Metal in Akubra sweat

[HamletJSD]

Anyone have experience ripping these out? Is there a negative consequence I'm not foreseeing?
My Fed was seriously crumpled and now it sits very oddly against my head due to ripples caused by that bent up piece of metal. Can I just yank it?

 

[Marcus Brody]

Yeah, you can pull them right out without too much consequence. Although the hat might fit a bit differently (probably looser) after you do so. If you really wanted too, I think you could probably just pull it out and unbend the wire, and then try putting it back in though.

 

[jimmy the lid]

You've got to be kidding me. Metal in the Fed sweat? [huh] Why in the world would Akubra do this?

Cheers,
JtL

 

[UWS Cowboy]

Anyone have experience ripping these out? Is there a negative consequence I'm not foreseeing?
My Fed was seriously crumpled and now it sits very oddly against my head due to ripples caused by that bent up piece of metal. Can I just yank it?

Where is the metal? I'd like to take mine out as well especially if it makes the hat looser. Over the past week my hat began to feel a lot tighter.

 

[Dinerman]

Its the reeding in the sweatband. It's possible that it might weaken the reed tape without it, but that's just speculation. If it doesn't fit because of it, pull it out. You should be able to access it by making a cut at the back seam of the sweatband.

 

[Akubra Man]

I have removed the wire from the Akubras that I own after following the directions posted here on the forum. The result is that they all fit more comfortably and tend not shrink after wearing as they had in the past. Two of my six Akubras needed to be worn into shape again but that was quickly done and now all fit me perfectly. In fact I have a Stetson western that was a long oval and I am not so it fit uncomfortably. After pulling out the wire the hat lost its long oval shape and now fits very comfortably.

You can access the wire by slightly pulling apart the sweat band at the back of the hat where the two ends join right behind the small bow that covers the join. I used a pair of small wire cutters to grasp the wire and pull it out after exposing it.

Run a search for past threads for excellent instructions on how to do it.

 

[rgraham]

Great news, and now both my Akus no longer have the wire.

Although it is a thin wire, it does retain it's springy memory quite well. It is probably easier to install the band with it in, but it's more comfortable with it out.

 

[bendingoak]

The wire in the reed tape is there for the sweatband to bell out to stay firm against the felt. Most use a plastic but for some reason akubra uses wire. Why do you feel the need to remove it?

 

[rgraham]

The wire in the reed tape is there for the sweatband to bell out to stay firm against the felt. Most use a plastic but for some reason akubra uses wire. Why do you feel the need to remove it?

In my case, the hat is the correct size, but my head shape is more long oval than the hat. I didn't realize you could order them long oval at the time. The wire was keeping me from being able to change that.

My head seems to do a decent job of keeping the hat band from bowing out. It feels much better now than with it. I've ordered my next hats from them in long oval, and we'll see how they feel out of the box.

 

[warbird]

Akubras have come with that wire for as far back as I can recall, it is nothing new. I likewise always take mine out. It more quickly assumes my LO shape and especially makes a new hat more comfortable from the start without pressure on the front.

It is the first thing I do. I have never had any ill effect from doing so, as my Akubras last and last. The hat also softens up quicker as I like to beat them up a bit. There are posts from years back here on how to do it properly, but it is pretty simple.

I seem to recall that some Akubras are some metal wire and some plastic, but I might be recalling another maker. Either way, no big deal.

 

[BlindeMan]

A week ago the end of the wire popped out of the sweatband in my Federation IV. I just put it back without a second thought - though it did answer the question of why my hat set off the metal detector at the airport last summer.

Taking out the wire shouldn't make the hat any looser as the two ends of the wire are not attached to one another. All the wire should do (in cases where it isn't oddly warped) is help keep the oval shape of the sweatband.

 

[HamletJSD]

The wire in the reed tape is there for the sweatband to bell out to stay firm against the felt. Most use a plastic but for some reason akubra uses wire. Why do you feel the need to remove it?

If I had before and after pics you'd see why. I could tell immediately upon pulling it that it helped keep the bell shape at the bottom, but with the tangled mess I had it's better removed.