How to Shape Shantung

[asher286]

help shaping paper straw fedora

hello every one, well i'm new at this forum but i like hats so i joined. i just bought a paper straw fedora and other one that is said to be 100% paper, the first one is kinda unshaped (the wing is asimetric) and the other one's crown lacks the two frontal clefts (i dunno the 'formal'' name) and i'd like to re-shape them to my taste. can anyone give me some advices about it? thank you very much.

 

[Roninjedi]

Never tried shaping paper straw myself. Have you tried light steam? [huh] Maybe just on a small portion of the brim to make sure it's not going to damage the hat. Beyond that, I don't know if paper straw is reshapable at all.

Good luck and let us know if you find any answers to this puzzle.

 

[BanjoMerlin]

I use steam to shape shantung hats and that is a type of paper. WAY less steam than you might think. A second or two over the teakettle spout, shape it and hold till cool. It only takes a few seconds for each feature, don't even try to do the whole hat at once.

Sometimes the hats are coated with something that gets a bit tacky from the steam but the tackiness goes away when the hat cools.

Then the first time you wear it in the rain you get to shape it all over again.

 

[asher286]

so its ok to wear it in the rain?? won't it spoil or something??

 

[dwebber18]

I wouldn't wear it in the rain. If it really only takes a second or two over steam to reshape it, I can only imagine what it would do in a rain storm.

 

[BanjoMerlin]

so its ok to wear it in the rain?? won't it spoil or something??

I wouldn't recommend wearing any straw-like hat in the rain. At best it will lose its shape, at worst it will lose its structural integrity.

 

[Big_e]

I found me a real nice looking paper straw hat at 7-11 (of all places!). After reading this thread, I used steam to lower the crown and give it more of a pinch front and it worked. It did get tacky from the few seconds with steam. It hardened again once it cooled. As stated above, I wouldn't wear it in the rain or if it even looked like rain that day.
Ernest

 

[HabanaClub]

Thank you for your patience and consideration. Although an old collector, I am new to this forum and am having embarrasing times communicating with your excellent cadre of information and wisdom.
That being said, I recently acquired some cheap shantung hats due their their price/value ratio and utility. I never considered these to be at the same level as the rest of our better valued hats, I purchased them because they're just good looking hats, sturdy and reasonably well made, cheap, etc. Maybe even apt for resale or gift giving to the lesser informed.

So here's the question: Can you flatten the brim on a Shantung hat that has been formed with a stiff "curved up" brim, not as much as a "pencil roll" as in a "Gambler", but enough upwards roll to cause either a flip up or a flip down snap. I already used steam and it softened the Shantung a bit, actually took out some dents, but I want to actually make a flat brim from this hat. Is this possible, or is the upwards curve of the brim actually "woven into it" through the process of weaving the edge back into the brim ... or whatever ... ?

Thank you all for your attention

 

[fedoracentric]

We recently learned that there are two different kinds of "Shantung." In days of yore "Shantung" actually mean real straw. But in hats of more recent vintage, Shantung means... well, not real straw.

I know. I was surprised, too.

So, which one are we talking about? Old or new Shantung? I would think that the difference is key to the question.

 

[HabanaClub]

(second time I reply to this thread, but don't see it posted) ...
Thank you, Fedoracentric, I believe this is old Shantung, as I can guess from the vintage looking label inside the crown and hat band which read: "Raffaelli, Qualita Superiore, Italia, Genuine Shantung". Hope that helps. Also, because of my experience with fine straw hats in my collection, upon examining this hat very, very closely (magnifying glass, underside pricking at a fiber under the sweatband, etc., I believe this is "straw". I put straw in quotation marks because we are supposed to know that Shantung is actually a "manufactured straw" made from a special type of paper product. This hat is stiffer than an Ecuadorian Panama (of course, anything is), but not as stiff as some of my straw cowboy hats that were bought and custom blocked in a well pedigreed hat maker in Fort Worth, Texas. So far, this hat responds well to steam reshaping as I was able to take out a small dent in the crown with no problem. It's just that I can not flatten the upturned curved brim. I was even thinking of steam ironing the brim, as they do during manufacturing. If I send it to a custom blocker I will pay much more than the hat is worth.

Again, thank you for your consideration and attention.