Long Oval Hat Stretcher

[Mahagonny Bill]

I've been looking through the archives, but I can't seem to find the specific answer I'm looking for.

I have always worn size 7 3/8 and 7 1/2 hats, but recently I picked up a true 7 1/2 Long Oval (thanks johnnyphi!) and it fit me better than any hat I have ever worn. Looks like I'm one of the Long Oval Unfortunates, who knew?

So, I'm thinking that it may be good to get a hat stretcher to mold my regular 7 3/8 and 7 1/2 hats to a long oval shape. Does anyone have a recommendation for a type and size of hat stretcher to use? Do I need to get a smaller size stretcher to get the Long Oval effect? How small?

 

[jkingrph]

I got a regular wooden model a few years ago, I think from Manhatten wardrobe supply. I closed it down then sanded the sides a bit and kept trying until it would go into a well fitting long oval hat(on my head) with a loose fit in the hat. It works well giving a fore/aft stretch and leaving the sides a bit more snug.

 

[randooch]

I'm a cheap ba***rd at times, so I made my own stretcher out of some scrap 8/4 maple I had. I used my table saw with a slightyly tilted blade to make two halves, sanded them down where they would contact the sweat, then rubbed body lotion into that wood surface. I drilled pilot holes for guide rods (20-penny nails relieved of their heads), then used a couple of basic metal straps as levers, a galvanized pipe coupling as a fulcrum, then clamped the top of the steel straps, above the fulcrum, to make the stretch. It worked beautifully.

Reading this now, though, I see that a picture would be more useful. My point is, because every head is different, you might want to get creative.

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

Yeah, sanding down the sides of one that is the right size for you would be good.

I'm a LO also and I put shoe horns in at each end to shim the shape around the stretcher into an oval.

 

[Mahagonny Bill]

Reading this now, though, I see that a picture would be more useful. My point is, because every head is different, you might want to get creative.

Unfourtunetly, I'm a city boy and do not have the skills or access to a wood shop to make my own. I might be able to buy a hat jack and sand down the sides, but that would be about the limit of my creativity.

There is a guy on eBay named "fatcharley" who appears to be selling homemade LO Hat Stretchers. Does anyone have experience with his products?

 

[HatMagnet]

Unfourtunetly, I'm a city boy and do not have the skills or access to a wood shop to make my own. I might be able to buy a hat jack and sand down the sides, but that would be about the limit of my creativity.

There is a guy on eBay named "fatcharley" who appears to be selling homemade LO Hat Stretchers. Does anyone have experience with his products?

I've been eying his stretchers myself. I'm a long oval also and I have a couple of hats that although they are the correct size are not LO's.

 

[Damon Falzone]

I bought a Long Oval Hat Stretcher on ebay for about $12.00, maybe a couple of years ago. It is specifically designed to stretch a hat for a long oval. Try a search. Something might turn up.

 

[Ande1964]

Long Oval Stretcher

I bought a stretcher billed as a "Long Oval Stretcher" a few years back. Turned out to be something of a scam. It had the exact same shape as my other stretcher.

I did modify it, though, and it's useful now. I simply used a bandsaw to take a little width off the blocks.

Of course, the best way to go is a whole hat stretcher, like I built.

Anj

 

[Nolan]

Could you post a link?

There is a guy on eBay named "fatcharley" who appears to be selling homemade LO Hat Stretchers. Does anyone have experience with his products?

 

[TopGumby]

Longify? Exactly. I think the goal here is to increase the distance fore and aft without increasing the distance abeam.

BTW, is it common for your noggin to get bigger as you get older (and I mean in a physical way)?

 

[Lefty]

How would long oval stretcher be different than a normal stretcher? They all just stretch in one dimension. Any stretcher tends to "longify" the hat.

most, not all

 

[carouselvic]

I own a 4-way and I like it very much. I also own a Hallett LO type stretcher. The Hallett will take the tight off of a hat, but I do not like it for stretching a full size. Just MHO

 

[Doctor Strange]

BTW, is it common for your noggin to get bigger as you get older (and I mean in a physical way)?

I think so, at least for some of us. I've been a hat guy my whole life, and:

In my teens, I was a 6-7/8.
In early adulthood, a 7.
By my late-forties, a 7-1/8.

 

[Mahagonny Bill]

Could you post a link?

I don't want to violate the rules for posting to live eBay auctions, but if you go the eBay's "Advanced search" and Search "by seller" for fatcharley you'll be able to find his auctions.

 

[thefedorastore]

Exactly Right

How would long oval stretcher be different than a normal stretcher? They all just stretch in one dimension. Any stretcher tends to "longify" the hat.

Exactly right. Order a large stretcher so the shape is like your size, then as you stretch the hat it will stretch in the back and front, making your hat more oval. In general, ordering a stretcher a bit smaller than your head size will give you the long oval when you stretch a hat. However, please not that you shouldn't be stretching any hat more than 1/8, or you will start to experience some brim distortion.

Duane