3 D teardrop, a little help please.

[Midwest Boater]

when i first found this site i never would have dreamed of bashing my own hat now im getting pretty good at it. my problem is all my crowns turn out flat.

this one the center sort of gives it some profile.

but compare it to this white one Optimo did for me.
so heres my question how can i make it more like this one?
please dont say practice practice practice.
unless of course its the only way

 

[jimmy the lid]

Midwest Boater --

You may want to check out the Teardrop Workshop and follow the steps there. By starting with a center dent, and then lowering the back of the hat, one can achieve the desired "rake" (the angle from the front to back of the crease). That method yields something like this:

Cheers,
JtL

 

[Midwest Boater]

thanks so much Jimmy ive read that post several times and completely missed that part of your instructions.
i sort of get going on things and sometimes dont pay all the attention i should.
btw wow what a hat is that a whippet ?

 

[jimmy the lid]

Glad to be of service, MWB.

That particular lid is a Knox Premier...

Cheers,
JtL

 

[Midwest Boater]

this feels like turning in homework.

im getting better but i think the crease is too deep.
Its a Knox Fifteen with a six inch crown, if you have any other tips or critique ill be grateful.
thanks again.

 

[jimmy the lid]

MWB -- you gotta stop making that crown look like a boater!

In terms of dimensions, you might try something in the range of 4.5" to 4.75" at the top of the front crease; 4.75" to 5" at the highest point on the sides; sloping down to 4" to 4.25" at the back.

Based on your photos, it looks like everything needs to be lifted up a fair amount. Just out of curiosity, what are the current stats on the height of that crown?

Cheers,
JtL

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

Yup.

Lighten your touch quite a bit. Then with a shallower crease, rake the front forward and down some. The arc you're after is a function of the crown being left to have some height to it and the front and back parts being pulled away from center and down a little.

G'luck!

 

[Midwest Boater]

thanks so much gentlemen, yes the boater top is a curse of mine i love flat crowns and on my porkie and of coarse the boater thats just fine, but my fedoras deserve better than that. With your help im gonna give it to them, btw the crown right now is 3 1/4" in the back and 3 3/4" in the front. okay back to the grindstone... er i mean tea kettle.

 

[jimmy the lid]

Good luck! The effect of raising the height of the crease will be to leave less felt available for the "dome" (or, "inner teardrop" ). This will help by cutting down on the size of the inner teardrop and making it more proportional in terms of the overall look.

Cheers,
JtL

 

[Midwest Boater]

a lighter touch.

new update:

the crown crusher is reformed.

it came out at 4 1/2" in the front 4 1/4" in the back.
anytime i tried to make the back lower it wanted to fold together making that deep crease again.

if you see this man skulking around your neighborhood there is no need to hide your lids he has been rehabilitated.
But seriously how did i do?

 

[zetwal]

Seeing the hat on your head, I think the height looks good now.

 

[jimmy the lid]

Now we're talkin'!!!

Wow -- big improvement. Very nice job, MWB!

Cheers
JtL

 

[handlebar bart]

Now we're talkin'!!!

Wow -- big improvement. Very nice job, MWB!

Cheers
JtL

I have to agree, you got some wonderful advice in this thread by some aces MWB. A huge improvement over how the hat was creased and definately looking like the hat it was made to be.

 

[Midwest Boater]

Thank you all very much,
This is high praise from gents whose opinions i value.
I blush
MWB

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

Hey! Hey! You did great!!

And yeah, there's a limit to how much any hat will allow with dragging the front/back points down and away. A larger and more full crown gives more, where one with less volume and some built-in taper will not give as much.

But the way your fedora now looks, from front and side, is very natural and a good fit for your features. Well done!

 

[Fedora Jay]

Very nice! That hat looks great on you. This thread makes me want to try working my Knox some more. I hope I can be as successful as you were!

 

[hutch]

After reading this post I finally got the courage to attempt to change my Dobbs from a center dent front pinch to a teardrop. Thanks to JtL for his guidance. Comments welcome to help me improve my shaping technique.
Before:

And After:

 

[Jedwbpm]

Very nice job Hutch I like the look

Jeff

 

[cybergentleman]

first off, leave the crown higher bc you have a lot of brim here. next ditch the snap. big brim= hollywood brim. then lightly dent the center crease and leave it fairly domed. light pinches on the anterior portion fo the crown and you have sorta capone style hat which may work with this hat.

or you can keep the crown height and do a diamond here. i find that big brims look better with less snap..flatter the better...up to a point.

this feels like turning in homework.

im getting better but i think the crease is too deep.
Its a Knox Fifteen with a six inch crown, if you have any other tips or critique ill be grateful.
thanks again.

 

[Midwest Boater]

Hutch i am hardly qualified to pass out advice but if i may say so it looks like you have a the same sort of problem i had to start with, ie. the crown looks to be to low especially the back. what dose it measure ? the thing is when i got my hat creased so the the "inner teardrop" dose not rise above the outer rim i was much happier with it. starting from scratch was well worth it i just popped up the top and used a round jelly jar and steam to get the first crease out of it. oh and try making the side dents longer i noticed most of the examples showed them going all the way to right over the top of the middle of the knot in the bow.