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Advice about my hat

ninman

One of the Regulars
Messages
137
Location
UK
So I spent a little time just adjusting the bash on my hat to get it a little bit closer to looking like Indy's hat. The problem I've got is that while the right hand side of the hat looks pretty much perfect, the left hand side appears to have a very slight taper and this kind of "dome" shaped appearance. I've attached some photos so you can see it. Can anyone give me any advice about how to fix it so that the left hand side of the hat looks like the right hand side.

Cheers

20160522_165852_resized.jpg 20160522_165750_resized.jpg 20160522_165812_resized.jpg 20160522_165830_resized.jpg
 

moontheloon

I'll Lock Up
Messages
8,592
Location
NJ
my advice is to stop worrying about symmetry and just wear the thing

nothing less appealing to me in a hat than "perfect" shape and symmetry

to me the absolute best part of a hand crease is that it DOESN'T look like one of those damn blocked in creases

in the day they called it "nonchalance"

put it on your head and roll

it looks fantastic .... trust me
 

g.durand

One Too Many
Messages
1,896
Location
Down on the Bayou
It's easy to become obsessive about these things. I do, too. During a lifetime of making things (furniture, sculpture, paintings) the eye gets refined to seeing the smallest imperfection.
I came to realize I'm the only person who can see the flaws in what I make.

I'm with moon. Asymmetry is everywhere. No hat is perfect. To tell you the truth, I can't see much wrong with your hat from the photos.

Just wear it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

RJR

Messages
10,620
Location
Iowa
It's easy to become obsessive about these things. I do, too. During a lifetime of making things (furniture, sculpture, paintings) the eye gets refined to seeing the smallest imperfection.
I came to realize I'm the only person who can see the flaws in what I make.

I'm with moon. Asymmetry is everywhere. No hat is perfect. To tell you the truth, I can't see much wrong with your hat from the photos.

Just wear it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
+1
 

Asmo

One of the Regulars
Messages
116
Location
Kentucky
So I spent a little time just adjusting the bash on my hat to get it a little bit closer to looking like Indy's hat. The problem I've got is that while the right hand side of the hat looks pretty much perfect, the left hand side appears to have a very slight taper and this kind of "dome" shaped appearance. I've attached some photos so you can see it. Can anyone give me any advice about how to fix it so that the left hand side of the hat looks like the right hand side.
I honestly don't see it. It looks great to me. And yes, I agree with the others, a little asymmetry is expected. All of my hats are a little off if you look closely. Some of it is from my creasing it, but most comes from handling the hat.



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BJC88

New in Town
Messages
43
Location
Nope.
What John (bendingoak) said, lol.

Ninman: I would go with John's bashing tutorial video for the Raiders bash; however, different block shapes for fedoras will result in a different look. What hat do you have?
 

GHT

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,793
Location
New Forest
my advice is to stop worrying about symmetry and just wear the thing, nothing less appealing to me in a hat than "perfect" shape and symmetry, to me the absolute best part of a hand crease is that it DOESN'T look like one of those damn blocked in creases. in the day they called it "nonchalance" put it on your head and roll it looks fantastic .... trust me
Spoken with the assertion and confidence of a man who knows his hats. Well said Sir.
 

Asmo

One of the Regulars
Messages
116
Location
Kentucky
I guess I didn't realize the level of Indy-ness Ninman was going for, so in that case, go with what John (bendingoak) says. I don't know of anyone more knowledgeable of Indy's hats.


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tommyK

One Too Many
Messages
1,789
Location
Berwick, PA
It's easy to become obsessive about these things. I do, too. During a lifetime of making things (furniture, sculpture, paintings) the eye gets refined to seeing the smallest imperfection.
I came to realize I'm the only person who can see the flaws in what I make.

G, we have very similar backgrounds ( I've only dabbled in sculpting but work full time as an artist and still make furniture on the side) and have come to very similar hat conclusions
 

56FordGuy

One of the Regulars
Messages
145
Location
Wyoming
A well respected hatter once told me "a hat needs a few years of wear to really look right" and I tend to agree. My everyday hat is nowhere near symmetrical anymore, but I think it looks fine.

Of course, if you're going for an exact replica disregard that.
 

RJR

Messages
10,620
Location
Iowa
What John (bendingoak) said, lol.

Ninman: I would go with John's bashing tutorial video for the Raiders bash; however, different block shapes for fedoras will result in a different look. What hat do you have?
+1 You won't get better advice than from John,imo.
 

ninman

One of the Regulars
Messages
137
Location
UK
Hi guys,

I'm not going for sort of super 100% screen accurate. My hat is a David Morgan Akubra Adventurer, size 60. I just wanted it to look a bit squarer at the top. Btw, I have seen John Penman's video multiple times.

I'm really just using Indy's hat as a guide, but I really like the square look he gets. My hat on the bow side looks quite square, which is great, but on the side without the bow it looks a little too rounded. So I was just wondering if there was a way to square it up a bit more.

Thanks a lot for the compliments though, I really appreciate it.
 

moontheloon

I'll Lock Up
Messages
8,592
Location
NJ
Hi guys,

I'm not going for sort of super 100% screen accurate. My hat is a David Morgan Akubra Adventurer, size 60. I just wanted it to look a bit squarer at the top. Btw, I have seen John Penman's video multiple times.

I'm really just using Indy's hat as a guide, but I really like the square look he gets. My hat on the bow side looks quite square, which is great, but on the side without the bow it looks a little too rounded. So I was just wondering if there was a way to square it up a bit more.

Thanks a lot for the compliments though, I really appreciate it.


the squareness is mostly due to the block

there are shaping tricks that you learn with experience that can lend themselves to this appearance ... more difficult to achieve when using a center dent with a more tapered crown

but mostly it is the block ... as is the case with the Herbert Johnson Raiders hat
 
Last edited:

scottyrocks

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,178
Location
Isle of Langerhan, NY
Hi guys,

I'm not going for sort of super 100% screen accurate. My hat is a David Morgan Akubra Adventurer, size 60. I just wanted it to look a bit squarer at the top. Btw, I have seen John Penman's video multiple times.

I'm really just using Indy's hat as a guide, but I really like the square look he gets. My hat on the bow side looks quite square, which is great, but on the side without the bow it looks a little too rounded. So I was just wondering if there was a way to square it up a bit more.

Thanks a lot for the compliments though, I really appreciate it.

You can put a diamond bash in the side that is not as square. That'll straighten up the side a bit. Of course the top won't be symmetrical anymore.

I think I was kidding when I wrote that, but now I'm not so sure.
 

moontheloon

I'll Lock Up
Messages
8,592
Location
NJ
How do you do that?

a diamond crease will give a hat a more straight appearance ... a six point diamond and a teardrop can also have that affect ... where a center crease will leave the hats natural taper and sometimes give it even more taper

the Raiders hat has a center crease ... so if you want it accurate you will either have to live with the taper or get a hat blocked with a more straight high block

see this thread for some options in video form

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/monster-bash-videos-show-us-how-you-bash.85436/
 

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