Club Obi Wan

I was sitting at my desk working on a paper for school the other night. As I was putting the paper in the protective folder I had an idea and it actually worked pretty well. I had a folder that cost $2.00. It is the kind with the thin clear plastic front cover. The plastic is paper thin. I measured the width and diameter of my fedora's sweatband and cut the plastic folder cover to match and inserted it inbetween the sweat band and the felt body. I live in a humid area and sweating is part of the deal when you wear a fedora in the summer in Virginia. To make a long story shorter, that plastic barrier stopped my sweat from bleeding through and getting the ribbon wet which of course prevented the staining of the ribbon. It is so thin that it does not tighten the fit of the hat. Anyway if you are concerned about sweat stains getting on your ribbon, try this.

Does anyone know if they actually sell something like this for that purpose?

Some hats back in the day actually had something similar build into the sweatband, so the idea's not new. I've got several vintage hats with sweats like this. I haven't seen that type of thing on newer hats, though. Your idea sounds just as good, though!

The only negative I can see with this is the plastic will cause even more perspiration due to no air flow around your forehead (I live in South/Central Tennessee, so I totally understand where you're coming from regarding that part of things )

It would indeed stop it from bleeding through, but would also probably cause even more perspiration to be created.

6 of one, half a dozen of the other.

Regards! Michaelson

That is a fair point Michaelson. I also thought about trying to waterproof the side of the ribbon that faces the felt body before sewing it on. I hate the uneven sweat stains. So as you can see I am trying to come up with a way to stop them.

In my experience, it also depends on the quality of the sewing of the sweat into the hat itself. If it's tight, and the sweat band is high enough, the leather is a natural barrier to soak through.

To date I've NEVER sweat through an AB, which are all hand sewn. I have through an Akubra, which is machine sewn.

Regards! Michaelson

I am willing to bet mine is machine sewn. Maybe I have my remedy already. I recently ordered a penman beaver LC. I should get it in the spring or early summer.

I have sweat through an AB and an Art Fawcett, in addition to a few factory hats. I suppose it's a matter of volume, eh? I'd be curious to see if the plastic insert would help in my case. I've never owned a hat with one (at least, not still in tact).

WOW, Chewy! Good thing you live in the north! You'd DIE down here in summer!!!



Regards! Michaelson

The wookie fur must get hot!!

Yes, there is a reason I do not live further south. I could do with moving more north, in fact. It might be a good thing that I'm losing my hair,too.

OK, I never do fit in here, in these threads, but...why would anyone want to keep from sweating through their hat, but then put all the white stuff on it to give it the SofC look? I've had baseball hats that I wore for just one summer that would have made the SofC look like a pristine tuxedo, so it would seem to me that sweating through a Fed IV or Adventurebilt would give it an appearance that Indy would be proud of.

Michaelson wrote:To date I've NEVER sweat through an AB

I have! Here's some shots.

First, me and the Predator. The highlighted area on our right (the huge brown spot) is where I sweat straight through the felt. The highlighted area on our left is an area where I sweat through a part of the ribbon where there was some Fuller's Earth, and it made a crazy sweat pattern.


Here I am with Lou Ferrigno. The highlighted area on our left is the sweat pattern from the first picture. This eventually became a salt stain.


However...

You can see that same stain a lot better in this close up.

Had the same thing happen to my Penamn CS grey. The black ribbon just made it more noticeable. Oak just said to dampen a washcloth with cold water. Gently wipe the ribbon in the direction of the grain. Let completely dry before doing again. Did the trick.

Matt

Blackthorn wrote:OK, I never do fit in here, in these threads, but...why would anyone want to keep from sweating through their hat, but then put all the white stuff on it to give it the SofC look? I've had baseball hats that I wore for just one summer that would have made the SofC look like a pristine tuxedo, so it would seem to me that sweating through a Fed IV or Adventurebilt would give it an appearance that Indy would be proud of.

Why? Because not all of us WANT the SofC look, that's why. Indy's hat didn't look that way in Venice, now did it?
A LOT of us wear fedoras for head cover and style, and not necessarily as costume pieces.

Your hat also doesn't gain that nice 'funky odor' of perspiration soak through from the use of fuller's earth (for those who USE the stuff).

Regards! Michaelson

I agree Michaelson. But to each their own. I like the look of a well worn fedora. By this I mean the felt has a broken in well used but taken care look and feel. The sweat stains take away from that I think.

Those little sweatband liners work pretty well too. But you can sweat enough to even foil that remedy beause the sweat can seep through the holes the thread makes when the reed is secured to the leather during construction. For a real heavy perspirer, they would help, but not completely solve the problem. Of course the salt stains would be at the brim break, at the very bottom of the ribbon. But, for folks that don't sweat heavily, these things are a charm. A well flared sweatband does help in this area too because it moves those thread holes out from the head.

Yep, the SOC guys love the sweat stains. To each his own. Fedora

I for one don't want sweat stains on any of my hats, fake or otherwise. And fullers earth is only tempting to me at a summit, when I'm doing my best to look like Indiana Jones. Yet, the call has never been strong enough for me to do it.

To me, if your wearing a hat for ordinary purposes, sweat stains belong on work hats only, as well as lots of dust and dirty. I won't go out to see friends or shop or what have you in a dirty, filthy, stained hat any more than I would in a dirty, stained shirt. For a regular hat wearer, I think hats with fuller's earth and deliberate stains is firmly in the "costume play" category. Not to be confused with a hat that has come to look beat through the passage of years and real "adventures." But even Indy kept his hat clean when he wasn't in the field.

Michaelson wrote:

Blackthorn wrote:OK, I never do fit in here, in these threads, but...why would anyone want to keep from sweating through their hat, but then put all the white stuff on it to give it the SofC look? I've had baseball hats that I wore for just one summer that would have made the SofC look like a pristine tuxedo, so it would seem to me that sweating through a Fed IV or Adventurebilt would give it an appearance that Indy would be proud of.

Why? Because not all of us WANT the SofC look, that's why. Indy's hat didn't look that way in Venice, now did it?
A LOT of us wear fedoras for head cover and style, and not necessarily as costume pieces.

Your hat also doesn't gain that nice 'funky odor' of perspiration soak through from the use of fuller's earth (for those who USE the stuff).

Regards! Michaelson

OK, that makes sense. Now I understand.