Did I ruin my hat?

[ManofKent]

Interesting Christy's are still considered "Made in Britain"... course, by law, that's broad enough to include "assembled", which the the best of my knowledge is what Christy's are now. I'm sure a lot of folks get great pleasure from "buying local".... personally, I'll buy from whereever does me the best product at the best price. Never had a problem like this with any of my Akubras. [huh]

I believe the fur-felt cones come from Southern Europe (I think the last fur-felt bodies made in the UK finished production in the 80's). I believe the hats are otherwise made in the UK. Their bowlers are still among the best production bowlers, and I like their caps, but I've given up on their soft felt hats. The UK hat industry is in a woeful state - Olney still produce nice straw boaters, but like most UK hat brands appear to use re-branded Tonaks for their felts. For modern production hats I'm sticking to Akubra - the quality is solid rather than exceptional, but good enough and reliably good enough. For anything better/different I'm going custom - the price isn't that much more from some of the hatters...

 

[Fed in a Fedora]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWmSqXwOfTEhttp://www.felthats.com/hats_info/making_felt.php

I steamed both sides, and no there were no instructions with the hat. Although the side that is tilted probably got a bit more steam than the straight side because it didn't seem to take the shape as well.

I was preparing a case that what you did is not only common practice, but even somewhat supported by their sales literature. Assuming that you were at all reasonable in your steaming, the fact that the hat body reacted in a lopsided manner to steam seems to be a production flaw rather than an abuse issue. The fibers so not seem to be balanced in the body.

(Can any hat making gurus help explain the concept of clumping vs settling of hat body fibers during the vacuum felting process better than I can?)

In trying to flesh this out, I found the following text info:

http://www.felthats.com/hats_info/making_felt.php

Which is partly on point. If nothing else, it was interesting.

While not quite on point, I enjoyed the following video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zU6wfwTOAG4

This is a bit closer and covers the heat issue a bit and gives guidance on the general topic while showing a good product.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWmSqXwOfTE

I suggest that you take some time to review comments from owners of various hats before selecting a replacement. I would bet that you rapidly discover an answer involving product satisfaction and value.

Fed

 

[Mr.Astor]

We're talking about a $150.00 hat! If it was pre creased to your acceptance and it fit your head, then you decided to change it, You could have a problem! At this price it could be at very bottom of the Christy line! Could be all wool that would account for the problem! Go into the store and don't be to vocal but position yourself in between some customer's and slightly raise your concern's and see what you get! Either you'll get thrown out or a discount against another purchase! NOW BUY A NICE HAT!
And we can all sign off on this thread!!!

 

[Fed in a Fedora]

We're talking about a $150.00 hat! If it was pre creased to your acceptance and it fit your head, then you decided to change it, You could have a problem! At this price it could be at very bottom of the Christy line! Could be all wool that would account for the problem! Go into the store and don't be to vocal but position yourself in between some customer's and slightly raise your concern's and see what you get! Either you'll get thrown out or a discount against another purchase! NOW BUY A NICE HAT!
And we can all sign off on this thread!!!

From the first line, "So I bought a new open crown Fedora"

But there is value in the thread in that the Christy's do not appear to be holding up to what even they suggest as a method of shaping.

From there, I agree with your comment regarding a good hat.

Which would you suggest?

Fed

 

[ninman]

From the first line, "So I bought a new open crown Fedora"

But there is value in the thread in that the Christy's do not appear to be holding up to what even they suggest as a method of shaping.

From there, I agree with your comment regarding a good hat.

Which would you suggest?

Fed

I thought that spending £80+ on a hat was already a lot of money. Their wool hats are about half of that. I already have a Christys' Knightsbridge Fedora, and I think it's a very nice hat. I'm not a hat snob, so I've no idea what the difference is between a hat that costs £80, and one that's 2-3 times that amount.

 

[jlee562]

A better quality hat wouldn't have tapered like that....or it would have taken a lot more steam to do so. The Indiana Jones hat folks theorize that the Christy's hats are dry blocked, making them especially susceptible to moisture.

 

[cybergentleman]

My Christys adventurer experienced a similar outcome- not nearly as drastic. I suggest starting over- my limited experience suggests buying an oversized hat and padding down; as the hat conforms to your head circumference, any stress laterally to the crown will induce some tapering (as it is stretched).

It's a shame too- the christy's felt was very soft; I debated buying another christys but 2 -3 sizes larger, padding it down and using the extra crown width as collateral against future tapering by putting in a c-crown....I opted for an akubra campdraft with a medium ribbon down by Buckaroo hatters- happy decision.

So I bought a new open crown Fedora about a week ago, and used a bit of steam to try and shape it. Unfortunately, I didn't realise that you should hold it a bit away from the kettle, and that too much steam can mess it up. So now my hat is shaped like this |\, i.e. the left side is tapered and the right side is straight. It's a Christys' adventurer, and I'm wondering if it's possible to fix it so that it's shaped like this || again. Thanks a lot.