That hat is a friends beaver brand hat. I converted it from a bowler to a better shape. The burning, (as Steve Delk) taught me, helps to burn off the little fuzzy hairs and give it a nice smooth, silky feeling.
Yea,
Steve told me all about that also.
Singeing is a very key step in hat making.
After the body has been dried and cut to shape on the block, it is rubbed with rubbing alchol and then set on fire. It burns off all the long hairs and makes the hat soft, this is done before sanding (pouncing) the hat. Just finished a black rabbit hat the other day, and it wouldent be anywhere near as soft as it is, If it wasent singed.
Regards!
Adam
This is done in the process of making the hat.
After its blocked and dried, the burning is done
to cut down on sanding time, and to make the
hat softer.
Regards,
Adam
Kids: Don't try this at home... And if you do, make sure your parents won't know, or at least have good insurance.
Its actually not that bad. You just light it with the lighter, and step back. The flames are uasauly invisible. So to tell if its still burning you need to look at the burn marks on the hat.
O.k., so this 'burning' step is done in the creation process. That is interesting to learn.
Time for a PSA:
I want to advise Gearheads to not try this at home! Your local hat manufacturer has already burned your hat. Rest assured he has given you the first(and most dangerous) step in distressing your lid.
The last news story I want to see is about an Indiana Jones fan who burned down his(or his family's) home while attempting to burn his hat!
[quote="binkmeisterRick"]Okay, Jess, we got the hat to work for you, now it's time to singe your pants while you wear them. They'll fit better... trust me... /quote]
I recommend you exercise caution. Swindy already tried singeing his pants, and now he's running all around the forum pantless. Beware.
Sure you're in Canada, crazylegs? You posted that pic pretty much the same time as the fire broke out here in RPV, CA...(yeah, you might have seen it on the news...canyon fire...still a couple miles from us).
I was looking to see if I could see firemen in the background of your picture...
"The LA County Fire Department has determined the cause of the canyon fire was...a charred fedora. Local gearheads are being rounded up and questioned."
P.S. SJ, how did you make the stubble on those legs look so realistic?
Consider it an act of respect and admiration, crazylegs. Or maybe posting outrageous burning hat pics crave outrageous counter-acts. I fire up MSPaint everytime I see a new post from you.
Sorry about the unsound behaviour, though... feel free to hijack any of Swindy's or VP's threads anytime!
Good idea, Holly! Thus, my little stupid pic is on topic!
FTR, I have only messed with on two other posts by you, crazylegs... I believe 'twas the Swedish sandbox team then as well... this time, it was all VP's fault for posting such tempting imagery!
Yeah, yeah, I'm making jokes about it, trying to hide my feeling guilty... sorry if this bugged you, clm. I'm definitively not aiming to get a "scoundrel" title... 8-[
Hey before you guys go and singe your hats, be advised that I do it only once, and that is while the hat is still on the block(to maintain the blockshape), and then I never let one blaze like that one. Just a gentle singe, with a very light misting of alcohol. The hat is then ironed and pounced. Go easy on the fire. Fedora
Random question: Is the first pic in this thread photo shopped as a joke? Or did you really set your hat on fire like that? Is that a real, untouched pic?
Yup, that is a real pic. It's burning like a...umm...nevermind...it's burning like that because I used quite a bit of alcohol....for effect really.
As Steve said, just a very light spray, while on the block...well, I didn't have a block, and I wanted it to burn long enough to snap a pic.
So, ya...thats what it looked like. It actually worked really good. The hat is nice and soft now, and looks pretty sharp. I had to turn this from a bowler, in to this hat, AND stretch it a full size, without a block.