Ask a question, get an answer

[Hat Masterson]

Man, I love that Stetsonian. And now I can see what a great color that is. Sweet.

 

[Lean'n'mean]

I got home tonight with some daylight, so was able to take a decent shot. L-R: Modern Caribou Strat, vintage Strat in a darker Gray, Dobbs Hanover Square in Gray (a couple shades lighter than battleship), and the Light Gray modern Stetsonian. The hat to the back left is a vintage Stetsonian in a light blue/grey.

Sent directly from my mind to yours.

" It's gray, Jim....but not as we know it."

 

[Rmccamey]

What is the technical difference between an Oval and a Long Oval? I have two Stetson Rancher's, one in each size, and I can't tell a bit of difference between them (on or off my head).

 

[Frunobulax]

What is the technical difference between an Oval and a Long Oval? I have two Stetson Rancher's, one in each size, and I can't tell a bit of difference between them (on or off my head).

Same circumference, different block shape. There are also wide ovals. And XL ovals. I think the variation in the ratios could differ depending on the manufacturer.

Frankly, I think soft felts, like dress fedoras, have a tendency to eventually conform to our heads with wear anyway.

Sent directly from my mind to yours.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Same circumference, different block shape. There are also wide ovals. And XL ovals. I think the variation in the ratios could differ depending on the manufacturer.

Frankly, I think soft felts, like dress fedoras, have a tendency to eventually conform to our heads with wear anyway.

Sent directly from my mind to yours.

Just so. I’m a 7 5/8 extra long oval and most any dress weight hat in 7 5/8 will fit and after a few wears it will mold to me to become “my oval.” In stiff western hats I’m a 7 3/4 and even then some are too tight because they can’t conform due to the stiff felt. Owning a block is a huge help when you have an atypical head shape.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[bobm]

Just so. I’m a 7 5/8 extra long oval and most any dress weight hat in 7 5/8 will fit and after a few wears it will mold to me to become “my oval.” In stiff western hats I’m a 7 3/4 and even then some are too tight because they can’t conform due to the stiff felt. Owning a block is a huge help when you have an atypical head shape.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Similar here, the few stiff/and/or Western hats can be a little tight in certain areas around my head. I also seem to be in the in between area of 60 and 61 and oval. I did use the Hat-stretcher gizmo which does help out a little as well as actually wearing them. The soft felts fit perfectly. Other than getting your own block, what can you do?

 

[bobm]

There is no such thing as a stupid question except the one that isn't asked. With that in mind, here's my almost-stupid question: How do you guys wear hats and not have them ruin your hair when you remove them? For the record, I have very fine hair, and when I doff my hat, the part is ruined and I look quite unkempt. Hair spray isn't the answer (and can have deleterious effects on hats, anyway) and I'm way beyond the Brylcreem stage.

I've take to carrying a comb in my back pocket, but I'm not usually near a mirror when I take my hat off, so any fixing is either by guess or by golly.

Hat hair - that is one of my biggest issues with wearing hats. Unless you have extremely short hair, wearing a hat will almost always affect how your hair looks and never for the better. I was at a BBQ at a friend's house in August and wore my panama straw hat - as well as for sun protection as for looks, but when I took off my hat, my hair was pretty well soaked and disheveled looking. Solution - took a hose, wet my hair, dried it with a towel and re-combed it.

 

[Dm101]

Hello,

I'm a new member here, and new to dress hats. Formerly wore a Boonie daily for work for over 10 years. I bought a Bolero hat, but it doesn't sit on my head the way I prefer. I would like for it to sit flat, but because of how small the hole is...and the shape of my head....it only sits on my head angled back. I have temporarily shaped it with steam to have sun protection over my eyes and I have ordered a hat-jack to stretch the hole out so I can get my head in it properly,
However...It just doesn't line up with my expectations with it sitting the way it is when the actual look I'm shooting for is "Caleb" from Blood-II. So...I'm wearing my older hat until the proper tools arrive to open the hole and trim the brim down to 3.75"

My question is this:

Can I bash the 4" Flat top down into a 3.50"-3.75" Telescope style safely?

I've attached grumpy photos of myself in the hat and also a picture of the way I want the hat to sit on my head like Calebs does.

Thanks in advance,
DMinMD

 

[belfastboy]

This is speculation on my part but you should not have a problem lowering the crown the 1/4 to 1/2" you want. Use a distilled water spray and steam and easing it down should be okay unless it is cheap felt with lots of stiffener in it. If that is the case the original bash may leave creases in the felt. A word of caution on using the hat jack/stretcher. Do it incrementally rather than reefing on the hat jack all at once or you risk distorting the crown and/or leaving visible stretch marks the width of the hat jack. (I know this from experience!! especially with stiffer western weight hats)

 

[Cornshucker77]

I got home tonight with some daylight, so was able to take a decent shot. L-R: Modern Caribou Strat, vintage Strat in a darker Gray, Dobbs Hanover Square in Gray (a couple shades lighter than battleship), and the Light Gray modern Stetsonian. The hat to the back left is a vintage Stetsonian in a light blue/grey.

Sent directly from my mind to yours.

Some of the best hats in the Lounge Jim.

 

[jlee562]

Hello,

I'm a new member here, and new to dress hats. Formerly wore a Boonie daily for work for over 10 years. I bought a Bolero hat, but it doesn't sit on my head the way I prefer. I would like for it to sit flat, but because of how small the hole is...and the shape of my head....it only sits on my head angled back. I have temporarily shaped it with steam to have sun protection over my eyes and I have ordered a hat-jack to stretch the hole out so I can get my head in it properly,
However...It just doesn't line up with my expectations with it sitting the way it is when the actual look I'm shooting for is "Caleb" from Blood-II. So...I'm wearing my older hat until the proper tools arrive to open the hole and trim the brim down to 3.75"

My question is this:

Can I bash the 4" Flat top down into a 3.50"-3.75" Telescope style safely?

I've attached grumpy photos of myself in the hat and also a picture of the way I want the hat to sit on my head like Calebs does.

Thanks in advance,
DMinMD

Hi DM,

What material is your hat made of?

You will probably have a tough time re-shaping a wool felt hat, which are shaped with pressure and steam. Not impossible per se, but wool is harder to work with than fur felt.

Do you have a picture of the top of the crown you are trying to modify? It seems possible, but a few caveats: if your hat came pre-creased it may be difficult to completely undo the original shape; lowering a relatively low crowned hat is not going to give you a whole lot of material to work with to pop the dome out; finally, I don't think you need to lower it to suit your frame.

 

[Dm101]

Hi DM,

What material is your hat made of?

You will probably have a tough time re-shaping a wool felt hat, which are shaped with pressure and steam. Not impossible per se, but wool is harder to work with than fur felt.

Do you have a picture of the top of the crown you are trying to modify? It seems possible, but a few caveats: if your hat came pre-creased it may be difficult to completely undo the original shape; lowering a relatively low crowned hat is not going to give you a whole lot of material to work with to pop the dome out; finally, I don't think you need to lower it to suit your frame.

Thank you!!
The hat is 100% wool felt and after doing more research I definitely paid too much for it. $120 with delivery from a Baltimore, Md hat shop.
It's a "Flat-Top" crown, standard Bolero style and there are no creases thankfully.
It's a 4" crown and I would not mind keeping it flat if lowering it to a 3.75 or 3.50 telescope crown isn't possible. Thank you for the advice and help!
I will definitely be investing in a Fur-Felt hat should this venture not work out the way I hoped.
I'll go to a real hat shop and get fitted properly with all of my desires attended to instead of selecting one out of a catalog.
*smack forehead*

This is speculation on my part but you should not have a problem lowering the crown the 1/4 to 1/2" you want. Use a distilled water spray and steam and easing it down should be okay unless it is cheap felt with lots of stiffener in it. If that is the case the original bash may leave creases in the felt. A word of caution on using the hat jack/stretcher. Do it incrementally rather than reefing on the hat jack all at once or you risk distorting the crown and/or leaving visible stretch marks the width of the hat jack. (I know this from experience!! especially with stiffer western weight hats)

Awesome! I didn't know about the "Distilled Water Spray" method. I used steam on it to shape it and stretch the head-hole already. Once the Hat-Jack comes in, I will slowly size it up over a few days and nights to fit my head. I got measured at 7 1/2 for this particular hat but I think I actually needed it a little bigger. I should have bought the next size up just like with being fitted for my boonies. Stupid me...
The thing with this hat is that the crown is slightly cone shaped so I will have to ride the Hat-Jack up into the crown to stretch it to a uniform straight-sided crown.
If I fail at this it'll be $120 down the drain and a costly mistake...but I'll buy the next hat correctly.
*smack forehead*

Thank you for the advice and help!

 

[Frunobulax]

Some of the best hats in the Lounge Jim.

Thank you and others for the compliments!

Sent directly from my mind to yours.

 

[belfastboy]

Thank you!!
The hat is 100% wool felt and after doing more research I definitely paid too much for it. $120 with delivery from a Baltimore, Md hat shop.
It's a "Flat-Top" crown, standard Bolero style and there are no creases thankfully.
It's a 4" crown and I would not mind keeping it flat if lowering it to a 3.75 or 3.50 telescope crown isn't possible. Thank you for the advice and help!
I will definitely be investing in a Fur-Felt hat should this venture not work out the way I hoped.
I'll go to a real hat shop and get fitted properly with all of my desires attended to instead of selecting one out of a catalog.
*smack forehead*



Awesome! I didn't know about the "Distilled Water Spray" method. I used steam on it to shape it and stretch the head-hole already. Once the Hat-Jack comes in, I will slowly size it up over a few days and nights to fit my head. I got measured at 7 1/2 for this particular hat but I think I actually needed it a little bigger. I should have bought the next size up just like with being fitted for my boonies. Stupid me...
The thing with this hat is that the crown is slightly cone shaped so I will have to ride the Hat-Jack up into the crown to stretch it to a uniform straight-sided crown.
If I fail at this it'll be $120 down the drain and a costly mistake...but I'll buy the next hat correctly.
*smack forehead*

Thank you for the advice and help!

Something to consider; a custom hat can be had for about the same price as a decent "off the shelf" hat. If you go custom you can get it exactly as you want and it will be far better in workmanship, and material quality than most if not all mass produced hats out there. $120 for a wool hat is on the pricey side. BUT if that is the only "mistake" that you make in your hat journey consider yourself to have dodged much more expensive bullets. I consider my "mistakes" as just the cost of learning what I like, what works, what looks good etc and if a few extra $$$ are shed along the learning curve so be it.

 

[Rmccamey]

It might be worth your while to check out some of the custom makers (like Gannon and Phoenix) that we often talk about here in the Lounge and get a custom, high quality hat. For around $300, you can get one of the best hats ever made.

Thank you!!
The hat is 100% wool felt and after doing more research I definitely paid too much for it. $120 with delivery from a Baltimore, Md hat shop.
It's a "Flat-Top" crown, standard Bolero style and there are no creases thankfully.
It's a 4" crown and I would not mind keeping it flat if lowering it to a 3.75 or 3.50 telescope crown isn't possible. Thank you for the advice and help!
I will definitely be investing in a Fur-Felt hat should this venture not work out the way I hoped.
I'll go to a real hat shop and get fitted properly with all of my desires attended to instead of selecting one out of a catalog.
*smack forehead*



Awesome! I didn't know about the "Distilled Water Spray" method. I used steam on it to shape it and stretch the head-hole already. Once the Hat-Jack comes in, I will slowly size it up over a few days and nights to fit my head. I got measured at 7 1/2 for this particular hat but I think I actually needed it a little bigger. I should have bought the next size up just like with being fitted for my boonies. Stupid me...
The thing with this hat is that the crown is slightly cone shaped so I will have to ride the Hat-Jack up into the crown to stretch it to a uniform straight-sided crown.
If I fail at this it'll be $120 down the drain and a costly mistake...but I'll buy the next hat correctly.
*smack forehead*

Thank you for the advice and help!

 

[Dm101]

Something to consider; a custom hat can be had for about the same price as a decent "off the shelf" hat. If you go custom you can get it exactly as you want and it will be far better in workmanship, and material quality than most if not all mass produced hats out there. $120 for a wool hat is on the pricey side. BUT if that is the only "mistake" that you make in your hat journey consider yourself to have dodged much more expensive bullets. I consider my "mistakes" as just the cost of learning what I like, what works, what looks good etc and if a few extra $$$ are shed along the learning curve so be it.

Thank you for the encouragement, I call it a mistake because I was impatient.
There is a kindly older woman named Ms Haber in Silver Spring, Md that runs a hattery (Hats by Haber) that is known in this area for great hats. She couldn't get to me due to personal scheduling issues. My impatient behind decided to run waaaaaaaaaaay up to Baltimore and go to Main Street Hats instead. They took my money, ordered something that wasn't what I really wanted out of a catalog and now I'm here...and regretting it. I've considered selling the hat and taking the earnings and just buying an Amazon.com gambler hat instead as it's closer to what I am desiring. And their return policy would allow for me to mess up the sizing multiple times without being out of a hat completely.
Or...I could just go to Ms Haber and get it done right.
*sigh*
I didn't know it would be this protracted and difficult of a process...but most things that are worth it...are.

 

[belfastboy]

Thank you for the encouragement, I call it a mistake because I was impatient.
There is a kindly older woman named Ms Haber in Silver Spring, Md that runs a hattery (Hats by Haber) that is known in this area for great hats. She couldn't get to me due to personal scheduling issues. My impatient behind decided to run waaaaaaaaaaay up to Baltimore and go to Main Street Hats instead. They took my money, ordered something that wasn't what I really wanted out of a catalog and now I'm here...and regretting it. I've considered selling the hat and taking the earnings and just buying an Amazon.com gambler hat instead as it's closer to what I am desiring. And their return policy would allow for me to mess up the sizing multiple times without being out of a hat completely.
Or...I could just go to Ms Haber and get it done right.
*sigh*
I didn't know it would be this protracted and difficult of a process...but most things that are worth it...are.

My 5 cents worth.....enjoy the journey, that's really all there is. Good hunting! PS check out Akubra hats. They offer a low crown flat brim that might work for you. Hats Direct or Everything Australian are good sources.

 

[Dm101]

My 5 cents worth.....enjoy the journey, that's really all there is. Good hunting! PS check out Akubra hats. They offer a low crown flat brim that might work for you. Hats Direct or Everything Australian are good sources.

Copy that!
Akubra DOES have some nice selections...and not too expensive that the wife will yell either!!
THANKS!!

 

[Dm101]

It might be worth your while to check out some of the custom makers (like Gannon and Phoenix) that we often talk about here in the Lounge and get a custom, high quality hat. For around $300, you can get one of the best hats ever made.

Whoowee...that's expensive!
The wife got "Concerned" over $120 for this hat that STILL has to be modified a ton if it's going to fit. I know there's no way she will go for me buying a hat that costs the price of a good overcoat..


And also if they're not local, I'm not buying it for that much. I want them to slap the fur-felt over my head and block it with my blockhead when they make it...lol.

 

[Rmccamey]

While I understand your wife's concerns, Dm101, if you burn another $120 on a "slap your head" deal, you will have spent almost that much with little to show for it. Michael Gannon will make you a custom...CUSTOM...rabbit fur felt for $200 and a pure beaver for $275. And if you ask, you will have dozens upon dozens of positive referrals and recommendations by others here on the Lounge. Rick at Phoenix Hats has comparable offerings and prices.

Please understand that I am not trying to dictate anything to you, merely offering suggestions from a "been there, done that" point of view. I could have saved myself hundreds of $$$ and lots of frustration had I been more serious about a custom from the start. If you only see yourself having a few hats, it might make sense to get a custom hat fit to your exact specifications for less than the cost of a new off-the-rack hat (ps, a mid-level Stetson Premier Stratoliner will run you about $235 mail order).

Many loungers also offer some great hats in the classifieds as well. Deadlyhandsome has/had a vintage Knox Twenty for $90 I believe.

Welcome to the Lounge.

https://gannonhatcompany.com/pages/custom-hats

Whoowee...that's expensive!
The wife got "Concerned" over $120 for this hat that STILL has to be modified a ton if it's going to fit. I know there's no way she will go for me buying a hat that costs the price of a good overcoat..


And also if they're not local, I'm not buying it for that much. I want them to slap the fur-felt over my head and block it with my blockhead when they make it...lol.