Question

[Stern-Hank]

Is it possible to "re-bash" a hat that I ordered that came "pre-bashed" I got a Miller Hat whose bash I am not crazy about that I am thinking about changing the bash on. If "yes" how does one go about it?

Thanks...

 

[Dixon Cannon]

Yes!

The hat is essentially just a big inverted felt bowl. It is shaped with steam to soften the felt and then "bashed" by hand. You can take it to any hat shop and have it done professionally, but most people here just steam it up over the tea pot and do it themselves.

-dixon cannon

 

[gtdean48]

Absolutely...

With factor creases, I have had better luck by soaking the crown via a spray bottle with distilled water. Taking an open crown to a desired crease, steam works well but to take out something that has been set in w/o having it sent off, wetting with water has worked best for me. It takes considerably longer to dry than steam & it may not seem as stiff after drying. Steam appears to reactivate any stiffeners that may have been applied. HTH

 

[tonyb]

With factor creases, I have had better luck by soaking the crown via a spray bottle with distilled water. Taking an open crown to a desired crease, steam works well but to take out something that has been set in w/o having it sent off, wetting with water has worked best for me. It takes considerably longer to dry than steam & it may not seem as stiff after drying. Steam appears to reactivate any stiffeners that may have been applied. HTH

Yup. A stamped-in-at-the-factory crown shape will likely take a bit of persuading to make disappear. The job is certainly more feasible for the home DIYer (without the proper block, etc.) to tackle with a brand new hat than a well-used one. Used hats almost invariably are soiled (and show other signs of wear) unevenly, which will be apparent when you push the crown open.

Steam does tend to reactivate stiffener, but I believe it's the heat rather than the moisture that does that. Ironing a crown on the block, or a brim on the flange, tends to stiffen the felt as well.

The only caveat I'd add is that the crown may taper a bit, whether you use steam or cold water. And then, it may not. It's the risk you run, I suppose. The only way I know of to lessen the chances of that happening to nearly zero is perhaps more trouble than it would be worth for a relatively inexpensive new factory hat, which would be to take the hat apart and reblock the body and reflange the brim and put it all back together again.

 

[PabloElFlamenco]

No doubt about it, without any previous experience, it is daunting to consider re-bashing a previously bashed hat. Don't let this opening scare you off, because it was intended to elicit just that kind of reaction... Provided it be a NEW hat, it should, normally, not be any problem AT ALL. I say new hat, because with an "old" hat, dirt and smudges tend to develop (or concentrate) along the "edges", the "ridges" of the bash. In that case, any rebashing will "show up" (and prior cleaning -another subject- be necessary). This problem does not exist with a new hat.

(1) a - submerge it in cold water, preferebly distilled (no calcium or other mineral deposits could ever deposit traces
OR (alternate procedure)
(1) b - (profusely) steam the hat (over a tea kettle with boiling tap water)
---> one should then be quite able to remove the bash with the goal to transform it into an "open" shape: the "bowl" shape of an unbashed hat.

(2) slightly more "tricky" (without wooden or other "shaping molds" -in French they say "gabarit" i.e. the wooden things used to "mold" shapes, be they car bodyworks or ... hats) USE YOUR FINGERS to "shape", "induce" the supple felt into the "bash" you are aiming for.

You might have to do it over a few times. You might have to induce the (front) brim to "snap" down more (or less). You might have to re-shape, or "round" (with a pencil or other, larger diameter cylinder) the (rear) brim into a suitable (upward) "roll". You might have to "fool around" with your felt a bit.

But...believe me... felt ain't for sissies; it isn't hard as steel. It ain't brittle, breakable. But it's one hell of a tough material, malleable, shapeable (?) and, for intents and purposes, a fantastic material.

Stiffener? Oh yes... that. Mmmmm. OK, if the felt is "imperfect", "stiffened" (as it might be), well...beat the hell out of it. I said: a fantastic material.

Normally, you should be OK. If not, try again. Or send it to Optimo...

Success,
Paul

 

[zetwal]

Go for it Stern Hank. Don't be shy. If you don't like the results of your own efforts you can always have a hatter go over it again. Felt is pliable and incredibly resilient.

 

[Stern-Hank]

Go for it Stern Hank. Don't be shy. If you don't like the results of your own efforts you can always have a hatter go over it again. Felt is pliable and incredibly resilient.

Thanks to all of you. I'll give it a shot, I want a tighter pinch in the front and I was gonna go for more of a center dent in the crown but I may stay with the c crown. I'll reread the suggestions later. I may also look in the yellow pages under "hatter" also and ask what they would charge. It's a beautiful hat, I'm just not thrilled with the bash.

 

[Stern-Hank]

Go for it Stern Hank. Don't be shy. If you don't like the results of your own efforts you can always have a hatter go over it again. Felt is pliable and incredibly resilient.

Here's the hat:

I got it in grey and I would describe the look of it as almost a "Cattlemen's Fedora" the bash looks almost Western or Texas style in reality and I would like to change it to more of an Indy bash or something.

 

[gtdean48]

There are lots of western hatters in Montana that could reblock your lid, no doubt. I have a custom at home but can't recall the name & I know they do renovations. Sweet looking lid! :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

Oops, my custom is from Wyoming & not Montana...nevermind!

 

[Stern-Hank]

There are lots of western hatters in Montana that could reblock your lid, no doubt. I have a custom at home but can't recall the name & I know they do renovations. Sweet looking lid! :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

It is nice. Yeah there are plenty of hatters here, but I'm not sure any of them have seen a fedora, (I kid of course). Fedoras are nearly impossible to find here. Everyone either wears cowboy hats or ballcaps. If it wasn't for the internet I wouldn't own one. The closest you thing you can find for sale here to a fedora is an outback hat.

 

[zetwal]

By the way, make sure that you crease it in such a way that it looks and feels good as YOU wear it. I mean this or that crease in the abstract doesn't mean much. It's how the hat actually looks and feels on YOUR head that's important. Once you start to play with it you'll see what I mean. Have fun with it.

 

[Woodfluter]

Hank, with vintage hats and some newer ones, I've found it harder to go from a C-crown to a center dent than vice-versa. Depends on the quality of the felt and how tightly the creases of the telescope crown have been molded, but I've done it anyway.

Adding to what others have said, if the hat is light colored and has seen some use, you might need to clean off some staining or soiling where it would become more conspicuous with the new shape. I've used lighter fluid and a paper towel for light soil.

Paul alluded to "shapers". I've used a crude version of this and described what I did in other threads, but anyway...if it were my hat...I'd lightly steam the top (aiming at getting moisture into the felt, not heating it - seconds at a time, not minutes) and push the crown all the way out, as best you can. It will have lumps. Then I'd use a spray bottle to wet down the lumpy portions, patting the moisture in.

Next, get a rounded glass of some sort - stemless wine glasses are good, anything hard and with gradual curves and no sharp edges - and put that into the underside of the crown. Then use something similar, but perhaps including rounded pill or spice containers, on the outside. The idea is to press and roll the lumpy parts of the felt flat and smooth between the two unyielding surfaces, a bit at a time.

When I do that, I've added steam - only to the area I'm working on - and pressed it quickly while slightly warm and damp. I might be wrong, but I see steam as more effectively penetrating the fibers (hair) rather than soaking into the pore spaces, because the water vapor molecules are tiny. Anyhow, a little at a time.

From my limited experience, this might not render it into a perfect, open-crown hat because the felt will still be a tad "looser" where it was tightly creased. But I've gotten pretty close this way, depending. Personally, I'd let it dry out thoroughly as an open dome before messing with it further. It seemed like that helps it to tighten up and be less soft where the old creases were.

Then you have a blank slate as others said, and can shape it with light steaming alone.

You might get away with doing a variant on what I described, but using a *warm* iron (with a cloth to protect the felt) for pressing on the outside, but I haven't tried that. Yet.

Good luck!
- Bill

 

[Torpedo]

Hi,

Not much to add, really. All the essentials have been covered.

Take into account that a factory made crease can be difficult to completely reverse into a "virgin" open crown at home - often, the "shadow" of the earlier edges remain, although it can well be unnoticeable by anyone except you. Also, depending on what the new crease is, this can be concealed (or more obvious - it depends).

Also, the hat may taper or shrink. This is heavily dependent on the hat's quality.

This said, I encourage you to try. It is fun!

 

[CRH]

...

Also, the hat may taper or shrink. This is heavily dependent on the hat's quality.

This said, I encourage you to try. It is fun!

I recently opened up my Campdraft using techniques similar to what Woodfluter exposes. I used lots of steam and what I ended up with was indeed more tapered and actually a bit taller that what was originally blocked.

A little taper hasn't seemed to hurt the look of the hat.

 

[Stern-Hank]

Hank, with vintage hats and some newer ones, I've found it harder to go from a C-crown to a center dent than vice-versa. Depends on the quality of the felt and how tightly the creases of the telescope crown have been molded, but I've done it anyway.

Adding to what others have said, if the hat is light colored and has seen some use, you might need to clean off some staining or soiling where it would become more conspicuous with the new shape. I've used lighter fluid and a paper towel for light soil.

Paul alluded to "shapers". I've used a crude version of this and described what I did in other threads, but anyway...if it were my hat...I'd lightly steam the top (aiming at getting moisture into the felt, not heating it - seconds at a time, not minutes) and push the crown all the way out, as best you can. It will have lumps. Then I'd use a spray bottle to wet down the lumpy portions, patting the moisture in.

Next, get a rounded glass of some sort - stemless wine glasses are good, anything hard and with gradual curves and no sharp edges - and put that into the underside of the crown. Then use something similar, but perhaps including rounded pill or spice containers, on the outside. The idea is to press and roll the lumpy parts of the felt flat and smooth between the two unyielding surfaces, a bit at a time.

When I do that, I've added steam - only to the area I'm working on - and pressed it quickly while slightly warm and damp. I might be wrong, but I see steam as more effectively penetrating the fibers (hair) rather than soaking into the pore spaces, because the water vapor molecules are tiny. Anyhow, a little at a time.

From my limited experience, this might not render it into a perfect, open-crown hat because the felt will still be a tad "looser" where it was tightly creased. But I've gotten pretty close this way, depending. Personally, I'd let it dry out thoroughly as an open dome before messing with it further. It seemed like that helps it to tighten up and be less soft where the old creases were.

Then you have a blank slate as others said, and can shape it with light steaming alone.

You might get away with doing a variant on what I described, but using a *warm* iron (with a cloth to protect the felt) for pressing on the outside, but I haven't tried that. Yet.

Good luck!
- Bill

Thanks all!

If I can't find any local hatters to do it I'll try it myself. My guinea pig hat...

 

[gtdean48]

Thanks all!

If I can't find any local hatters to do it I'll try it myself. My guinea pig hat...

Now your talking! That's the attitude... Might as well try it yourself THEN find a local hatter if it doesn't come out like you want. If you can't find any, send it to Optimo...