I made this one right after I first started offering my hats for sale. It is a huge hat, a size 8. The customer had me make it 6 inches tall. Which I did. It now measures 6 1/4 inches tall!! It not only tapered after almost 4 years, but it also grew as well.
Now, the below pics are before the reblock, of course. The hat is stripped down. This is what I am used to seeing taper, and shrinkage-wise. 
Definetly some shrinkage and taper over the past 4 years, but nothing like you geneally see on other hats. I bet after the reblock, he will exceed 4 years before he needs another one.
This was an outstanding run of felt, no doubt. As that is the only variable that would be present in my hats. Some runs are better than others. That is common, these days. But even things like the percentage of humidity in the air can affect how fast, or slow a hat tapers over time. That is, the relative humidity, the day the hat was made. Felt has to be practically bone dry once the hat is finished. If not, that is if the core is still even the slightest bit wet, the hat is unstable, and will taper prematurely. My best hats are made on low humidity days. Everyone's are. Fedora
The factory has to make these bodies in separate runs due to the size of them, and more fur having to be used to make them. Size 8 heads are special. There are not many of them, but the same can be said for anything below a size 7. Not many of them either, unless a female is buying a fedora. But, a few guys out there have small heads, less than a size 7. I placed a size 6 5/8 next to this size 8 the same day I snapped this pic, and the difference was overwhelming. Hard to believe that much variation could be present in homo sapiens. 
