My first "real" fedora

[carebear]

My first fedora was a black Scala fedora. My second, one of the Indy fur felts. (I knew no better )

I just got in my carbon grey Akubra Federation. I haven't bashed it yet and I did send this question back to Ron but I thought someone on here might have an idea what to do about my problem a little faster.

My head is shaped funny.

Ron got me a 58, long oval, just what I asked for. It fits front and back just fine, firm but not too tight.

But, I can fit a finger on each side between my temple and the sweat simultaneously. The gap begins behind my ear and goes up to the edge of my forehead. If I shake my head, because the sweat is in contact only front and back, it can kinda tip.

That being the case, I believe my head is a "really long oval".

When I pull gently on the brim (to simulate a narrower oval) the brim on the sides of course gets wonky, which leads me to believe that steaming the hell out of it and letting it dry on my head won't really be a fix.

If I go down a size, I think the same "pulling" effect will happen AND I'll get headaches.

Am I stuck buying custom for my weird narrow head in the future?

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

I think, from my limited experience, that felt and leather do "give" a little over time, especially given the warmth and moisture of the scalp. Or, you can get a hat that fits front to back and then stuff the sides a bit.

Then again, you have the perfect excuse to get an Art Fawcett custom.

 

[carebear]

Ron from hatsdirect.com got back to me just a bit ago (that's about a 30 minute turnaround) :eusa_clap . He had me try a couple things and voila, better fit. These felts are tougher than I realized.

Now to bash- and then the pictures.

 

[Russ]

We are dying to know what those "couple of things" were!

 

[carebear]

As I am a loooooong oval, Ron had me apply pressure fore and aft (by pulling it over my knee firmly) to give it a bit of redirection lengthwise. That kind of showed the felt the idea. Then I put a little foam tape inside the rear 2/3rds to give it a bit of tension.

It now has a kind of "Indy" curve to the brim (though I'm going to wear it as a snap) seen from the side and doesn't want to flop. It still doesn't press on my forehead painfully. If my cheaper hats are any indication, it will settle to the shape of my head a bit as time goes by, as Tony pointed out.

Oh, I have achieved a "reverse taper" with a center crease.

Poi-fect!

 

[farnham54]

Pictures, my good man! Pictures!

Cheers
Craig

 

[carebear]

Still have to get a new cord for my camera.

 

[Joel Tunnah]

I doubt Akubra makes long oval hats. Nobody does anymore. So, the store probably stretched the hat a bit to make it a pseudo long oval for you - and that kind of stretching never seems to stay. The hat just likes to go back to it's original shape.
If I were you, I would buy a 59 next time, and simply pad the sides.

Joel