Here's the modern taper monster of hats

[Fedora]

I have been waiting on one of my pure beaver hats to need a reblock so I could show and tell what one can expect from this modern felt. Well, it arrived this week. I had already removed the ribbon in preparation for the strip down and cleaning prior to reblocking the hat and replacing the dirty parts. This hat exhibited taper, and according to the chap who owns it, this hat had been worn as an adventure hat. That is, in the dust, diverse temps and yes even the rain. The hat has been wet, but I did not ask how many times. I think it has been in several countries in his travels. Here is that hat, fresh out of the box, and you can see some taper in the hat. This hat started its life as a Last Crusade hat, and therefore I used a block that had built in taper, on the sides and front and back, as that block shape mimics the film hat the best. But, the block was not as tapered as you see here, in these first pics. Here she is. Certainly not the dunce hat some have called all modern felt that has tapered.

And another view from a different angle.

And then a side view. Notice that the original curl that I flanged into the back of the hat is still there, even after getting wet.

Now, in the few hats that I have received back for reblocks, almost everyone of those could have the crowns punched out, steamed and then re-creased back into style, and lose much of the taper. Why? Well, many times, especially when my hats get wet, the top crease in the crown tends to sink in and pull in the sides of the hat. Not that the felt actually shrunk and tapered, but the style job itself had morphed into a tapered look. So, I punched this one out, steamed it, and re-creased the hat, and as you can see, with a re-style job, the owner could have saved a reblock fee, at least at this point. But, this hat was dirty, especially the liner, and a clean and reblock was in order, most for the sake of the dirt. See if you can see how a simple steam and re-style job got rid of much of the taper.

Another angle.

And one more.

So here is the modern taper monster that we all fear and have heard much about.(and that included pure beaver felt, not just the cheap Hatco stuff) If a picture is worth a thousand words, this should be worthy of that statement. I don't think it lives up to the negetive hype normally associated with modern quality felt. But that is my opinion. You can draw your own conclusions. Fedora

 

[Kaleponi Craig]

That looks familiar...

Nice lid, Fedora, and I think I know who's it is.

I don't mind you saying whose hat it is. Yes, it's been to a few countries, including Peru and Mexico. It was on a four day hike over the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu and the weather there was quite diverse, to say the least. Freezing temps in the morning and hot and humid in the afternoons, with a bit of rain. It has been worn here in the US through many rainstorms. I didn't realize that it was supposed to have some taper and I didn't think it had all that much, but you know how us Indy nuts get with even a slightly tapered fedora.

I must say that the felt you use is wonderful. I have quite a few vintage lids, and none of them hold up to the elements as well as this one does.

So you're saying to those of us with just a slightly tapered crown, that all we have to do is just steam the bugger, punch out the crease and recrease it, with a slightly shallower crease? That seems simple enough!.

I guess now that you've cleaned it, I'll just have to go out and get it all dirty again...KC lol

 

[Fedora]

Nice lid, Fedora, and I think I know who's it is. So you're saying to those of us with just a slightly tapered crown, that all we have to do is just steam the bugger, punch out the crease and recrease it? That seems simple enough!...KC

Yes, 9 out 10 beaver hats that I get back, can be re-shaped to lessen the amount of taper.(or get rid of it completely) I recall one or two that actually needed a reblock, but both came from a run of felt that worked up differently when I made the hat. (if you work with the same felt all of the time, you can see and feel differences in the felt) I found out later that on rare occassions you might buy some bodies from a run that was not as good as other runs. That is the nature of the beast. Perhaps the bodies were made on a Monday by a guy with a hangover, and he forgot to run them through the felting machines the proper number of times, or perhaps he just did not turn the hat enough to insure proper felting. As with anything else, you can see variations, and the auto industry makes and sells lemons periodically. That too is the nature of production. With that said, the reblocks I have done have primarily looked like your hat above.(I was not gonna mention any names)

My point is, there are different causes of taper, and not all taper is due to shinkage. Wonder how many folks knew this? Fedora