Bowler Hat Differences

mayserwegener said:

Older ones will be more stiff. It can be difficult to stretch Stiff Felts. Do you have any photos? Also a photo of the paper label behind the sweatband?

Click to expand...

mayserwegener said:

Older ones will be more stiff. It can be difficult to stretch Stiff Felts. Do you have any photos? Also a photo of the paper label behind the sweatband?

Click to expand...

Heart Felt said:

View attachment 249776 View attachment 249777 View attachment 249778 View attachment 249779 View attachment 249780 Bhhh View attachment 249781 View attachment 249782

Click to expand...

Heart Felt said:

Hello. Thanks for the reply. I apologize for mine being late. Here are some pictures. The paper label behind the sweatband has some black material pretty much stuck to label but some of it is legible

Click to expand...

mayserwegener said:

Thank you for taking the photos. The size on the paper label is blocked. It's probably to the left of 7500 as viewed which is up side down (see example below). Can you peal back the black material and take a complete photo of the paper label? My guess is it's from the mid 1930s. Why do you believe it's overly stiff? By the way it looks to be in very good condition.

"W 5 56" (in this case the 56 is the real size 56 cm, French Point Size 5 is one size larger (should be 4 1/2 for 56 cm) probably based on no sweatband)

Click to expand...

mayserwegener said:

Thank you for taking the photos. The size on the paper label is blocked. It's probably to the left of 7500 as viewed which is up side down (see example below). Can you peal back the black material and take a complete photo of the paper label? My guess is it's from the mid 1930s. Why do you believe it's overly stiff? By the way it looks to be in very good condition.

"W 5 56" (in this case the 56 is the real size 56 cm, French Point Size 5 is one size larger (should be 4 1/2 for 56 cm) probably based on no sweatband)

Click to expand...

Heart Felt said:

I’m going to try to peel it back and take another pic when I get home. You’re right. It’s actually in really good condition. I don’t think it’s “overly” stiff, it’s just that this is my first bowler hat and I really wasn’t aware how stiff they are in general I guess. I’m trying to stretch it (very slowly and carefully) but I fear it might be a lot more difficult to do than with a softer fedora.

Click to expand...

mayserwegener said:

Thank you for taking the photos. The size on the paper label is blocked. It's probably to the left of 7500 as viewed which is up side down (see example below). Can you peal back the black material and take a complete photo of the paper label? My guess is it's from the mid 1930s. Why do you believe it's overly stiff? By the way it looks to be in very good condition.

"W 5 56" (in this case the 56 is the real size 56 cm, French Point Size 5 is one size larger (should be 4 1/2 for 56 cm) probably based on no sweatband)

Click to expand...

mayserwegener said:

You need to be very careful and not stretch too much. You can try to loosen with steam (better if you have a hat steamer) around the outside band. Also soften the sweatband (if possible) with leather conditioner. As I mentioned you will see increased Brim distortion the more you stretch (also possible sweatband damage). I have found that slow incremental stretching over a very long time period works best. In this case the stretcher is kept in the Stiff Felt for up to a year or longer.

Click to expand...

Heart Felt said:

View attachment 249906 View attachment 249905

So I did Condition the leather. I really don’t want to damage the sweatband as it’s in terrific shape. So you suggest keeping it in the stretcher after each time I wear it?

Click to expand...

mayserwegener said:

Appears it could be a 55 cm so a US Size 6 7/8 so a small size. Does this make sense?

I would keep the stretcher in if you have an extra one. Set it so it's taught.

Looks great! Congrats!

Click to expand...

Heart Felt said:

I’m thinking more like at least a size 7 American (if that’s the right word). I honestly take a size 7 3/8 (sometimes in between that and a 7 1/2) So I’m pretty impressed that I got it to fit me lol. Still a little snug but if I do like you say and keep it in a stretcher when not wearing it, I think it’ll be fine. I actually love it. Love hats but always wanted a bowler since the first time I watched A Clockwork Orange lol. Thanks so much for all your help. Truly

Click to expand...

mayserwegener said:

Ea

If possibly could you take some better photos and post it in the following threads. You can see hat photo examples (front, side, bottom, liner logo, sweatband details, paper label) in the threads. Thanks!

https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/johann-hückel´s-söhne-pre-1940.48472/page-17#post-2691938

https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/german-austrian-hutmachers.32103/page-422

You might also want to take a look at my website. I could also post your hat here.

https://germanaustrianhats.invisionzone.com/topic/6-johann-hückel´s-söhne-hückel-hutfabrik-weilheim/

Click to expand...

ErWeSa said:

It can be dandergous trying to stretch one of the old stiff hats - the leather may be dry and break, the seam may break as well. So without careful "preparation" (softening of the leather with some dubbin etc.) I would no try this. If the problem is that the hat doesn't correspond to the shape of your head you could try to put the bowler/top hat into the oven - heat it to about 50 degrees celsius, then put it on your head and it will be soft enough to adopt the shape of your head. Wait till it has cooled down and it will fit perfectly (this is the way these hats were made to fit in the old days - provided that the size corresponded to the head).

Click to expand...

Heart Felt said:

I’m thinking more like at least a size 7 American (if that’s the right word). I honestly take a size 7 3/8 (sometimes in between that and a 7 1/2) So I’m pretty impressed that I got it to fit me lol. Still a little snug but if I do like you say and keep it in a stretcher when not wearing it, I think it’ll be fine. I actually love it. Love hats but always wanted a bowler since the first time I watched A Clockwork Orange lol. Thanks so much for all your help. Truly

Click to expand...

Heart Felt said:

Okay. So when I get home I’ll post some more detailed photos and I’ll post them to that thread. Would you just take those photos and transfer them to your website? That’d be really great!

Click to expand...

deadlyhandsome said:

You can’t get a hat that was made as a size 7 to “stretch” to a 7 3/8 or 7 1/2 without distorting the hat in all sorts of bad ways. I think this hat may have started out closer to your size. Looks great on you!

Click to expand...

deadlyhandsome said:

You can’t get a hat that was made as a size 7 to “stretch” to a 7 3/8 or 7 1/2 without distorting the hat in all sorts of bad ways. I think this hat may have started out closer to your size. Looks great on you!

Click to expand...

mayserwegener said:

That would be great. Yes I would transfer the photos to my website. Thanks!

Click to expand...

mayserwegener said:

That would be great. Yes I would transfer the photos to my website. Thanks!

Click to expand...

deadlyhandsome said:

You can’t get a hat that was made as a size 7 to “stretch” to a 7 3/8 or 7 1/2 without distorting the hat in all sorts of bad ways. I think this hat may have started out closer to your size. Looks great on you!

Click to expand...