So Marc's said that he leaves his fedora on its brim if he's out and w/o his stand. Because it's easier to fix the brim than it is to reblock it.
I gotta agree. It's probably easier. I'm looking at investing in a flange for the brims for my hats. I just don't know what to do with it afterwards (i.e. put it to work). Help?
mike
Brim work.
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mikemietlicki
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Re: Brim work.
After reading this again, even I don't really know what I mean. My questions is can somebody explain to me how to set the brim of a hat. Or am I just guessing right based on the pictures of seen of it being done? Is there a secret step?
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binkmeisterRick
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Re: Brim work.
I guess I'm still a bit confused as to your question. 
Initially, when a hat is blocked, it's put on a flange and the initial brim shape is ironed. The picture below shows a hat in the flange with the ironing cloth over it:
After flanging, the hat's brim will look something like this:
After that, any additional brim shaping is done by hand. (All you'd have to do is "snap" the front of the brim down on the above hat for your standard fedora brim.) If you are after more curl on the sides of the brim, all you generally have to do is spray the brim with cold water (using a spray bottle, of course) and shape it with your hands until you get the desired effect. Let it dry like this. Some folks use steam, but I find the spray bottle works well for me.
Does this better answer your question?
Initially, when a hat is blocked, it's put on a flange and the initial brim shape is ironed. The picture below shows a hat in the flange with the ironing cloth over it:
After flanging, the hat's brim will look something like this:
After that, any additional brim shaping is done by hand. (All you'd have to do is "snap" the front of the brim down on the above hat for your standard fedora brim.) If you are after more curl on the sides of the brim, all you generally have to do is spray the brim with cold water (using a spray bottle, of course) and shape it with your hands until you get the desired effect. Let it dry like this. Some folks use steam, but I find the spray bottle works well for me.
Does this better answer your question?
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mikemietlicki
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Re: Brim work.
Thanks!
Basically, I just wanted to know how it was done. Brim is ironed while it's on the flange, then it's good?
I expected it to be more complex than that. Why doesn't everybody do this as part of hat upkeep?
Basically, I just wanted to know how it was done. Brim is ironed while it's on the flange, then it's good?
I expected it to be more complex than that. Why doesn't everybody do this as part of hat upkeep?
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BendingOak
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Re: Brim work.
You shouldn't need it for the most part.mikemietlicki wrote:Thanks!
Basically, I just wanted to know how it was done. Brim is ironed while it's on the flange, then it's good?
I expected it to be more complex than that. Why doesn't everybody do this as part of hat upkeep?
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binkmeisterRick
- Stealer of Wallets
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Re: Brim work.
John's right, under normal wear you shouldn't need it unless you're totally reblocking the hat. Just use your hands. I find if you've been out in the rain, it's the best time to tweak the brim since it's easy to work with at that point. 