I have a federation deluxe shaped like Indy's fedora from raiders, and I have a problem.
I happen to have a rounder head then Harrison Ford, and when I wear the fedora, it kind of makes it wider or should I say, it widens to the sides, and that ruins the brim making it more down then up at the side brim. I would like to shape the brim exactly like Harrison Ford's hat brim from raiders.
Any suggestions how?
Getting "exactly the shape in the movie" begs the question WHICH shape - because there are several. Some have the hat turned to warp the brim and some don't.
That aside, you can either use light steam. (Not too much or you risk shrinking the felt and making the hat taper) or mist it with cold water to lightly dampen it, put it on your head and work on the brim as it dries. It may take a few times but I've managed to "teach" several hats a modified shape that way.
If you use a mirror remember the image is reversed so if you're looking at a picture what you see on the right side of the picture is the left side in the mirror. The easy way to keep track is where the bow is.
well, I do dampen it with distilled water, but It just isn't permanent. And I would like it like raiders, you know with the sides up and uneven on both sides, like raiders. Is steaming permanent? could you give me an approximate time limit for how long to steam it?
Distilled water isn't really necessary. It's a hat - it's gonna get rained on.
Use tap water in a plant sprayer. Dampen but don't soak. Then work the felt as it dries.
As far as steam - enough to warm and soften but not enough to make the felt feel like you poured boiling water on it.
about 6" above a boiling kettle and keep it moving to warm the entire brim is good.
It's "sort of" permanent, given that you are basically dealing with an article of clothing. It's like ironing a crease into a pair of pants. Each time will fade, but over time it will develop a shape.
If you want the brim to curl up, and you haven't been successful so far you may be being a bit timid. You may have to bite the bullet and just roll the sides of the brim from the outer edge in. You'll cringe a little at first, but then you'll realize you can't really hurt it. If it's too much, roll it the other way.
The truth is you are never going to replicate exactly the hat seen in the movie because you can't replicate what got it there. As you note - your head is a different shape. You probably wear the hat different. It's made of different felt, blocked on a different block, trimmed and finished differently by different people and hasn't undergone the same treatment.You can start it out, but you can't "make" the hat over a steam kettle, because even if you got the look perfectly, as soon as you wear it, it will change.
The best you can hope for is something that has the same visual elements but works with your head and your face to create the same general feel.
Sound like you might be a round oval or a different oval shape then is standard regular oval. Until you have that fix your brim will warp. And it will warp wrong even with creasing the brim off center to get the turn effect.
Trust Bending Oak. He's a hatter. He's knows. There just isn't a way to get exactly what you're looking for with that hat without some serious reworking. It would cost you less to have it modified by a pro or to get a custom hat.
Ridgerunner58:
As for distilled water vs. tap... if you trust your tap water, that's great. But in my experience, the safe bet is distilled. It eliminates the possibility of learning you can't trust your tap water by ruining something you paid good money for.
