shortening a hat's brim ?

[indyhan]

hello there

i'm considering shortening a bit the brim on my old akubra federation III.

what's the best method ?

thanx !

[Indiana Bugs]

I can't tell you best, but I can tell you a couple of ways I took the measurements.

I made a template from a piece of oak tag. I cut a hole in the middle and adjusted it so it fit perfectly over the crown, right down to the brim. The ribbon's bow had to be wriggled through it - I wanted a really good fit. Then I turned the hat over and traced the existing brim edge with a pencil.

The next part can be done on or off the hat. Off is easier. Measure in from the penciled edge as many times as you can the amount you want to trim off. The more marks, the better. Connect the dots with a pencil. Cut along the line. Install the template back on the hat. I use white chalk to then draw lines from the paper onto the outer edge of the brim that's going to come off. When you remove the template you'll see your new brim width as the hat's color, and the part you will remove will be white.

I use a very sharp, good quality scissors to do the cutting. Cut on the chalk side of the line so you don't end up with a smaller brim than you want. Go slow. After cutting, smooth th edge, and any pointy spots, with medium to fine grit sandpaper.

You can do the initial marking on the hat without the paper template, but I like to use the template to make sure the shape is what I want before I put pencil or chalk to hat.

[indyhan]

hey bugs

thanx for the tip

seems to be a rather delicate operation to perform... pondering whether i should do it myself or resort to the service of a hatter...
don't want to botch it or ruin my hat...

[Indiana Jeff]

You say your 'old' Fed III, how long have you had it? And why do you want to cut down the brim? If you've only had the Fed a short time, it takes some getting used to wearing a wide brim fedora. If you have had it a long time, why cut it down now? Obviously there's no going back once the brim is cut. Other members that have trimmed down the brim have generally regretted it after the fact. With the Indy style fedoras, the crown is so big, a smaller brim can through that hat's look out of proportion. Keep in mind too that small increments make a huge difference on the hat. Our resident hat makers often mention how just 1/8" on a brim makes a big difference in the look.

Regards,

Indiana Jeff

[jkdbuck76]

OP,

Have you ever had this hat reblocked? Do you plan to?

[indyhan]

those are arguments to consider, Indiana Jeff...
i've had a few lids these past two years, mostly henry's and akubra fed IV, and then i snatched that fed III and i really like the hat, but in comparison with my other hats, the brim seems a little larger (the crown is a wee tad shorter, too), so i was wondering...

as for reblocking the hat, i guess that would be a good idea
thing is, i'd have to send it to the adventurebilt or advintage crews (i live in europe) and i guess i'd be sepnding more money on postage and service than i did buying the hat, so...

[Indiana Bugs]

those are arguments to consider, Indiana Jeff...
i've had a few lids these past two years, mostly henry's and akubra fed IV, and then i snatched that fed III and i really like the hat, but in comparison with my other hats, the brim seems a little larger (the crown is a wee tad shorter, too), so i was wondering....

That's interesting. My Fed III's crown is noticeably bigger than either of my IVs. The III's brin is larger, too, but is in proportion to the rest of the hat, imo.

Maybe the OP is going for that 1930s high crown, slightly shorter brimmed look? I can't find the picture I'm looking for, but this is what I mean:

[indyhan]

those are arguments to consider, Indiana Jeff...
i've had a few lids these past two years, mostly henry's and akubra fed IV, and then i snatched that fed III and i really like the hat, but in comparison with my other hats, the brim seems a little larger (the crown is a wee tad shorter, too), so i was wondering....

That's interesting. My Fed III's crown is noticeably bigger than either of my IVs. The III's brin is larger, too, but is in proportion to the rest of the hat, imo.

Maybe the OP is going for that 1930s high crown, slightly shorter brimmed look? I can't find the picture I'm looking for, but this is what I mean:

nice pic and stylish lid i must say
the look of the hat and the mug underneath it i would go for, if that's a service that could be achieved in the process...

my Fed III has been through a lot and i guess the aftermath is the crown has somewhat collapsed a bit...
the felt has become quite floppy, which is something i like in a hat.
among the hats i collected on my long journey to overtly indy-ish hats was an old french fur felt hat which was way too snug for me but that had the most wonderful pliable rich felt i have seen so far... silky smooth, quite thin, and you could bash it any way you wanted...

er... what does OP stand for, by the way (i'm not totally fluent, i must confess... ) ?

[Joeyeah_right]

er... what does OP stand for, by the way (i'm not totally fluent, i must confess... ) ?

It stands for "Original Poster" - which basically means the person who wrote the first post in this thread about shortening the hat's brim.

Regards
Joe

[indyhan]

er... what does OP stand for, by the way (i'm not totally fluent, i must confess... ) ?

It stands for "Original Poster" - which basically means the person who wrote the first post in this thread about shortening the hat's brim.

Regards
Joe

oh, i get it, now

thanx

[trdaggers]

Shortening the hat brim is how the fez was developed.

Gailen

[indyhan]

Shortening the hat brim is how the fez was developed.

Gailen

and the ribbon evolved into a tassel, i reckon...