Wil Tam
Practically Family
- Messages
- 670
- Location
- Metropolis
So I acquired this from eBay, it was part of a lot of two .. this one is the Schoble Idler and it was much less than good in condition ... it had holes from mothing & nibbles all over the outside top of the crown ... the leather sweatband was intact with just slight hardening where the threading was [no reeding] .. it was a light weight so it didn't come with a lining. Plus on top of all that it was 2 sizes too big on me ... I had my work cut out for me if I wanted this hat to be a least serviceable as a fishing hat.
First I stripped the components for use on the other hat that came with it, just the ribbon, more on that project in another installment of "Wil Tam's take on DIYing" I reused the leather sweatband on this one after I trimmed the all of hard length off.
Then I flipped it so that the nibbles were inside & gave it a hot bubble bath in ivory soap while molesting the brim so it would be wider, making it 3" instead of the 2 1/2" it was originally .. giving me a shorter crown & a size that won't be as loose on me noggin.[huh]
I had a brown ribbon that I fabricated for another project that got beat up from attaching & reattaching [I know what you mean by the good stuff now] had some dings from the threading .. the vintage stuff [the good shit] keeps it's shape with just a little massaging.
Any how, here are some pics for you to gander:
before & after the flip and recrease, the discoloration from the old leather sweat was the main reason why I couldn't reuse the thin ribbon
front, side & back views .. see the holes on the front & back .. now that's character .. that even Jed Clampett would be proud of! heh heh
top and closeup of the bow I made
I reused the ribbon and bow I crafted even if it looking a little ragged .. I thought that it would go well with the worn look of the hat ... figured a new ribbon and bow would look off on this one.
to be continued....
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