the new crease to take and stay put. Felt when used, creased, steamed, creased often will be more maleable. I suspect the hat was manufactured with a "snap" and it may be activated with the steam. Try it - the steam can not harm the hat and it is enjoyable to have creative license with the crease.
Check out the Hat Crease thread for inspiration - https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/hat-creases.9833/ .
Enjoy. Eric -
Greasehound
New in Town
- Messages
- 7
- Location
- Colorado
I'll definitely use some steam, luckily I can borrow a friend's steam machine. Is it normal for fur felt hats to be this, for lack of a better word, unstiff? I have a fur felt Stetson cowboy hat, but of course it is made out of 5x beaver so it is very stiff! I was under the impression the fur felt would be a little more stiff than a wool felt. I'm still very new to hats so if this is normal, I wouldn't know, luckily this Chatham doesn't look half bad on m (though I think my facial hair might clash just a bit for I styled it to complement my hairstyle). Will the snap brim crease stay fairly well even if it is as soft as it is?
KarlCrow
One Too Many
- Messages
- 1,718
i have a very soft wegener fur felt hat with similar issues. I think in the states you can buy a product called 'scout felt hat stiffener', which may help give the felt a bit of body. You could also contact a custom hat maker if there is one near you to work on the hat. If you orovide your location to the folk here they would know if there are any.
Lean'n'mean
I'll Lock Up
- Messages
- 4,077
- Location
- Cloud-cuckoo-land
The stiffness of felt is due more to the quantity of stiffener used, (traditionally shellac but many modern mass manufacturers use a synthetic resin,) than the nature of the felt. Before someone had the great idea of impregnating felt with French furniture varnish, all felt hats were more or less, 'soft'.
Your snap brim problem could be due to having been stored wrongly in the box & so has lost a little of it's snap, or rather the flange at the front of the brim has flattened some. You could try steaming it a little to see if it gets back some spring, if not you can steam the front of the brim as you want it but it probably won't be a 'snap' brim anymore. If you think a little stiffener is required, there are a few ready to use sprays such as 'Kahl'
Jhoff_1979
One of the Regulars
- Messages
- 232
- Location
- Northern Illinois
Firstly welcome!
Secondly, This hat is fairly inexpensive. This is the Scala "New Yorker" model and my very first brim. It is a good starter hat. It is after all where I started. It has a lower bcrown than most but it is a good start. From here you can figure out what you like like I did and go from there. Hope this helps you. We are here to help you and be supportive as we are all in the same boat.
Jhoff_1979
One of the Regulars
- Messages
- 232
- Location
- Northern Illinois
Greetings again folks, a friend found my this Stetson Chatham for a decent price ($50) at a second hand store. Not in my state, he sent it to me through the mail since he knew I was looking for one. Seems less stiff than I thought, but it it indeed fur felt. I thought it was supposed to have a snap brim. This hat was no used at all, despite being second hand. The box was not opened. Can I use steam to shape it or since it's too soft will it not hold?
Some here will disagree with me but I like Stetson. Now with that being said, a vintage Stetson is a lot better than the modern. I actually bought a Chatham in Caribou as my first non wool felt. I wear it to this day and love it! It is one of those I go to most often in my rotation. It is a Royal Deluxe.
Greasehound
New in Town
- Messages
- 7
- Location
- Colorado
I live in the Denver area of Colorado, USA, a custom hatmaker or two does exist, but one is very far and the other one does not even have an in-person store, simply an online store that is only stationed in Loveland but there is no physical store front. The other store is very far and mostly sells western hats. My best bet would be to get some of that 'scout felt stiffener' or another stiffener I suppose.
KarlCrow
One Too Many
- Messages
- 1,718
yeh i think that's what it is called, or maybe it was the kahl one mentioned above, as i said i have a hat that could do with it. I think i found the name on the lounge here, that said, steaming the brim may reactivate the hardener on your brim, which doesn't mean it will then flip, as that is to do with the flange or curve from the sweat into the brim. if the custom hatters site has an email or contact form you could email them. I've noticed that many of the custom hatters in the lounge seem to routinely rework and restore hats as well as create them for the members here, so it woukd be normal enough to ask if they do general millinery restoration / repair.
- Messages
- 12,384
- Location
- Albany Oregon
+1 give the hat a chance to get in tune with you.
- Messages
- 18,936
- Location
- Central California
Can I please get some help with finding a nice boater that isn't too dear? I'm looking at a used Ponte Rialto for $90 with shipping, but I don't know if it's a quality hat, if the size (7 5/8) runs true to size, or if there are pitfalls to watch out for with used boaters. Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you.
Just check the pictures real closely if buying online. Flaws and stains in the straw are easy to miss. I keep looking at them myself but have yet to pull the trigger on one. Buying a Homburg was a major step for me... and I still haven't quite gotten over it!
Michael R.
Call Me a Cab
- Messages
- 2,889
- Location
- West Tennessee USA
Welcome to the Lounge . Some will disagree , but Kevin from JJ Hat Ctr formerly Pork-pie Hatters has several good videos that can teach you some general basics of keeping your hat in tip top shape and reshaping . Here's one ...
Remo
New in Town
- Messages
- 18
- Location
- Winnweiler, Germany
Just got my Stetson Chatham via Amazon today. I'll post pics tomorrow, wife took the iphone with her. Anyway, I have a few comments and I'd like to get some feedback.
First of all, the Stetson Ad on Amazon says each hat will be mailed in a Stetson box. Not true. Mine came in a bag inside a cardboard box. I'll have to get the crease that caused out somehow. That and the cotton hat band is not sewn on correctly.
It is also a big loose. I'm a 61cm per the tape measure and 2 other hats I own so I thought the fit would be better. If Stetson isn't consistent with its sizing, maybe I'd be better off to use sizing tape rather than return it for a smaller size. What do you think?
First of all, the Stetson Ad on Amazon says each hat will be mailed in a Stetson box. Not true. Mine came in a bag inside a cardboard box. I'll have to get the crease that caused out somehow. That and the cotton hat band is not sewn on correctly.
It is also a big loose. I'm a 61cm per the tape measure and 2 other hats I own so I thought the fit would be better. If Stetson isn't consistent with its sizing, maybe I'd be better off to use sizing tape rather than return it for a smaller size. What do you think?
Fur felt hats with leather sweat bands tend to shrink as they're worn due to the effects of heat & perspiration. Depending on the weather where you are, you might make a point of wearing the hat in the sun while engaged in some physical activity. If the hat does not shrink enough naturally, you could always slip something behind the sweat band such as a piece of paper or cardboard. Many vintage hats are found with paper currency tucked away back there!
Actually the hat might just shrink enough if you apply steam to get rid of the crease. Just make sure that the steam does not contact the leather sweat band directly.
There's nothing worse than a tight hat, so a hat that's a bit loose is preferable to that torture. Within reason of course.
Remo
New in Town
- Messages
- 18
- Location
- Winnweiler, Germany
I remember my dad had one circa 1950 and I used to love to play with it when i was a kid. This Stetson just didn't compare.