Pork pie bash: how to?

[Torpedo]

Hi,

I was planning to try my hand at a pork pie/telescopic bash on a vintage felt hat I should be receiving one of these days.
I would say this is a shape that has to be neat to look right. Anyone has done it? Should I steam or wet the hat? Any suggestions?
Regards,
Daniel

 

[Feraud]

I would not say a porkpie has to look neat.
Here is one I bashed. It is kind of lumpy but I like it.
A funny story about this hat. No matter how I shaped it, it looked funny on my head. Finally I pushed it down into a porkpie and it felt right.
The sweatband is falling to pieces but it is one of my favorite hats.

Steam or water will depend on how pliable the felt is.

 

[tonyb]

I'm a fan of the "asymmetrical" bash (bash seems the right word in this context) as well, whatever the style. It lends a lid a bit of character and individuality.

But you can get a quite uniform shape to your hat, if that's what you wish. Look to our very own Jimmy the Lid and his signature crown treatment.

Be careful with the steam, as too much of it can shrink the felt and cook the sweatband. And water can leave a high-tide mark. Should that happen, wetting the entire crown usually fixes it, but you probably want to avoid that, if you can. I've seen even cold water cause a crown to taper some. This is probably less likely to happen with a vintage hat than a new one, but ...

 

[bolthead]

Torpedo......

You might wanna check this thread Pork Pies
Here you'll see quite a few Pork Pies. I have all mine posted in there I believe, and I did them all myself. I used steam only, no water. I use a tea kettle.

It's fairly easy to do a pork pie crease really, it all depends on what dimensions & style you like. Myself, I prefer about a 3 1/2" to 4" crown with a bit of a rake.

I say try the steam, but be careful like Tony said and just play around with it.

Steam it & pop it out to an open crown, punch it down to whatever size you want the crown to end up being, 4" for example. Pinch the crown to make a crease all the way around the crown, steam the crown a bit more, the while pinching the crown, put your hand inside the hat & gently start to pop the crown up to meet the the pinched crease & make it level. Does this make any sense? [huh]

 

[bolthead]

It's true that doing a really tight telecoped porkpie needs some sort of mold (you can jerrybuild a cyllinder to the right size if you don't have a block).

This is true. I do believe our own Viperman uses a pot when he does his own.

I'm not sure if GWD uses anything when he does his or not?

I myself have never tried to use any type of mold or jig. [huh]

 

[GWD]

I've done all mine with steam, It helps to have something round and flat when shaping a porkpie to set inside the hat when you lay it flat on a table, I use a outdoor floodlight.

 

[Torpedo]

Thank you all,

You make it look easier than I thought. I will let you know when I try my hand at it...

Daniel