Noggin tops Felt Stiffener

[Kilgour Trout]

After my less than perfect Stetson went through a cleaning and reblock, the crown lost a lot of its stiffness. In response I went out and bought a bottle of Felt Stiffener from Noggin Tops. It uses an Isopropyl alcohol chemical as opposed to a non-chem stiffener. Has anyone used this stuff before? And if so....any tips on best results? I haven't tried steaming it to see if there is any stiffener left in the crown because it just seems so loose.

Would appreciate any advice to keep me from messing up as per usual.

Warm Regards
Kilgour Trout

 

[Ken]

Isopropyl Alcohol is the same as rubbing alcohol which is what can be used to help distress leather jackets. I dont know how it would relate to felt though.

Ken

 

[Art Fawcett]

Kilgour,
I have never really searched the ingredients of stiffner but have used it for years. I assume that the alcohol is just an agent for thinning. To use it, block the hat, put it in your flange & stand ( after taking it off the block) and spray the inside of the crown. I don't know if you bought spray or liquid, but in either case use the inside of the hat for it. If you bought liquid, put it in a plastic spray bottle and spray that way. The key is to not overload one spot with stiffner, but rather a nice even mist. Let the hat dry, test for stiffness, then add more if not stiff enough. Go slow with it unless you want to be able to drive nails with the hat.LOL

 

[Kilgour Trout]

Blockless

Art: thanks for the advice, my problem is that at present I am blockless and flangless (not to mention clueless) . Just today I emailed a fella about how much it would cost to get a 6, 7, 52. I keeping my eyes peeled everyday on ebay...but man, oh man..finding a size 7 is hard. I've seen some that the blocks have been 5.5 or 5.75 in height (Which is probably not too bad...) but then the diameter is always too big.
I'm wondering if I can do a light spray, let it dry and then steam to bash. Honestly, I am totally clueless..whether this is even doable. If you know of anyone who has a spare block and flange like this, I'd be his best friend forever!!LOL .

Warm Regards
Kilgour Trout

P.s. Hope the trip is turning out restful

 

[Art Fawcett]

Rob, when I return I'll go through my blocks to see what i can spare. In the mean time, try light spray and steam. Short of ripping the felt almost everything can be fixed!!
The trip so far is excellent!! Did a little shopping, hung out at a hat shop up here with a master hatter yesterday afternoon, found some brown leathers to use for the guys who like that color, ordered some tans ( my favorite) that I will get next month, and even got her to commit to showing me some of her finishing tricks. Of course it looks like I'm gonna have to give up some equipment that I hold dear, but to spend a couple of days in her shop under her instructive eyes will be worth it. She does mostly custom Westerns, but hey, they have great finishes also!!
Now, if I can just get past my nephew's 21st birthday tonight and still hold my head up tomorrow life will be good!!
Cheers