I Made My Own Hat Block. What Do You Think?

rick5150 · Post by **rick5150** » Sun May 07, 2006 6:45 am

The credit for this goes to Fedora and also to Chuck Marston from Hatshapers.com. What do you think for a first try?

Last Crusader · Post by **Last Crusader** » Sun May 07, 2006 7:24 am

WOW! The crown looks pefect! As well as the bash and the brim shape. That´s one of the best SOC hats I´ve seen here so far!

Indyjim · Post by **Indyjim** » Sun May 07, 2006 9:16 am

Looks like you stole it right off of Ford's head. Looks super. I'm assuming that started out as an AB.

VP · Post by VP » Sun May 07, 2006 12:12 pm

Is that an AB or a GH? The ribbon has some wrinkles but it looks great. Well done.

rick5150 · Post by **rick5150** » Sun May 07, 2006 3:36 pm

The felt is a GH. The block shape was from a hat Steve blocked for me using a #60 block, I believe. I **** at sewing so the ribbon will probably continue to look like that although I did tighten it up some, the wrinkles do not bother me...

Indakin · Post by **Indakin** » Sun May 07, 2006 3:48 pm

i agree, your block looks sooo good. It looks like a very lived in hat, suits u very well.

3thoubucks · Post by **3thoubucks** » Sun May 07, 2006 5:52 pm

Looks great! How did you do the brim? Flange or steam? Nice dirt! Dirt or Fuller's earth? That's a hat you can be extra proud of.

J_Weaver · Post by **J_Weaver** » Sun May 07, 2006 6:10 pm

Rick, that is a fine looking hat you have there!

rick5150 · Post by **rick5150** » Sun May 07, 2006 8:37 pm

3thoubucks wrote:Looks great! How did you do the brim? Flange or steam? Nice dirt! Dirt or Fuller's earth? That's a hat you can be extra proud of.

The brim is so soft and floppy - this hat is relatively thin and has taken years of abuse - that I did not do anything to the brim. I did not even iron it. I did not want a very distinct break between the crown and brim. The dirt is mostly just dirt. There are a few spots that came from the plaster of Paris, but the rest is just built up over time.

3thoubucks · Post by **3thoubucks** » Mon May 08, 2006 3:38 am

Was it a steam reblock? What did you make your block out of?

rick5150 · Post by **rick5150** » Mon May 08, 2006 5:33 am

It was a steam reblock. There are more details and pictures here.

prairiejones · Post by **prairiejones** » Mon May 08, 2006 10:51 am

I checked out your link 5150. Awesome tutorial!!!!!

Pitfall Harry · Post by **Pitfall Harry** » Mon May 08, 2006 11:39 am

I think your hat looks great and thanks for the tutorial on how to make your own block.

My question is this. I have an Akubra Fed. Deluxe and I don't have any problem with the crown but I wanted to know how you got the brim to "break" above the ear like that? Was this a result of re-blocking the hat or was there another method used for that part?

rick5150 · Post by **rick5150** » Mon May 08, 2006 12:03 pm

Please keep in mind that this felt is very thin - a little thinner than an AB and very, very soft and floppy. Not unlike my lightweight Optimo was. This hat has zero stiffener. It has been worn in the sun, snow wind and pouring rain for three years. With that said, I was never able to get this effect with any of my Akubras. At least, I was not able to get it to stay. I did not really persevere with it either though.

That was really frustrating since that is one of the features I liked best.

First, you need to do is get your hat softened to the point that the back of the brim hangs down as well as the front. Everybody’s hat usually takes a sharp dip in front, and the sides go straight back, often with a pencil curl - and I never liked that look as much as the Cairo hat. I like the long gradual arch effect. Back down, sides up and front down. I have no idea if this can be done with all brands of hats.

Another thing that makes the Cairo hat stand out to me is that at certain angles, the top of the pinch almost forms a straight line right to the tip if the brim. This is as close as I have got to that look as well.

Finally, the break where the brim and crown meet is not as defined as hats from other scenes. To achieve this I did nothing to the hat. I may be posting pictures of what I did at a later date. Actually, I never took any during the process, but maybe I can recreate it a bit…

The real intent of this post was to show you that if you have a hat that you like the shape of, you can make a block from it and possibly maintain the shape longer – or even use it as an actual hat block to tear down and rebuild hats. It cost about $10.00 to make.

3thoubucks · Post by **3thoubucks** » Tue May 09, 2006 12:30 am

That's how I made my block, Rick. I put a plastic bag inside a Borsalio and put in thin layers of cement, allowing each to harden before adding the next.