I just unblocked a stiff cattleman crease.....

[Wil Tam]

So here we are again, the TownCraft OR clone in Silverbelly arrived yesterday ... Whoah Howdy Partner! Definitely a western hat that was stiff as a board .. I thought to my self ... "self, there is no way in hell I'm going be able to unbash this hat" ..... self was wrong!


I tried to steam it out first .. did the routine kettle trick with the bath towel shoved in the cavity of the hat thing... it took a while but it cooperated. Afterwards upon close inspection I found it had some dirt smudges on the crown where the original cattleman creases were, what to do I pondered for a moment then I remembered a show I viewed a while ago....

Don't laugh [okay you can chuckle a bit] wait for it....

I used a new toothbrush & some whitening toothpaste to brush it out... I watched "How it's Made" often & toothpaste has a mild abrasive in it .. like a micro micro sand .. teamed with a whitening compound it helps to clean plaque off your chompers .. so I, in my own Mcgyverish way, thought that it could clean a surface stain on my white felt without harming it & it work beautifully ... then I had to rinse off the paste ... so I just ran the cold shower with the water pik on stream all over it saturating it... I turned out the leather sweatband to let it air dry & I took most of the day so I worked on a few other projects in the meanwhile ... it came out nice & clean with a fresh minty smell... heh!

Here are some pics:

original cattleman's crease on me noggin

open crown on me noggin ... the Dudley Doright look just doesn't work for me ... what a dork! heh

I recreased it into teardrop while it was still slightly damp .. the spots on the brim is just water, when it dried completely it was pristine!

I dig the thin ribbon on this lid & the & the wind trolley gives it a nice touch.

So yeah, that's the hat .. the site only allow ten pics per post so to be continued...

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Now playing: Ella Fitzgerald - Mack The Knife
via FoxyTunes

 

[Wil Tam]

more pics

the inside & the top

not so dorkish anymore ehh?

the narcissistic side profiles .. hah hah

I dig the white lid on me ... now I just need a cream coloured suit to go with it... and I'm really digging on the wide brims.... they're sweet!


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Now playing: Ella Fitzgerald - Lush Life
via FoxyTunes

 

[carter]

Nicely done, WT. I'll be looking for the next installment.

 

[zetwal]

Man you are having too much fun! I love it -

 

[gtdean48]

:eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[randooch]

Stylin!

 

[carldelo]

Sweet remodel

That's a very nice job on reshaping that lid --- makes me think I might be able to reshape a modern OR without having to wait for HATCO to issue one with an open crown.

I dig the white lid on me ... now I just need a cream coloured suit to go with it... and I'm really digging on the wide brims.... they're sweet!

I'd definitely go with a medium brown or blue suit, cream shirt and red vintage tie with that hat....

 

[Wil Tam]

That's a very nice job on reshaping that lid --- makes me think I might be able to reshape a modern OR without having to wait for HATCO to issue one with an open crown.



I'd definitely go with a medium brown or blue suit, cream shirt and red vintage tie with that hat....

Cool beans!

You should go for it .. I found that you need to try very hard to damage a hat .. seems like all of the good hats can & will take the abuse without much fuss ... when this one dried completely it became stiff as a board again .. but this time with a crease that I can live with.


I do sport those colours .. I find the hat is very warm too .. definitely a heavy weight that'll work well for winter & late fall if it's cold out

 

[Colby Jack]

Great job Wil...Bravo!!!:eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[deanglen]

Man after my own heart! Where there's a Will Tam there's a way! Keep it up! You're in an inspiration! Great looking job there!:eusa_clap :eusa_clap





dean

 

[Carlisle Blues]

Very timely

I decided to reshape my Stetson El Presidente Silverbelly Cattleman Crown.

I am thinking telescope crown with gambler edge. We'll see[huh] [huh]

Your work is excellent :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

the narcissistic side profiles .. hah hah

My definition of a narcissist: Anyone who is better looking than I am. lol

Will, you've got it bad - and your work is good! Keep it up and keep us posted, pal.

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Carlisle; Be sure to show us your Stetson re-block too.

 

[J.T.Marcus]

Toothpaste! What a bright idea. I love it. :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

Those crease stains are a common problem with old Open Roads. You've invented a solution we can all add to our bag of tricks. Thanks!!!

 

[Carlisle Blues]

Sure thing Harp

 

[Wil Tam]

Thanks Fellas... it's just a fun & relaxing thing for me to do


I'm glad this project is a informational tutorial of sorts & that some of you just take the plunge and not be intimidated to work on the creases on your lids, remember it is just a hat & most good hats are suppose to be weather resistant so common sense & a bit of research tells me I can not really harm it with a little bit all even a lot of water as long as it isn't boiling hot unless the lid is just a body in need of shrinking or redyeing. Gentle steaming is great because once you pull away from it it immediately starts cooling so you can brush or massage creases out

I was always a DIYer... I think it started as a kid when I would beg mom to buy me a toy I wanted... and by the end of the week I would have taken it all apart just to see what made it work... drove my mom mad & she kinda stop buying toys for me after a while.

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Now playing: Garbage - Queer
via FoxyTunes

 

[PabloElFlamenco]

Dork, that's right! lol (some words do that to me lol )

No, seriously - I like your approach, Will. The way you work your way around petty problems in the order of smudged creases, using a toothbrush and white toutpaste..sorry..toothpaste..reminds me of "The Art of motorcylce maintenance".

Impressive. Nice hat. Excellent choice. Tin robin.

Pablo