Should your hat touch the tops of your ears?!?

FordPerfect · Post by **FordPerfect** » Fri Feb 08, 2008 2:14 pm

So this is bothering me.
I got a great new hat this week and while it seems to fit beautifully, both my ear tips just touch the leather of the sweatband. I don't know why but I find this irritating and wonder if its right. I've studied some pics and its difficult to tell if it touches Harrison's lobes or not - it always looks very close.
I'm loathe to go the packing route as there's little room but I just wanted to get some opinions on just where your hats sit.

Snakewhip_Sable · Post by **Snakewhip_Sable** » Fri Feb 08, 2008 2:19 pm

Should sit above the ears and never rest on them. You may want to try the old lampshade trick to shrink your sweatband just a touch. Worked for me.

Mulceber · Post by **Mulceber** » Fri Feb 08, 2008 2:23 pm

Mine is very close if not touching my ears all the time. I find no problem with it, in fact, I tend to like the look as it seems somewhat reminiscent of the way Sean Patrick Flannery wore his hat in the YIJC. The only annoying part is that I have a couple dirt marks from where the touch occasionally brushes up against my ears. :junior: -IJ

FordPerfect · Post by **FordPerfect** » Fri Feb 08, 2008 2:23 pm

The lampshade trick eh?
Mm - What's that then?

Snakewhip_Sable · Post by **Snakewhip_Sable** » Fri Feb 08, 2008 2:31 pm

You flip the sweatband out, soak it with a slathering of water, and flip it back in, but let it dry on one of those conical lampshades - the leather shrinks a bit from the heat of the lightbulb (I suspect those new energy efficient ones won't work because they don't get hot enough). You have to keep a good watch on it so it doesn't shrink too much.

When I got my Adventurebilt it was quite a bit too large - it rested on my ears and would never stay on in a breeze, but with the lampshade trick, it fit perfectly.

FordPerfect · Post by **FordPerfect** » Fri Feb 08, 2008 2:34 pm

Sounds fun -
Thanks for the advice!!

michaelb · Post by **michaelb** » Fri Feb 08, 2008 2:49 pm

I was just wondering... I thought you were supposed to leave the sweat out while it sat.

10-12 minute intervals right?

Thanks!

Michael

Snakewhip_Sable · Post by **Snakewhip_Sable** » Fri Feb 08, 2008 2:52 pm

I think you're right, actually, MichaelB. It's been 3 years since I did it.

FordPerfect · Post by **FordPerfect** » Fri Feb 08, 2008 3:06 pm

Okay -
So can somebody give me a proper rundown before I try this?
Much appreciated!!

michaelb · Post by **michaelb** » Fri Feb 08, 2008 3:08 pm

Same here.

Wasn't sure.

Thanks again!

Oh, and FordPerfect, watch that liner! Don't want any burn marks. I usually fold a small face cloth/towel up about the size of my hand and flatten it as best as I can. Then I place that in the top of the hat against the liner and on top of the lamp, as a buffer, just in case.

Michael

Shiva · Post by **Shiva** » Fri Feb 08, 2008 3:19 pm

Thats a great way to ruin a sweatband. Please be careful! If you do it use a low wattage bulb and keep a close eye. I destroyed a couple of sweatbands that way

Minnesota Jones · Post by **Minnesota Jones** » Fri Feb 08, 2008 3:53 pm

I always heard that you should have one thumb width between the top of your ear and the bottom of the brim, if that helps at all.

rick5150 · Post by **rick5150** » Fri Feb 08, 2008 4:01 pm

FordPerfect wrote:I've studied some pics and its difficult to tell if it touches Harrison's lobes or not - it always looks very close.

If your brim is touching your earlobes, you have bigger problems than a somewhat loose-fitting sweatband.

Serial Hero · Post by **Serial Hero** » Fri Feb 08, 2008 6:40 pm

rick5150 wrote:
FordPerfect wrote:I've studied some pics and its difficult to tell if it touches Harrison's lobes or not - it always looks very close.
If your brim is touching your earlobes, you have bigger problems than a somewhat loose-fitting sweatband.

Just cut eye holes in the front of the crown

Kilgour Trout · Post by **Kilgour Trout** » Sat Feb 09, 2008 8:45 am

If your hats fits down to your ear lobes,
it usually means your head has been too
close to a lightbulb or has over heated somehow
and shrunk a couple of sizes!

In that case, a cold distilled spritzer over the skull, taking a
deeeep breath and then holding your nose and mouth shut
while pushing out will usually bring it back to size.

but be careful, how hard you try to breath out, as you
could end up with a bigger head than you started! That's why I'll place
a proper sized old lid on my head before trying to blow out

Don't worry...this way make's sure your head fits all your hats!

Anyway...this is just some old tricks, cranial head craftsmen used in
the last century

Warm Regards
Kilgour Trout

Magnum Jones · Post by **Magnum Jones** » Sat Feb 09, 2008 11:10 am

What if your ears look like this?

bleyd · Post by **bleyd** » Sat Feb 09, 2008 11:34 am

This gave me a REAL good laugh especially seeing I got a real good visual on someone doing this and it working.

I could ALMOST hear the popping sound when the head came back into place!

Kilgour Trout wrote:If your hats fits down to your ear lobes,
it usually means your head has been too
close to a lightbulb or has over heated somehow
and shrunk a couple of sizes!

In that case, a cold distilled spritzer over the skull, taking a
deeeep breath and then holding your nose and mouth shut
while pushing out will usually bring it back to size.

but be careful, how hard you try to breath out as you
could end up with a bigger head than you started! That's why I'll place
a proper sized old lid on my head before trying to blow out
Don't worry...this way make's sure your head fits all your hats!

Anyway...this is just some old tricks, cranial head craftsmen used in
the last century

Warm Regards
Kilgour Trout

Kilgour Trout · Post by **Kilgour Trout** » Sat Feb 09, 2008 12:55 pm

Hey Bleyd

,

I just happened to glance over at your Avatar
and noticed your location as Pismo Beach.

"Not THE Pismo Beach"? The mythological destination
of that Waskally Wabbit Bug's Bunny? The one he was seemingly
never able to find.

Not ever having been to California, these places are rooted into my mind
due to the wonderfully twisted geography lesson's we learned watching
Bug's. One thing was for sure...

You always needed to take a "Right" turn at Albuquerque if you were going to get to Pismo Beach!

Cheers
Kilgour

Ripper · Post by **Ripper** » Sat Feb 09, 2008 1:00 pm

Magnum Jones wrote:What if your ears look like this?

No problem......

Magnum Jones · Post by **Magnum Jones** » Sat Feb 09, 2008 2:12 pm

Ripper wrote:
Magnum Jones wrote:What if your ears look like this?

No problem......

gotta admit, you got me on that one.

Treadwell · Post by **Treadwell** » Sat Feb 09, 2008 2:41 pm

Magnum Jones wrote:What if your ears look like this?

Beat me to it!

Now we know why Vulcans never wear fedoras (except when going toe to toe with Abe Vigota).

raider 57 · Post by **raider 57** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 12:15 am

Treadwell wrote:
Magnum Jones wrote:What if your ears look like this?

Beat me to it!
Now we know why Vulcans never wear fedoras (except when going toe to toe with Abe Vigota).

Or when Spock wants "a piece of the Action"!! Classic episode!

Castor Dioscuri · Post by **Castor Dioscuri** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 12:38 am

I'm not sure if it helps, but I had the same problem when I got my custom Art Fawcett fedora. Though the hat was built off a conformer, when I recieved it, it felt a little too big and kept riding on my ears. However, after wearing it for less than a week while traveling over the holidays, it seemed to have 'adjusted' itself to a proper fit, strangely enough.

I didn't subject it to any extreme weather: maybe just a very, very light New York drizzle on one occasion, and a some SoCal winter sunshine on another. But still, maybe the felt shrunk, or maybe the leather tightened up... whatever it is, the fedora now fits about an inch or so above my ears...

Unfortunately, having this fedora now makes it glaringly obvious (to me) that my ears aren't symmetrical... something that I previously never even considered!

I guess what I'm trying to so say is basically that you should sport it around for a couple of days at least before you try any of the suggested shrinking methods... Maybe some casual wearing might do the trick!

Should your hat touch the tops of your ears?!?

Should your hat touch the tops of your ears?!?

Re: Should your hat touch the tops of your ears?!?

Re: Should your hat touch the tops of your ears?!?

I thought?

Re: I thought?

Not "The Pismo Beach"!