Here are some snippets:
Part of the struggle of buying a new fedora is knowing your size, but the other issue is the proportions of the crown and brim. Add this to what your face looks like and you may not be totally pleased, even though you ordered the exact dimensions of the ROTLA or TLC lids.Fedora wrote:Marc's Raiders block and my old Raiders block and new Raiders block(CS block) are very similiar but just a little different too. His block is his "take" on the Raiders blockshape, and my blocks are my "take". But, they are more alike, than different.
I have noticed that Marc's hats look really, really good on folks who have full faces. But, there is a reason for this. He uses a round oval block, and I use a regular oval block. But his CS block is a regular oval, as that is what we used for the film. So he now has the ability to make round ovals and regular ovals Raider fedoras as well. I don't have that ability,as I do not own any round oval blocks. But most folks take a regular oval, or long oval. Alot of Oriental people have rounder heads, so the round ovals are really needed if you sell alot of hats to those fine folks.
I in turn, have long oval blocks along with my regular ovals. There are more long oval heads searching for hats, than round ovals, so it was a matter of economics with me when I first had my blocks made.
I just sent Marc a set of CS blocks, a couple of grand worth if you include the band blocks I had made for him. So, adding sets doesn't come cheap. I may eventually add a few in the common sizes, but until now, I have just adjusted the brim size on the sides to compensate for fuller faces. Of course, the best way to do that is to use a round oval blockshape, which is wider across the front.
Now, if you have a thin face, a round oval will look too wide for your face. It will look out of proportion. Gary White sold me a hat years ago, that apparently was made on a round oval block. It looked wider than my head, and I ended up reblocking it myself to get it trimmer looking, and thereby matching my face better.
I think as Renderking, Bink and Michaelson have attested, they have the best hats for "them". And that's a perfect statement!
I know when I got my first Fed Deluxe, it didn't scale to my face very well. After the felt shrunk from outdoor weather and abuse, it looked a lot better. But the initial block was way too wide for my face.
My vintage AB is almost perfect except that my haircut is completely different after surgery (hat too big) and the brim is a touch too wide for my face. (I cringe at the thought of trimming it .... )
After reading a little bit of insight about the block shapes, it has made me really think about how I want my hat reblocked (for my face, etc.) and what I want for dimensions in my next AB.
I was going to go for Harrisons exact measurements from ROTLA, but my face is a little bit longer and thinner than Mr. Ford. (I think it's amazing what difference an 1/8" can make, right Steve?)
Thoughts, anyone?
Regards,
Modern Jones