Removing the wire from an Akubra sweatband

[johnnycanuck]

I read somewhere (here or on COW) that if you remove the wire that runs threw an Akubra's sweatband it helps the hat conform to your head. Am I remembering that right? has anyone else heard this before? More importantly does doing this ruin the hat in any way? shorten its life span?

Thanks

Johnny

 

[BobC]

I've read that here before too, Johnny, and I'm looking at my Campdraft now and can't see anything that looks like a wire for the life of me.

 

[Colby Jack]

It's inserted inside the leather sweat...you can find it where it's sewn together, at the opposite end from the inner bow...if that makes sense...

 

[indycop]

I've seen it in my fed but it conformed after sweating in it all day.

 

[johnnycanuck]

The wire is in the bottom of the sweatband. Below the stitching that holds it to the hat. If you look at the back of the hat where the leather meets up you can pull the leather apart a little bit you can see it.

On my old Federation I bought in 2000 the wire started poking out of the sweatband a few years ago. I just pushed it back in and kept going. Never gave me any more trouble.

I have a long oval head and it take a few weeks of sweating to really get an Akubra to fit right. I have a newish Squatter and was wondering if it was worth doing.

Johnny

 

[BobC]

My Campdraft is shaping pretty well to my long oval head by now. When it was new I thought about putting on a jack for a day or two but wearing it has done the trick anyway.

I bought my Fed a size too big, so I snug it up with the foam Hatsdirect sends along. Anyone ever bought any like that in the states? I've tried to find it, but all I find is denser than what they send and doesn't work as well. I think I'm gonna have to buy another Fed just so I can ask them if they'll send me a few extra feet of their foam.

 

[jpbales]

I'm a bit of a long oval too ,and I'm between sizes 59 and 60. When I got my federation IV, it seemed way too big so I did some stuff to shrink it first of all; I used steam and a blow dryer around the entire hat, plus I got the sweat wet then used the blow dryer to dry it. Eventually the hat fit much better, just touching my forehead and the back of my head, with space on the sides. So what I did next was used two pieces of foam on the sides to fill in the gap there. I also made sort of a mini hat block (about 2 inches tall) that I custom made to the shape of my head by first finding my head shape using a piece of folder that I trimmed until it fit my head the way I want my hats to fit, then by tracing it onto 4 pieces of plywood, then cutting those out, gluing and screwing those together, then sanding around the outside. Anytime I get a new hat, I stick it on the little block and it starts conforming to my head faster than trying to wear it all the time. It's not perfect though, but it speeds up the process.

Now realizing all the work I've gone through to make my hats fit better, and becoming more hat-educated lately, I'll probably just use a conformer and get a custom hat made next time! lol

here's a pic of my mini hat-block. It acts as a stretcher (if I buy a hat that's on the snug side) and it acts to conform the hat to my head, all without doing any serious re-blocking or anything like that. I'm not a carpenter, so it's certainly not perfect.

what do you guys think?

 

[BobC]

I'm a bit of a long oval too ,and I'm between sizes 59 and 60. When I got my federation IV, it seemed way too big so I did some stuff to shrink it first of all; I used steam and a blow dryer around the entire hat, plus I got the sweat wet then used the blow dryer to dry it. Eventually the hat fit much better, just touching my forehead and the back of my head, with space on the sides. So what I did next was used two pieces of foam on the sides to fill in the gap there. I also made sort of a mini hat block (about 2 inches tall) that I custom made to the shape of my head by first finding my head shape using a piece of folder that I trimmed until it fit my head the way I want my hats to fit, then by tracing it onto 4 pieces of plywood, then cutting those out, gluing and screwing those together, then sanding around the outside. Anytime I get a new hat, I stick it on the little block and it starts conforming to my head faster than trying to wear it all the time. It's not perfect though, but it speeds up the process.

Now realizing all the work I've gone through to make my hats fit better, and becoming more hat-educated lately, I'll probably just use a conformer and get a custom hat made next time! lol

here's a pic of my mini hat-block. It acts as a stretcher (if I buy a hat that's on the snug side) and it acts to conform the hat to my head, all without doing any serious re-blocking or anything like that. I'm not a carpenter, so it's certainly not perfect.

what do you guys think?

I think that looks pretty handy, JP. Nice work!

 

[Colby Jack]

I just folded up some dryer sheets and tucked them inside the sweatband of one of my Stetsons. Does the trick and smells spring time fresh!

 

[indycop]

I just folded up some dryer sheets and tucked them inside the sweatband of one of my Stetsons. Does the trick and smells spring time fresh!

lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol

 

[Lefty]

I just folded up some dryer sheets and tucked them inside the sweatband of one of my Stetsons. Does the trick and smells spring time fresh!

It keeps mosquitoes away too but, from what I've read here, you should probably use used dryer sheets. I think it's been said on one of the forums that new dryer sheets tend to be too full of whatever is in them, and can cause stains. (I think that was in a discussion about how to get bad smells out of thrift store suits that involved putting the suit in a garbage bad with dryer sheets.)

 

[indycop]

It keeps mosquitoes away too but, from what I've read here, you should probably use used dryer sheets. I think it's been said on one of the forums that new dryer sheets tend to be too full of whatever is in them, and can cause stains. (I think that was in a discussion about how to get bad smells out of thrift store suits that involved putting the suit in a garbage bad with dryer sheets.)

But if they are used then they will be full of CJ's sock smell!

If you took that wire out would the hat become too floppy? I know the crown on my fed is really, really soft.