A Question for Hatmakers

The Penitent Man · Post by **The Penitent Man** » Sun Jul 20, 2008 9:33 pm

I have a Mag HJ, I love the hat but wish it was more of a sturdy hat, the felt is ultra soft and if you blow on the bash its outta whack.

Id like to take the hat to JJ hats and have some stiffener added

Question:..Will the addition of Stiffener discolor the ribbon or hat?

Also the hat is a bit snug...will stretching the hat with the sweat in it be a risk for tearing the hat?

Thanl you all for the help and advice

BendingOak · Post by **BendingOak** » Sun Jul 20, 2008 9:42 pm

:arrow:

The Penitent Man · Post by **The Penitent Man** » Sun Jul 20, 2008 9:49 pm

Wouldnt stifffer hold the bash a little better?...and as far as the ribbons composition...only Fedora could tell you, He calls it the vintage HJ Ribbon or Nigerian Brown...thats all I know

So which stiffener would be a prime candidate if i went in that direction and where could i obtain it?

As far as the stretching....The best way I could put it is the hat is very snug...not tight...like Ford's Screen Fedoras I guess...Probably just a slight stretch would do

What do you thinK?

thanks for your response and help!!

The Penitent Man

BendingOak · Post by **BendingOak** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 1:18 am

:arrow:

JPdesign · Post by **JPdesign** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 8:50 pm

One of the best hat stiffners is widely availablein small amount and is fairly cheap.

The problem is the use of it. It takes practice. I worked with it on old-beatup hats before using it. I would have probably ruined about 8 hats if I had tried to just use it on a new hat. I takes knnowledge only gained through practical experience, just like every thing else with hat making.

No, I will not say what it is. Using to much of it makes hats very hard to clean and requires extra steps.

Used properly it doesn't change the color of the hat, or ribbon, and can be drawn into the center of the felt, to add body rather than stiffen.

Jimmy

The Penitent Man · Post by **The Penitent Man** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 1:46 am

JP,
It's good to know there's a good hat stiffener out there that is available in small quantities, giving the crown more body was just what i had in mind.......................

JPdesign · Post by **JPdesign** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 7:53 am

It's possible, just not something I would recomend to the inexperienced hatter

Jimmy

Marc · Post by **Marc** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 2:12 pm

That depends on which stiffner is used IMO. I've had some powder that needed to be mixed with alcohol and water and the "painted" on the inside of the crown. It's much easier if you thin it out with a little more alcohol and spray it on though. Didn't have any problems once I filled it into a spray can. You can also purchase felt stiffner that is ready to spray on and it's really easy to you. Just go in THIN layers and evtl. repeat and you'll be fine.

Regards,

Marc

The Penitent Man · Post by **The Penitent Man** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 7:18 pm

Thank you very much Mark,
I appreciate your advice and help, I think i can handle it,,,,,Ive done alot of prop/costume work in other genres so im not unfamiliar to artistic mediums.
Thanks again