Brim Problem...

[Lorne]

Hello All, I got myself an early birthday present (that’s what I told the wife anyway...), and here it is...

Please, hold your "Ooh's and Ahh's" long enough to answer a question for me.

I'm not a fan of a Homburg brim, and I'd like to convert this hat to a regular snap brim fedora. The edge his held by the gray ribbon you can see around the brim.

Can I remove the ribbon and steam iron the edge down and get a decent result, or should I send this hat out? By the way, the color isn't faded under the band, so I don't think it would be faded under the brim binding.

Looking forward to your opinions...


Lorne D. Gilsig

 

[Brad Bowers]

Looking forward to your opinions...

I hope so, because you'll get some that you probably won't like...

Sell it and keep looking for one that you really want. That's too nice of a Homburg to be butchered.

Sorry, but I just had to say it.

Brad

 

[carter]

Lorne,

I suggest sending it to one of the hatters who are members of the Lounge. Both Art Fawcett and Jimmy Pierce do this at a reasonable price.

I see Brad's point regarding making a drastic change to a vintage Homburg.

But...It's your hat and the decision is yours to make.

 

[Feraud]

I echo Brad's words.. sell the homburg and buy a fedora.

 

[Tango Yankee]

Lorne,

I tend to go with Brad on this one as well, but that is one sweet-looking hat! I really like the dents you've put in. The brim itself already looks to me a bit flatter than the average homburg. Why not give it a try for a while as is? It may grow on you.

Perhaps a photo of yourself in it may help.

Cheers,
Tom

 

[Stoney]

Lorne,

As Carter said above it's your decision to do so. However, you may think about posting it in the classifieds as a trade for a similar fedora. Someone may take you up on that as it looks to be a very nice Knox homburg. They made some pretty good hats and I'm sure that someone on the lounge would really like to have that one just as it is. Maybe enough to trade a Whippet or something similar.

If the hat has been in the sun very much the felt under that ribbon is probably darker than the rest as well. If you remove the binding you may have to trim the brim much shorter to make it look right.

 

[tonyb]

Lorne, man, whatever you do, do it only after careful, lengthy consideration. That hat survives in fine condition after what has to be at least half a century, and perhaps even decades more than that. You'll kick yourself hard if you do anything rash that results in damage to it.

It's not that your homburg couldn't be quite successfully converted to a fedora, but doing it properly would require a reflange of the brim. And that would require the proper flange, of course, as well as the skill to use it properly. So it ought to go off to a professional. We're getting into time and money now. But I'm certain the hat is worth it.

You COULD do it yourself, but again, do your homework first. And then do some more. The only practical advice I can offer is NOT to apply an iron directly to the brim. Put a white towel between the iron and the felt. And know that the edge ribbon could conceivably be damaged by too much heat and pressure.

 

[thunderw21]

Hey Lorne,
That is one nice hat you got there.
Like the others, I believe you should keep it as is. They have given good reasons as to why so I will not repeat them.

However, like you, I was not too fond of the homburg pencil curl brim. But then I got a homburg and it grew on me. I'm still not a huge fan of it but I've come to recognize that there is a time and place for it.
Give it a chance as it is, let it grow on you and if you still don't like it (if you ask me) you should sell it. But as Carter said, it's your hat...

Good luck with that fine hat!

 

[Tango Yankee]

Don't know how you Ebay Sharks missed this one, but I GOT IT! Its a 7 1/2 too!

Ah... that post from the New Hats thread clears things up a bit. A Superfine Knox at what was likely a bargain price for it's size due to it being a homburg. I can see that it would be worth it to you to convert it to a snap-brim.

Well, a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. If you feel you've gotta convert it, that nice a hat deserves the extra investment of sending it to a hatter to be done right.

Regards,
Tom

 

[feltfan]

This has come up before... and I'm with Brad.

I think one of the best points was, if I
remember correctly, made by Baron Kurtz:
the conversions never quite look right.

Why not buy a fedora? Having the conversion
done professionally might cost you as much as
an eBay fedora anyway.

It's a really sharp homburg. Since it's a 7 1/2,
I might have a fedora to trade, if you're interested.

 

[scotrace]

If you want a fedora, buy one, and sell that one on to someone who wants a Homburg.

It'll never look right anyway. A Homburg is different in construction as well as block.

 

[epic610]

you have a beautiful hat...

trying to change its style would be tantamount to infantide . . . and the result would be less than pleasing as well. give it a good home and get a nice fedora....there are tons of them available, new as well as vintage.

 

[ideaguy]

I'm completely with Tom on this one. Knox hats are nothing to sneeze at, nor are they just an old hat, not a big name, ergo why not experiment? Please look at the experiments that have been done, and take advantage of the advice of the Master Hatters we have fortunate enough to give same.
Why not ask Art Fawcett, or Graham at Optimo, or one of several others their Professional opinion; go to the hoi-polloi (that's us, fellas) for the general feelings about things, and when it comes to real technical questions- go to the men who make a living at doing what you're thinking about.
Long and windy, could've stayed with I agree with Tom, and I thought the rest worthy of mention. So, pardon my wind.

 

[ideaguy]

a P.S. yeah, OH NO... just espied a grey hat in the leaning tower of Fedoras; pulled it out, happened to be an old Knox Superfine classic Fedora block,same liner as yours.
What a nice hat!!! I'm trying to sell most of my collection of hats, begrudgingly, and that one's not for sale. Not because it's a fabulous, one of a kind, etc, etc, but it's great old hat, irreplaceable. Take that for what it's worth, and good luck.

 

[tonyb]

While I'd still be inclined to leave that hat as is, if it were mine, I'll add this ...

It seems to me that a homburg and a fedora start out life pretty much the same. Sure, there is a wider variety of styles that fit under the general heading of "fedora." Hats of widely divergent ribbon widths and brim and crown shapes and sizes all fall into the category, while homburgs are a more-like-one-another lot. (I have yet to see a narrow-ribboned homburg, for instance, and just thinking about it makes me glad I haven't.) But they are all made (or can be made, anyway) of essentially the same stuff.

I make no claims to real expertise here, but I have owned a slew of hats over the decades and recently I have taken apart a few lids and put 'em back together again after cleaning and blocking and flanging and whatnot, and I see no reason why a homburg such as the one in question here couldn't make a fine-looking fedora. It's a felt hat body with a leather sweatband, a liner, a wide grosgrain ribbon and a bound edge. Sounds a lot like a bunch of fedoras we've all seen, no? In the hands of a skilled craftsman with the proper equipment, well, why not? I ain't saying it would be cheap, but I'm confident it can be done.

But I'd still be inclined not to. Like those other guys said, Lorne, there's a chance it'll grow on you. Sure, fedoras seem more "dashing," but sometimes a homburg is just the ticket.