Club Obi Wan

Just this morning I picked up my AB to put it on and I noticed some striated "welts" (for lack of a better term) on the felt of the brim. I think one of my cats might have been a little less respectful to it than they should have been. I've heard that you can use sand paper to re-pounce the felt when stuff like this happens (the welts aren't very deep) - does anyone know what grit of sandpaper I should use.

Or, failing that, does anybody have any ideas of how to treat this problem? :junior: -IJ

DEAD cat.

How about a new Cat felt AB?

I don't know about what grit you should use, but I'm guessing a relatively fine one if you want to take off as little felt as possible.

I remember when I was a kid, I accidentally left my hat at a house, and I freaked out because they had a cat, so I had my parents backtrack and get it.

I agree, dead cat. I'm sure Steve , Marc or some of the other hat makers will pop in and give you some good info.

....or you can just tell everyone you go those while fighting that tiger in India.

IndianaLV wrote:How about a new Cat felt AB?

LOL!!

Yeah, turn the cat into an AB, then scratch it back! See how it feels when a part of its own entity is scratched and damaged.

Shane

you go those while fighting that tiger in India

Agreed. Turn it into an adventure.
Now, now, none of those dead kitty jokes, folks.
Besides, one cat is far too small to make a decent hat. You'd need at
least 3 or 4.

dwardeden wrote:

you go those while fighting that tiger in India

Agreed. Turn it into an adventure.
Now, now, none of those dead kitty jokes, folks.
Besides, one cat is far too small to make a decent hat. You'd need at
least 3 or 4.

Well, how many cats do you own indy? LOL (I had to say it)

about 6...enough for 2 AB's I'd say. 3 if you count the long-hair we have. :junior: -IJ

I try to capture anything I can find on the care of my fedora that Steve posts. Here is a series of posts I got on this topic:

Lets assume that you brushed the hat the wrong way and the felt went a bit fuzzy, is there a way to tighten the felt back up? This could also happen I supposed if you caught a tree branch or something as well.

Can you do anything, such as brush it until it goes back, hair gel or something?

Steve - I would just “pounce” (sand) it lightly with some 220 paper, going in the direction of the grain. Then, if you still have too much nap, atomize it with 70 per cent rubbing alcohol and light it up. Part of finishing a hat involves singeing. Then hit the newly singed area with some 400 grit. Works every time. Fedora

Michaelson - If none of the above works, douse liberally with lighter fluid, strike a match, then walk away. THAT works too, but not in a way you'll particularily like...unless it's my Stetson. That's what I ended up doing....

Crazylegsmurphy - Ya RIGHT!! You are telling me to light my hat on fire?!? Are you insane!?

That sounds so FUN! I think I'll try a little sandpaper before I start lighting it on fire....geez, just this morning I was like..."I wonder when I'll get the nerve to sit on my hat?" Now I am gonna light it on fire....

Thanks though Fedora, that is some really useful info I think. I wonder how many out there are gonna try this?

Steve - On the flames, it depends on how much alcohol you spray on the hat. The thing is, once the alcohol burns off,(just a few seconds of burn time), the flame goes out. I accidently bought 50 per cent alcohol at the dollar store here, and it would not ignite. I may as well have been spraying water. I hear 151 proof rum works well. Rick, Glenfiddich does not work well at all.............for singeing hats. Lights up the hatter though. Fedora

I remember seeing a tutorial on hat making and being shocked to learn of the singeing process, but it's true! It's true!



Shocked me too when I first read about it. Made complete sense though, and one of those little hatter secrets, traditionally held close to the vest. You would have a hard time getting a good finish if you could not use it. From the looks of some modern hats, the manufacturer apparently forgot what the old hatters did. I have seen some fuzzy hats that could be singed and pounced up rather nicely. Should have been done at the factory. One word of warning though. My singeing is done before the hat ever comes off of the block. You can do a small area of the hat, like the above mentioned twig fuzzing up the hat, but I would be afraid to do the whole hat. Not from any damage, but rather from the felt distorting from the heat. Fedora

Crazylegsmurphy - So I used a little 220 grit sand paper and it turned out perfect. I just did what Fedora said and went lightly over the felt and it tightened it right up. I then went over it with a lint brush to get all the excess felt off, then dabbed it with some tape to get the final fuzz.


Good Luck - be sure to let us know how it turns out.

Paul

hmm...I would hate to use the alcohol method - it's not that I don't believe it works, it's just that I'd be terrified to screw up and be left with half (or less) of a fedora.

I know how busy Fedora is, so would any custom hatter be willing to give the hat a re-pouncing? :junior: -IJ

thatguyno1 wrote:Crazylegsmurphy - Ya RIGHT!! You are telling me to light my hat on fire?!? Are you insane!?

That sounds so FUN! I think I'll try a little sandpaper before I start lighting it on fire....geez, just this morning I was like..."I wonder when I'll get the nerve to sit on my hat?" Now I am gonna light it on fire....


So I used a little 220 grit sand paper and it turned out perfect. I just did what Fedora said and went lightly over the felt and it tightened it right up. I then went over it with a lint brush to get all the excess felt off, then dabbed it with some tape to get the final fuzz.

Looks like Crazylegs got good results without resorting to the Flaming Fedora method. You might just try the sanding and see how it comes out. If it still needs to be pounced then you might get one of the local mad hatters to take over (or is that Mad COW hatters?). Just kidding guys - you know we all hold you in high regard for the great work and advice you give us.

I sand the moth nibbles on my e-bay hats all the time. I soften the edges of the divots with 220 grit sand paper and then go over the area with 320 or 400 grit. I like the yellow coated paper. You'd really have to go to town to wreak a hat.
Bob.

I'd use as high a grit as possible to start and then work your way up even higher. Keep it as smooth as the rest of the hat.

I repounced an old Resistol and I believe I started with 320 grit and worked my way up to 600 grit. I do not know that much about making hats, but it worked.

Just leave the marks there as "natural distressing". Beat the hat and cat and you'll have a more SA hat and more docile cat.

zeus36 wrote:Just leave the marks there as "natural distressing". Beat the hat and cat and you'll have a more SA hat and more docile cat.

beat the hat with the cat or the hat with the hat? hmmm

well first dont hurt the cat, if your caught, they wont let you wear your hat in prison second,indys hat went through ####,its adds character, third,when someone asks,you dont have to tell them how big the cat was.

Hey thanks for all the advice guys! There were some pretty hilarious responses to something as mundane as this. I'll probably just take IndySmith's advice and leave the hat - and the cat - alone. I'll probably ask either Fedora or Marc to re-pounce it when I send it in for a reblock, but as it is, it's in pretty fair shape.

third,when someone asks,you dont have to tell them how big the cat was.

There's something in what you say...I'm sure there's plenty of girls who would love to hear the story of how I was nearly mauled by a Siberian Tiger. :junior: -IJ