Rebash opinions?

[StrawBunyan]

Was thinking of rebashing my new Akubra into more of a Gambler style crown. 1st pic is how it came. Second pic is the hat flipped around backwards just to try to get a taste of no pinch
3rd pic is how I would like the crown.
Will it look okay with this brim style as opposed to the traditional gambler look?
Is it even possible to make this crown do that?

My other thought was maybe more pinch? Lol

 

[belfastboy]

Was thinking of rebashing my new Akubra into more of a Gambler style crown. 1st pic is how it came. Second pic is the hat flipped around backwards just to try to get a taste of no pinch
3rd pic is how I would like the crown.
Will it look okay with this brim style as opposed to the traditional gambler look?
Is it even possible to make this crown do that? View attachment 342592 View attachment 342593 View attachment 342594

My other thought was maybe more pinch? Lol

I would suggest as a first step/trial step....using steam see if you can remove the pinches at the front. Akubras are factory creased and some of them are set pretty firmly into the felt. If you can remove the pinches to a degree with which you are happy then proceed to the crease. If you cannot remove the pinches to your satisfaction then putting them back should not pose a problem. A word of caution in that your hat appears at least to have a fair bit of taper where as the Harrelson hat looks to be a more straighter sides on the crown. The telescoping bash on the Harrelson hat might not look as good with the tapered sides of your hat.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Was thinking of rebashing my new Akubra into more of a Gambler style crown. 1st pic is how it came. Second pic is the hat flipped around backwards just to try to get a taste of no pinch
3rd pic is how I would like the crown.
Will it look okay with this brim style as opposed to the traditional gambler look?
Is it even possible to make this crown do that? View attachment 342592 View attachment 342593 View attachment 342594

My other thought was maybe more pinch? Lol

I like your Akubra the way it came.

I don’t know if you have the crown height or shape for the black hat in your photos. If you have some money to spend, I’d consider a custom. Mustang Mike’s is worth a look, but most of us have to consider costs too.

https://www.mustangmikeshats.com/product-page/gambler-of-the-old-west

 

[StrawBunyan]

I would suggest as a first step/trial step....using steam see if you can remove the pinches at the front. Akubras are factory creased and some of them are set pretty firmly into the felt. If you can remove the pinches to a degree with which you are happy then proceed to the crease. If you cannot remove the pinches to your satisfaction then putting them back should not pose a problem. A word of caution in that your hat appears at least to have a fair bit of taper where as the Harrelson hat looks to be a more straighter sides on the crown. The telescoping bash on the Harrelson hat might not look as good with the tapered sides of your hat.

You essentially confirmed everything that was keeping me from doing it.
Thank you

I like your Akubra the way it came.

I don’t know if you have the crown height or shape for the black hat in your photos. If you have some money to spend, I’d consider a custom. Mustang Mike’s is worth a look, but most of us have to consider costs too.

https://www.mustangmikeshats.com/product-page/gambler-of-the-old-west

I like it as is too. I've just never been the kind to leave well enough alone.
I am also a minimalist and refuse to own more than one of anything, I buy nice stuff and make it last....if I don't use it everyday it goes away. LOL so another hat is out of the question.

 

[belfastboy]

You essentially confirmed everything that was keeping me from doing it.
Thank you



I like it as is too. I've just never been the kind to leave well enough alone.
I am also a minimalist and refuse to own more than one of anything, I buy nice stuff and make it last....if I don't use it everyday it goes away. LOL so another hat is out of the question.

Short of driving over it with your truck....felt is very forgiving. Spritz with water and lots of steam and it is malleable like a clay. The one caveat is the felt quality and how much stiffener (shellac) is in the felt. So if you go slow you should be able to play with it without fear of wrecking the hat.

 

[johnnycanuck]

Tallahassee has a very Akubra Down Under hat. Akubra does not make this hat anymore.

The hat you have has a shallow crease in it so there isn’t a lot of room for play without removing the depth of the hat. With that said next time your hat gets soaked in a rain storm you can start tweaking the look of your hat. Maybe pop out the side dents and rounding out the “egg” shape of the crown bash to an oval. Let it dry and see how you like it. Most Akubras can easily revert to its original shape as long as you don’t pinch the felt too tight.
I find the first real rain storm is the start of personalizing an Akubra. Even if you don’t tweak it at all I find you can visually see the felt relax from the factory bash and it looks more natural. If you know what I mean.
Hope that helps some. Any more questions please feel free to ask.
Johnny

 

[StrawBunyan]

Tallahassee has a very Akubra Down Under hat. Akubra does not make this hat anymore.
View attachment 342646
The hat you have has a shallow crease in it so there isn’t a lot of room for play without removing the depth of the hat. With that said next time your hat gets soaked in a rain storm you can start tweaking the look of your hat. Maybe pop out the side dents and rounding out the “egg” shape of the crown bash to an oval. Let it dry and see how you like it. Most Akubras can easily revert to its original shape as long as you don’t pinch the felt too tight.
I find the first real rain storm is the start of personalizing an Akubra. Even if you don’t tweak it at all I find you can visually see the felt relax from the factory bash and it looks more natural. If you know what I mean.
Hope that helps some. Any more questions please feel free to ask.
Johnny

Excellent advice. It's raining right now actually. I just have no business out in it so I'm staying dry .
I think I may allow the hat to settle and become "mine" before I start to mess with it.
I am glad to hear I can't really mess it up too bad. Worst thing I can do is give it character.
The top of the crown (crease?) Was the next portion of my question as it appears harder to reshape than just the pinches.
Would I be going for more of an "open telescope" if I do this?

 

[StrawBunyan]

Also, as far as hat depth goes, that might be an issue. The top of my head already touches the crease in the top.
I measured my head with hair at a 58 and without my hair at a 57.5 so I went with the 58 and sometimes I feel like it is sitting too low on my head, especially when I start sweating. It also touches more on the sides than it does front and back so I'm guessing my head is more round than the hat?

 

[johnnycanuck]

Also, as far as hat depth goes, that might be an issue. The top of my head already touches the crease in the top.
I measured my head with hair at a 58 and without my hair at a 57.5 so I went with the 58 and sometimes I feel like it is sitting too low on my head, especially when I start sweating. It also touches more on the sides than it does front and back so I'm guessing my head is more round than the hat?

Depending how low you wear your hat it can and will sit on the top of your head. The way you describe the fit you have a wide oval head. All Akubras come standard oval. I am a long oval so my forehead and back of my head touch, sides don’t so thats where I usually have to pad my Akubra till the sweatband shrinks down to fitting. With a tapered crown you will get that close fit. That’s how my Coolabah fits. The larger the crown the roomier the fit. But also the bigger the hat will look on you.

here is an example. Left to right is the Cattleman, the Coolabah then the snowy River.
The Coolabah has a 4” tapered crown so is fairly form fitted. The eyelets help with air flow to regulate your temperature and you can snug the hat down pretty low to keep it on in a good wind.

the snowy River has a 3 3/4” boxy crown. It has a little more room in the crown for air insulating but no air holes so it can get pretty hot in the summer. It is also shorter so your head almost always hits the top of the hat and it can’t be snugged down as low as the others with only the 3 3/4” crown.

last is the Cattleman with a 4 1/4” square crown. Unless you wear it low, your head only touches the top then it’s snugged down in the wind. It is boxy with air holes so I find it cooler then the other two.

now it depends on what you find comfortable and like the look of. You had the benefit of going to a store and tying them on in person. I haven’t had that option. I have looked at pictures online and bought them based on that. Possibly why I have so many now. With that all said the differences in how cool it is and how much I sweat is very minimal. I overheat easily so sweating happens. Also if you are not used to wearing a hat you may sweat more until you get used to it.
…., ok that post got out of hand. Hope that helps answer your question and give a little perspective. I still think you made a great choice. Looks good on you and suits you face.
Johnny

 

[RBH]

I see you are in TN, I would give Mike at Buckaroo a call or visit.
Here are a couple that are very close to the hat Tallahassee wears.

 

[StrawBunyan]

Depending how low you wear your hat it can and will sit on the top of your head. The way you describe the fit you have a wide oval head. All Akubras come standard oval. I am a long oval so my forehead and back of my head touch, sides don’t so thats where I usually have to pad my Akubra till the sweatband shrinks down to fitting. With a tapered crown you will get that close fit. That’s how my Coolabah fits. The larger the crown the roomier the fit. But also the bigger the hat will look on you.
View attachment 342675
here is an example. Left to right is the Cattleman, the Coolabah then the snowy River.
The Coolabah has a 4” tapered crown so is fairly form fitted. The eyelets help with air flow to regulate your temperature and you can snug the hat down pretty low to keep it on in a good wind.
View attachment 342676
the snowy River has a 3 3/4” boxy crown. It has a little more room in the crown for air insulating but no air holes so it can get pretty hot in the summer. It is also shorter so your head almost always hits the top of the hat and it can’t be snugged down as low as the others with only the 3 3/4” crown.
View attachment 342677
last is the Cattleman with a 4 1/4” square crown. Unless you wear it low, your head only touches the top then it’s snugged down in the wind. It is boxy with air holes so I find it cooler then the other two.
View attachment 342674
now it depends on what you find comfortable and like the look of. You had the benefit of going to a store and tying them on in person. I haven’t had that option. I have looked at pictures online and bought them based on that. Possibly why I have so many now. With that all said the differences in how cool it is and how much I sweat is very minimal. I overheat easily so sweating happens. Also if you are not used to wearing a hat you may sweat more until you get used to it.
…., ok that post got out of hand. Hope that helps answer your question and give a little perspective. I still think you made a great choice. Looks good on you and suits you face.
Johnny

Thank you for the in depth response.
As to your point about the heat, do you think the liner in the hat being removed would eliminate some of this even though the hat does not have vent holes? If it will make a large difference it would be worth it to me but if it is going to be unnoticeable I would just as soon leave it in.

 

[johnnycanuck]

Thank you for the in depth response.
As to your point about the heat, do you think the liner in the hat being removed would eliminate some of this even though the hat does not have vent holes? If it will make a large difference it would be worth it to me but if it is going to be unnoticeable I would just as soon leave it in.

Great question. I don’t know. I have taken the liner out of my Down Under and found it made a difference. It does not have air vents but it is also black so it attracts the heat.
The liner in an Akubra hat is glued in. So if you want to remove it, flip the sweat band down, lift the liner up and I would use a sharp blade and cut as close the the liner as you can so you don’t loose any felt. Unlined Akubras come with a sticker on the inside crown to protect the top of the hat from your sweaty head. No liner and no sticker it’s not protected. Can you sweat threw the felt… I don’t know. Never done it myself as my kids have torn out all the stickers over the years. But I don’t wear my Akubras when doing really sweaty work. I have silly Pith helmets and Tilley hats for that kind of stuff.
Not a straight answer but I hope it helps.
oh and if you change your mind you can always put it back in.
Johnny

 

[Rmccamey]

Liner in or out has never made much difference to me regarding heat. The color of the hat has made more of a difference, at least in my experience.

Thank you for the in depth response.
As to your point about the heat, do you think the liner in the hat being removed would eliminate some of this even though the hat does not have vent holes? If it will make a large difference it would be worth it to me but if it is going to be unnoticeable I would just as soon leave it in.