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Messages
10,382
Location
vancouver, canada
Hey, all, I know I'm not around much anymore. I recently had a brainwave--and maybe you've already thought of this--but I thought I would share. I was driving in Philly when I noticed a fur shop, and I asked if they clean men's fur felt hats. Not only do they clean 'em, they even have hat blocks and flanges. I dunno why I never thought to check with a furrier for local hat services, but I thought I would suggest it: if you don't have a hat shop in town, look for a fur shop!

A
Here on the whacky left coast fur shops are gone.....killed by the antifur protestors that harangued the owners, threw paint on the furs and made it near impossible for patrons to enter. But then it rarely gets cold enough to wear fur here.
 
Messages
10,382
Location
vancouver, canada
BC may be. Lots of fur still in Alberta catering to the bus loads of tourists that go through :)
Yep, I snagged a wife from Northern Alberta....she still has her two fur coats that kept her alive...back in the day when that is what you wore to stay warm. In the last few years of fur stores in Van the market was to wealthy Asians but even that dried up or keeping the biz open was just tooo much hassle for the return.
 

tsores

Familiar Face
Messages
87
Location
Chicagoland
Question about wind trolleys: I just got an Akubra Camp Draft with my first wind trolley. I tried to unbutton(?) it and I think I broke it. (That didn't take long.) If I did, what repair do I need to make? If I didn't, how is this thing supposed to work, that is, how does it sit on the hat when not in use?

476F9913-AA9D-4022-BAA0-E9E41EC40547.jpeg
 
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Woodtroll

One Too Many
Messages
1,215
Location
Mtns. of SW Virginia
Question about wind trolleys: I just got an Akubra Camp Draft with my first wind trolley. I tried to unbutton(?) it and I think I broke it. (That didn't take long.) If I did, what repair do I need to make? If I didn't, how is this thing supposed to work, that is, how does it sit on the hat when not in use?

View attachment 259616


I can't figure out from your photo exactly what happened to the wind trolley, but it looks like the loop end has pulled out from the "button" (I really don't know what else that piece is called). I assume that the long end of the cord is still attached to your hat, under the ribbon?

So here's what it should look like, on the hat, except the frayed end you see here should be stitched to the hat felt, under the ribbon. The whole cord loops around the hat like a lasso, and the long part stays within the small loop fastened to the button. I expect it should have arrived to you "installed" this way.

IMG_1659.jpg


To use it, you gently work the cord up over the crown of the hat, where it should end up looking like the large loop in a lasso. There is no "unbuttoning" involved. You slide the small loop and button down the cord away from the hat, making the lasso loop smaller and smaller, until you have a loop that will choke down around a shirt or coat button like you would rope a calf, leaving the long cord to connect the coat button and your hat.

I'm not an expert on this, so if someone can explain this better, please do! I just hated for this question to hang out here unanswered. I always take my wind trollies off my hats, which is why it is shown in my photo on a straw hat (just because it was handy).

I feel like if you contact your vendor, or Akubra, and tell them your cord is broken (show them the photo), they will send you a new assembly. You will just have to sew it on, and since the stitching is not visible, that's no big deal. If they won't replace the cord, and your hat is a fawn color, then I will send you the one in the photo if you'll PM me. That cord came off a fawn Campdraft.

I hope this helps! Take care,
Regan
 
Last edited:

tsores

Familiar Face
Messages
87
Location
Chicagoland
I can't figure out from your photo exactly what happened to the wind trolley, but it looks like the loop end has pulled out from the "button" (I really don't know what else that piece is called). I assume that the long end of the cord is still attached to your hat, under the ribbon?

So here's what it should look like, on the hat, except the frayed end you see here should be stitched to the hat felt, under the ribbon. The whole cord loops around the hat like a lasso, and the long part stays within the small loop fastened to the button. I expect it should have arrived to you "installed" this way.

View attachment 259957

To use it, you gently work the cord up over the crown of the hat, where it should end up looking like the large loop in a lasso. There is no "unbuttoning" involved. You slide the small loop and button down the cord away from the hat, making the lasso loop smaller and smaller, until you have a loop that will choke down around a shirt or coat button like you would rope a calf, leaving the long cord to connect the coat button and your hat.

I'm not an expert on this, so if someone can explain this better, please do! I just hated for this question to hang out here unanswered. I always take my wind trollies off my hats, which is why it is shown in my photo on a straw hat (just because it was handy).

I feel like if you contact your vendor, or Akubra, and tell them your cord is broken (show them the photo), they will send you a new assembly. You will just have to sew it on, and since the stitching is not visible, that's no big deal. If they won't replace the cord, and your hat is a fawn color, then I will send you the one in the photo if you'll PM me. That cord came off a fawn Campdraft.

I hope this helps! Take care,
Regan

This seems like a long way to go for this feature. One that I doubt I will use often, if ever. Now I understand how this is supposed to work. I repaired it with some contact cement.

Thank you, Regan, for your offer. You are an example of the kind people we meet on FL.
 

Woodtroll

One Too Many
Messages
1,215
Location
Mtns. of SW Virginia
This seems like a long way to go for this feature. One that I doubt I will use often, if ever. Now I understand how this is supposed to work. I repaired it with some contact cement.

Thank you, Regan, for your offer. You are an example of the kind people we meet on FL.


Well, thank you. I fear you misjudge me, but I do try to be kind (at times...). I agree with you about the "hassle" of this feature, and don't think it adds to the looks, which is why I take mine off.
 

FlyFishing

New in Town
Messages
35
I ripped this sweatband while trying to get this Stetson back to it's original 7 3/8. Is there any reason not to wear it with the rip until I can attempt sewing in a new band (I'd rather try it for the first time on this hat than one I'm really attached to). It is going to be a few months before I have the time to try putting a new band on.
 

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Messages
18,930
Location
Central California
I ripped this sweatband while trying to get this Stetson back to it's original 7 3/8. Is there any reason not to wear it with the rip until I can attempt sewing in a new band (I'd rather try it for the first time on this hat than one I'm really attached to). It is going to be a few months before I have the time to try putting a new band on.


If it’s not uncomfortable than wear it. A lot of us have hats with sweatbands in some stage of failure that we still wear.
 

TooManyHatsOnlyOneHead

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,273
what's the trick to creasing the hat so the dimples or "dents" still appear well defined? Maybe I should explain better. When creasing my hats or even precreased hats, I put them on, my head kind of fills up the hat. I guess I do have more of an oval head, so probably need to buy higher crown hats I guess. Like the Bushman works like a charm. My head measures 57.5ish cm, so it's not like I have a big head. So I'm guessing it's more of the shape of my head, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't doing something wrong.
I definitely like well pronounced, bold creases. It takes a lot of tinkering around to get that contrast so to speak. Like for instance, with my Stylemaster, which I bought over the Whippet for a few reasons, but one being that the Stylemaster was supposed to have a higher, wider crease. Yet, I wear the hat, and it sort of flattens out (if that makes sense). So I ended up raising the crown a little higher, but you can't go too high, otherwise the taper of the crown starts working against you.
 

Bill Hughes

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,126
Location
North Texas
what's the trick to creasing the hat so the dimples or "dents" still appear well defined? Maybe I should explain better. When creasing my hats or even precreased hats, I put them on, my head kind of fills up the hat. I guess I do have more of an oval head, so probably need to buy higher crown hats I guess. Like the Bushman works like a charm. My head measures 57.5ish cm, so it's not like I have a big head. So I'm guessing it's more of the shape of my head, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't doing something wrong.
I definitely like well pronounced, bold creases. It takes a lot of tinkering around to get that contrast so to speak. Like for instance, with my Stylemaster, which I bought over the Whippet for a few reasons, but one being that the Stylemaster was supposed to have a higher, wider crease. Yet, I wear the hat, and it sort of flattens out (if that makes sense). So I ended up raising the crown a little higher, but you can't go too high, otherwise the taper of the crown starts working against you.
Pictures would help but I think you need taller crowns. Or you may be pulling your hat down too low.
 
Messages
18,930
Location
Central California
what's the trick to creasing the hat so the dimples or "dents" still appear well defined? Maybe I should explain better. When creasing my hats or even precreased hats, I put them on, my head kind of fills up the hat. I guess I do have more of an oval head, so probably need to buy higher crown hats I guess. Like the Bushman works like a charm. My head measures 57.5ish cm, so it's not like I have a big head. So I'm guessing it's more of the shape of my head, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't doing something wrong.
I definitely like well pronounced, bold creases. It takes a lot of tinkering around to get that contrast so to speak. Like for instance, with my Stylemaster, which I bought over the Whippet for a few reasons, but one being that the Stylemaster was supposed to have a higher, wider crease. Yet, I wear the hat, and it sort of flattens out (if that makes sense). So I ended up raising the crown a little higher, but you can't go too high, otherwise the taper of the crown starts working against you.


Crowns with less taper could help too.
 

TooManyHatsOnlyOneHead

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,273
thanks, guys. yeah now that I've bought a handful of hats, I'm seeing the subtle or not so subtle differences. I mean brim size, flat vs. snap, etc. are pretty straight forward. But I'm starting to see the taper or the squareness more in the crown, besides just the height. I guess I need more experience with understanding which creases work better with certain crown sizes/shapes, and not trying to force certain looks where they won't accommodate my head shape. Also, I guess not having any hair doesn't help either as the sizing fits right up against the skin vs. hair that would have a little more give. Wondering if maybe going up a size and using foam in the sweatband could compensate a little bit?
 
Messages
10,382
Location
vancouver, canada
What would you call this style of hat. It’s a mens hat too:

View attachment 260959 View attachment 260960 View attachment 260961

It looks like a table centerpiece that you fill with guacamole. The style of the back-bow is quite feminine, but the inside circumference is over 24 inches...I’m assuming it’s a man’s hat.
Yeh, I am thinking like you to shellac the hell out of it and use it as a condiment server. I wonder if it could be some form of uniform hat.....doorman, foreign country navy? Or just a big headed lady.
 

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