Brim and sweatband not aligned

[DragonJade]

So, I got my Fed IV, put all the foam insert in all the way around to get a nice and snug fit, found the midpoint at the front, used a paperclip, bashed it. Happy.

Later, I was looking at it from above and noticed that the front crease of the bash was way to one side while the apex of the front of the brim was pointing in another. For a while I thought it was a bumpy head that was causing it, but then I turned it over and noticed that the front of the oval of the sweatband and the apex of the brim were off. The front crease was in the same direction as the sweatband's oval.

I though this was all an optical illusion, but I've taken the foam out, turned the hat over and over, around and around, in different angles of light, and I'm sure of it.

Not knowing what to do, I decided to stretch the sweatband area, and rounded the front of the oval a little bit for a better alignment with the brim. The crease was over 1" off to one side from where the crease would be if I'd followed the brim, now it's about 1/4".

I don't know if anyone else has experience this problem, and I haven't read about it anywhere else on the Lounge, so I though I'd document it here and let others comment.

Thanks.

 

[Richard Warren]

It is all too common that the crease points in a different direction than the band and the lining. One more reason to regret the loss of the open crown.

 

[David Conwill]

It is all too common that the crease points in a different direction than the band and the lining. One more reason to regret the loss of the open crown.

The Fed IV is an open-crown hat.

I wouldn't worry too hard about it. If you watch old films and study old photographs, lots of men have very irregular bashes on their hats and brims that bend every which way.

Wear the hat with confidence and I assure you nobody's going to point out that it doesn't look like it was stamped out by a machine.

Think of it like tying a tie. You don't want it to end up looking like a clip-on, do you?

-Dave

 

[Richard Warren]

Please excuse my ignorance. I did not and do not understand the post. I do agree that a little bit (or even a lot) of individuality/asymmetry in a hat is not at all a bad thing.

 

[johnnycanuck]

I got a sweet deal on a Akubra Snowy River a few years ago because the bow on the sweat band was way off from the shape of the hat. Shipped, it was less then $30. Nothing wrong with the hat as long as you ignored the bow.
Johnny

 

[scottyrocks]

I would put the hat on my head so that it sits the way it wants to sit, and squeeze in the front pinch while its on my head so thaId be sure its centered. Im not sure I understand the rest of the post. Open crown hats like the Fed IV are great for this very reason - you can shape them any way you like without someone else's work to undo.

 

[gtdean48]

I position a hat on my head based on the brim, not the sweatband. I align my front pinch for my crease of an open crown based on where my nose lines up under the brim. How the sweatband is sewn into a hat has nothing to do with wearing the hat. Sure, it is desireable that the little bow be in the back but I have hats where it is off to 1 side or the other, some drastic & others very little. The hat is blocked to the brim & crown shape & a sweatband is sewn in afterwards & can be off centered. You can take out the sweat, reposition it, & reattach it but nobody sees that when it is on your head. It really doesn't effect the comfort of the sweatband either, IMHO.

 

[majormoore]

The problem I have is due to my nose being broke so many times, even if the hat was dead on in line with the sweatband and crease in hat all in line it would look off center on me, so I have to crease my hats off center a little so the crown ( crease ) looks lined up with my nose, as Dean says he does also.


Push the crown open and put on your head and recrease to be in line with your nose, and you will be good to go.

Major Moore

 

[jimmy the lid]

The problem I have is due to my nose being broke so many times...I have to crease my hats off center a little so the crown ( crease ) looks lined up with my nose, as Dean says he does also.

Yes, but gtdean's need to do this is explained by his current avatar...

 

[majormoore]

He is drinking it like it was free!!!!!

Major Moore

Yes, but gtdean's need to do this is explained by his current avatar...

 

[RBH]

He is drinking it like it was free!!!!!

Major Moore

Damn.. thats good!!! lol

 

[CRH]

I've noticed that all my lids are a little crooked if you look at them too long.

My tan Whippet seems to be getting more and more cockeyed the more I wear it - you know handling, not landing it straight when donning it, etc.

I like to wear it when my knee hurts figuring the gimp will enhance the asymmetrical style of it all.

 

[scottyrocks]

The problem I have is due to my nose being broke so many times, even if the hat was dead on in line with the sweatband and crease in hat all in line it would look off center on me, so I have to crease my hats off center a little so the crown ( crease ) looks lined up with my nose, as Dean says he does also.


Push the crown open and put on your head and recrease to be in line with your nose, and you will be good to go.

Major Moore

Okay, maybe not your nose, but the space between your eyes instead. Its hard to break that so badly that its off-center.

 

[tonyb]

The Fed IV is an open-crown hat.

I wouldn't worry too hard about it. If you watch old films and study old photographs, lots of men have very irregular bashes on their hats and brims that bend every which way.

Wear the hat with confidence and I assure you nobody's going to point out that it doesn't look like it was stamped out by a machine.

Think of it like tying a tie. You don't want it to end up looking like a clip-on, do you?

-Dave

Yup, and yup.

A person may aim for perfect symmetry in a hat crease or a necktie knot, but he isn't likely to achieve it. And that's all to the good, I say. I don't much like stamped-in-at-the-factory crown creases. I accept it in straws, of course, seeing how you pretty much have to press the shape into the material, if you expect it to look right and to hold very well, but the variations in the weave, etc., still lend straw hats their own individuality. (I'm talking "real" straw hats here, not those paper things they sell by the carload at the Western wear shops and your lesser retail emporia from coast to coast.)

 

[gtdean48]

Yes, but gtdean's need to do this is explained by his current avatar...

Just pouring myself a soda pop, that's all!!!

 

[Dewhurst]

The two elements being frequently out of line is incredibly common. In the hats I have observed, both the modern and the "vintage", it remains common.

If it bothers you, you can get a replacement (bummer), modify it (which you did, and still a little bit of a bummer), return the hat (biggest bummer of all), or learn to live with it (a potential bummer, if you can't adjust).

Wow... that wasn't a very positive response. It is no big deal, and if you can live with it most everyone can as well.

In fact, there are many gentleman on many forums who actively wish for a "slightly turned" or "turned" crown, just as you describe.

Go figure.

 

[DragonJade]

I know with something that's hand made that things won't be 100% perfect. Right now, I'm much happier that it's only a little off compared to what it was before. At least any wonkiness in the hat will draw attention away from my wonky face.

 

[Dewhurst]

At least any wonkiness in the hat will draw attention away from my wonky face.

That's the spirit!