Bashing a Penman

[AZ Pete]

Hi -

I am hoping to order a Penman in the not so distant future. I am just curious if most Penman owners did their own bashing. Is the Penman beaver felt easy to bash? Does it require steam or can you dry bash it?

Thanks for the help!

Pete

[Bruce Wayne]

i own a penman & the only advice that i can offer is that unless you want something unique & bending oak doesnt understand what you want, go ahead & have him bash it for you.

[crismans]

I agree. Unless you just want to bash the hat yourself, John does a terrific job on the bashes.

[BendingOak]

You should not need steam or water to bash my hats but I am getting batch's of felt coming in that has next to nothing in stiffener so it's a it takes a bit longer for the crease to settle in. It's the trade off to have very little stiffener in them.

[DR Ulloa]

John creases a hat like its nobody's business. That being said, I creased my Penman and all you need is your hands. This felt is very easy to work with.

Dave

[Chewbacca Jones]

I bashed my own with no problem. I did it dry, but the side dents were a little stubborn, so a used just a tiny bit of stream to get them to set. In any event, I think I'll be getting any future Penman's open crown, as well. I enjoyed shaping the one I have.

[BendingOak]

I always bash my hats dry and just work with them over a few days or a couple of weeks. If you want it just perfect on day one a little steam or a tad spay of cold water to help speed up the process won't hurt. I just don't mind the at settling in.

[Texan Scott]

I ordered mine open crown, tend to go for the personal touch and bashed it myself. To me, it becomes more yours when you can add a touch of individualism to the fedora.

[Chewbacca Jones]

Well said!

[jacksdad]

Since I'm not a hat experrt I had John bash mine and couldn't be happier.

[Snapbrim76]

Did you start this thread because you don't want to bash your own hat for fear of ruining it? If so, I nearly always bash my own hats as I like the personal touch... unless I want 100% SA and don't know how to. I don't have a Penman yet, but when I do, I'm gonna have the expert bash it for me. Then I might make my own personal modifications.

[Texan Scott]

...different ways to achieve the desired effect. Hats Direct recommends a fast and efficient method of using the heels of your hands to bash the front: http://www.hatsdirect.com/hat-info/shaping.html

One thing is certain. If you bash the hat in a Last Crusade style, it is much easier to go to a tight front pinch, Raiders look than vise versa, because the tight front crease will always be evident.

[AZ Pete]

Thanks for all the advise!

Did you start this thread because you don't want to bash your own hat for fear of ruining it?

Well, I did bash my Fed IV and like it. However, I am going for a really well done bash and not sure I trust my own hands to do the work. Thus the reason for this thread.

Thanks again, all! I always get good advise out here.

Regards,

Pete