Stetson Temple Reblock

[fenris]

My Stetson Temple finally arrived as my wife returned home from the US on the 15th.

I was excited to see my new hat... opened the box, looked the hat over and put it on. Looked in the mirror and was shocked!

The factory bash really looked tapered! My first thoughts as I looked in the mirror with the hat on was, "DUNCE CAP!!!"

Last night, I decided that I needed to reblock the hat to suit my tastes. Again, this was just a semi-reblock, not a full one. I'm still not confident I could put back the sweatband in if I tried a full reblock.

Here it is on my foam block:


Here it is this morning after removing it from the block and re-bashing it:


Here it is beside my FedIV...

In this pic it's obvious that the Temple's ribbon is a bit wider than the FedIV's. Maybe if I replace the ribbon with a thinner one, the hat would look taller. Perhaps a light gray ribbon would be nice...

The hat still isn't as straight-sided as an Indy hat, but at least it doesn't look like a dunce cap when seen from the front. Big improvement I would say...

Also, the dye didn't run when I dunked the hat in a pail and held it there for a few minutes until the water seeped inside the hat's crown.

[Ranging Robert]

Saw your work over on Fedora Lounge-still like it. I'm not sure why everyone dislikes the modern Stetson fedoras. A little work and they get some character...Dougc

[fenris]

Here are a few more shots...

[Weston]

Nice work Fenris. I've had two Temples, and neither of them ever looked as good as yours. Those were my early days in the hobby, and I had no idea what I was doing, but you clearly do! Well done!

Weston

[fenris]

It was Marc's thread (AB Deluxe) that inspired me to reblock my own hats.

...but it was the distance from any real hatters (and lack of extra funds) that really drove me to even attempt it. Hahaha!

[fenris]

I forgot to post this comparison shot (before and after pic)... Although the "before" pic isn't mine. It came from a google search.



Before reblocking the hat, I tried my best to bash the hat to make it look like the "after" pic but it just didn't look right. No matter how much I massage the felt, I couldn't get the straight sides I wanted. The only time I managed to get the straight sides was when I diamond-bashed the top which made the hat look short. It was then I decided to finally reblock it.

The only thing I noticed with a black hat is it tends to attract too much dust! Because it's black, you can immediately see how much dust is stuck on it.

All I need now is Toht's glasses, suit, coat and burnt hand...

[Indiana Jeff]

I know what you mean about the black hats. I have a black Garrison and it shows every spec of dust (and cat hair).

Nice job on the reblock.

One word of caution given the amount of rain you get, Stetsons are notorious for bleeding dye if they get overly wet.

Also, you may want to stop at the glasses, suit and coat...

Regards,

Indiana Jeff

[fenris]

I know what you mean about the black hats. I have a black Garrison and it shows every spec of dust (and cat hair).

Nice job on the reblock.

One word of caution given the amount of rain you get, Stetsons are notorious for bleeding dye if they get overly wet.

Also, you may want to stop at the glasses, suit and coat...

Regards,

Indiana Jeff

The reblock itself made my hat overly wet and yet no dye bled out.

[Michaelson]

Trust us, once saturated enough, they bleed. It's the nature of the dye powders Stetson uses.

Been there, done that, was pretty peeved when it happened.

Regards! Michaelson

[BendingOak]

What was the tempeture of the water being used? And you must have not gotten the felt completly wet. Did you reblock it with all it's parts on?

[fenris]

What was the tempeture of the water being used? And you must have not gotten the felt completly wet. Did you reblock it with all it's parts on?

Lukewarm, I guess? I dunked the hat in a pail. Held it down until the water soaked through the felt and filled the inside of the hat. If that wasn't wet enough, I don't know what is.

I only removed the liner and saw the inside of the crown was unpounced. Ribbon and sweatband was still attached... Not really great with sewing, so I decided to leave those on.

I had read about the dye bleeding, here and other sites, but it really didn't. I was actually expecting to get black dye all over the place as I had totally soaked the crown. Not even my hands got any dye on 'em as I handled the wet hat. Could it be this particular color does not have the powder dye?

Also, another thing to note, this hat was newly made when my wife "ordered" it. Hatco asked my wife for a specific model but when she asked for the Temple, they didn't have one on hand. They literally had to make this one hat for my wife (to give to me).

[Indiana Jeff]

Well that sounds pretty darn wet to me.

I had assumed this was a vintage hat, not newly made. I guess the dye situation for your hat is different. Good to know about your experience.

Regards,

Indiana Jeff

[Michaelson]

I will only say this about it, and then drop it. Ultimately it's your decision how to use the information.

For many years the only hats available to use in our hobby that were affordable were Stetson's. I wore them.

The last one I wore, I wore for several years...through rain, snow, sun, regardless of weather, made no difference, I wore it.

I wore it until the ribbon completely faded out.

The last time I wore it, I was walking my then young daughters to school in a driving rain. We lived at the bottom of the hill from the school, and with umbrellas and raincoats, they thought walking in the rain a big adventure.

I had on my old Stetson and a raincoat. I could feel the rain soak through the hat, then a small stream of water started running down between my eyes.

My eldest daughter looked at me and said in alarm, "Dad, you're bleeding!!"

What she saw was a stream of brown dye flowing down out of my hat between my eyes and puddling in my collar.

The Stetson was a brown soddened mess by the time we got home.

Once it dried, the color had completely leeched out of the felt, making it a sickly tan in color.

Keep in mind, this hat had been every type weather I could put it through, and no problems.....but there is a tipping point with these powder dyes, and I tipped it to the far side and it suddenly released.

The girls STILL laugh about it, and this happened back in the early 90's.

I have not heard of Stetson changing their dying process on these hats, as they were always intended to only be used as fair weather dress hats......So, word to the wise......

Regards! M

[BendingOak]

I have had the same thing happened to me as M when it came to stetsons. part of that problem was the dyes they use and the curing powders. I know they have changed part of their way of doing this and that may have be the results of that. No more curing powders

The reason I asked about temp, how wet some people wet their hat to do a blocking job and they really don't get the core completely wet and the temp isn't high enough to do a really good blocking job. This is what I suspect what you did and that why you didn't see any color come out. that and that stetson has change a little on how they are doing things. Still not great but its a step in the right direction. Please no one take that as a recommendation because it is not.

[Michaelson]

We're also not trying to throw 'cold water' on your wonderful gift from your wife.

We're just trying to give you info to KEEP your hat in the best condition it can be with use and wear.

That's one fine gift indeed!

HIGH regards! M

[BendingOak]

M, is spot on. Only want to help.

[fenris]

Thanks for the advice, M and Oak. The rainy season is still far off... The only thing I have to worry about for 6 months is the raging sun!

...now, about getting my hand burned by the medallion... naaah!!! I already accidentally burned my arm while I was ironing the brim on this had after it had gone all wonky from the pulling... and it was not a pleasant experience. Wonder if scars like those heal.