Club Obi Wan

No, it's quite commonplace to do so. At worst, the sweatband will become a bit wavy, depending on how much you're stuffing in, but this is a visual thing and doesn't affect the integrity of the felt or leather.

Thanks. Just way too loose as is. Sort of bummed as this was a custom hat but really, doing a mail Order is always tough I suppose.

Its always good to measure throughout the day..head changes sizes..PLUS the hair..Always measure as much as you can stand. It just helps get it perfect. I know I did..My AB fits like a glove. Although I never wear it.Its my collectors hat....I always wear my Fed IV...and its waaaay big..I ordered it like 2 or 3 sizes too large..lol..***..but its my baby..Sorry about your hat. I know it was heart breaking when you put it on and it was too large..Its how I felt about my new Wested lc/cs jacket being short..I wasnt expecting it to be like that..but im dealing with it..:/

Oh, I measured this lots and lots. Always got 55.3cm. Even took the hat paper crown and set it to 21 3/4 then added an 8th. Now, it could be the shape too. So for the time being I cut a length of wool felt and stuck it behind the band.

An awesome hat though.

Jeremiah wrote:Oh, I measured this lots and lots. Always got 55.3cm. Even took the hat paper crown and set it to 21 3/4 then added an 8th. Now, it could be the shape too. So for the time being I cut a length of wool felt and stuck it behind the band.

An awesome hat though.

humm..would be interesting to get a real measurement from the hat itself..Steve might have goofed?? Even if he wrote the size behind the band "look if you havent"..could still be off..

Nope. 21 3/4 just like I sent. My guess is the shape and the 1/8" addition was more than I probably needed. Wonder if it will shrink 1/8"? At least my hair is short so as it grows that will help a bit.

One more

Yes, it actually might shrink that much. You won't know until you wear it on a regular basis.

Regard! M

Got it wet in a nice little florida sprinkle tonight. Wore that puppy in the rain and had no fear. I love this thing. John, you were right. Beaver is the way to go. I laughed when I saw the crushed box cause I knew the hat would be fine.

First baptism

Nice. Mine looked similar last night. Did get message from Steve. Said sweat in it a few weeks and it should shrink down an 1/8th if I don't use a retainer. If that does not work I can send in and he will adjust. Works great with the felt spacers for now. I am cutting branches with a pole chainsaw sweating good now.

Jeremiah wrote:Nice. Mine looked similar last night. Did get message from Steve. Said sweat in it a few weeks and it should shrink down an 1/8th if I don't use a retainer. If that does not work I can send in and he will adjust. Works great with the felt spacers for now. I am cutting branches with a pole chainsaw sweating good now.

hey if Steve is offering to adjust it,i would take him up on it..just my .02

Oh I will. But he recommended I wait a few weeks while wearing it. It's a little big but I think it will shrink a bit and fit good. It's only about 3/16th at most and even 1/8" will make a huge difference. If in a couple of weeks I still need to use the spacers I'll send it to him.

Yeah, do what he says. You'll be surprised how quickly items like our hats and jackets eventually take on proper shape and sizing with regular wear.....as we've been saying above.

Trust us. Been there, done that MANY MANY MANY times!

Quick story....ordered my first Peters Brothers Indy years ago, and when it arrived it fit me PERFECTLY, and I mean like it had been tailor made for my hat right in the shop with me present.

I wore it for a week in a warm, humid Tennessee summer, and within a week the sweat band had shrunk a bit, enough that it was almost too tight to wear.

Long story short, I had to get a hat retainer to put in the hat each and every time I wore it so when it cooled/dried out, the sweat wouldn't shrink down to be too small.

They can be a bit loose at the start, but there's a method to the madness.

Regards! Michaelson

Thanks for the story. At the end of the day I sure am glad its a tad loose rather than too tight. At least this way I won't need to fret over needing a size retainer.

What amazes me is how the natural sunlight changes the color of this so much.

What they said. I measure out at 22 11/16". All of mine arrive at 22 3/4" and after a week or two they fit like a custom made glove.

A little rain - a little heat - work magic.

Whenever I order a hat, I try to take a snug measurement around a short haircut. Seems like a hat retainer always will give enough stretch if I need it. I've gotten a whole size of stretch out of a hat without without overly stressing a sweatband on a factory hat.

I have a brown Camptown that's a 7 1/2 that now fits like a 7 5/8, which is what I wear. I should say, I began the process when the hat was new, and I did it carefully and slowly. I wouldn't try that on an old hat, because a 7 1/2 would have already 'shrunk', as all leather sweats are prone to do without a retainer.

I have a Henry that always fit me loose. It has a great sweatband, but, it took forever to finally shrink enough to the point that it didn't feel like it could easily blow off of my head in a light wind. I used foam pieces in the sweat, some of the ones I saved from one of my Federation 4 orders. I don't need the foam anymore, though. Akubra always threw some in the box just in case. Dunno if they still do.

My experience, though. I've found that a quality sweatband is very tough.

Michaelson wrote:Yeah, do what he says. You'll be surprised how quickly items like our hats and jackets eventually take on proper shape and sizing with regular wear.....as we've been saying above.

Trust us. Been there, done that MANY MANY MANY times!

Quick story....ordered my first Peters Brothers Indy years ago, and when it arrived it fit me PERFECTLY, and I mean like it had been tailor made for my hat right in the shop with me present.

I wore it for a week in a warm, humid Tennessee summer, and within a week the sweat band had shrunk a bit, enough that it was almost too tight to wear.

Long story short, I had to get a hat retainer to put in the hat each and every time I wore it so when it cooled/dried out, the sweat wouldn't shrink down to be too small.

They can be a bit loose at the start, but there's a method to the madness.

Regards! Michaelson

All so very true. Every hat (well, almost all) I have ever purchased in my size, including all of my custom made ones, were just a bit loose at first -- just a bit of 'give, or 'slide on the head,' if you will, in the beginning. What I found to work for me was to use a bit of bias tape (easily purchased at sewing stores) and cut a section off just long enough to go around the back to just past your ears towards the front of the hat. Less slide, but allows the sweat band to contract, and it will, with wear, usually within a few days to just a couple of weeks, depending on how often you wear it in the beginning. This has been true of almost ever fur felt hat I have ever purchased, custom or otherwise. My head size is just a bit off for over-the-counter factory hats, but just like the customs, it works. My thoughts on this are that the leather sweatband just needs a bit of time to get used to 'our' heads and when it does -- great fit. Also, as Mark has said here -- if it fits perfectly upon arrival, you might have to use a retainer later on to keep the size, because it will shrink just enough, in this case to the reverse of your desires and need some additional assistance. Just my two cents. W>

ps: (I too had this problem with one of my older Peters Brothers hats (custom sea plane grey Indy), it was almost uncomfortable, until I figured out this method of using a retainer to keep it at the size needed -- after that, it held up great. W>

Thanks for the tips. I have a strip of wool felt about 1/16" in thickness wrapped the entire circumference behind sweatband and it is just right. After a few weeks I hope to be able to remove it and it will be just right without the spacer. So if not, Steve said he can always remedy it.
So we shall see. At least I don't have to worry about using a size retainer.
Without the spacer now, If I shake my head back and fourth it moves on my head.
Also, my hair will grow in a bit as it's on the short side currently.
It's all good.


UPDATE
So yesterday I wore the hat all day in the FL sun. Let it dry and this morning, if anything the hat seems looser. I noticed this last night too.
I still have the wool felt spacers in, without which the hat would be much looser. I could almost put in a little more wool.

Edit: so, i was messing around and noticed the shape of the middle crease in crown relaxed a bit as did the front pinch. I played around with it and this actually tightened up the fit slightly. So it must be still shaping to my head.

Ok. Fitting pretty good now with no spacers. It does seem to get a little loose as I sweat in it and the heat is on. Guess the leather gets supple and pliable, then when it dries it goes back to a snug fit. Not too loose and not too tight. The perfect goldielocks balance.

Well played Mr. Delk. Well played indeed.

Here's how I used my Adventurebilt on Halloween. My wife and I were doing a late 30's, 40's theme.

Halloween...heck! You're ready for a nice night of dinner and the theater! Put it on your calendar!

Biggest mistake people make is they over think. They take a measurement let's say 22 1/2 and they heard Steve adds a 1/8 of a inch. Then they send Steve a measurement of 22 5/8. He cuts the sweatband 1/8 of a inch bigger then the given measurement of 22 5/8 inch. This results in a hat that is 22 3/4 and a 1/4 inch bigger then the measurement. Give the hat make a accurate head measurement and nothing else. Let the hat maker, make the hat.

Ridgerunner58 wrote:What they said. I measure out at 22 11/16". All of mine arrive at 22 3/4" and after a week or two they fit like a custom made glove.

A little rain - a little heat - work magic.

I'm going to let you in on something my friend. I work like Steve as we work in 1/8 inch increments.

So I round up all your hat from 22 11/16 th to 22 3/4 but like Steve I add a 1/8 inch so they are really 22 7/8. This 1/8 inch accounts for what most leathers shrink at. The average that Steve and I have found is 1/8 inch but from time to time you get a sweatband that will expand slightly rather then shrinking. Doesn't happen very often but from time to time.

BendingOak wrote:Biggest mistake people make is they over think. They take a measurement let's say 22 1/2 and they heard Steve adds a 1/8 of a inch. Then they send Steve a measurement of 22 5/8. He cuts the sweatband 1/8 of a inch bigger then the given measurement of 22 5/8 inch. This results in a hat that is 22 3/4 and a 1/4 inch bigger then the measurement. Give the hat make a accurate head measurement and nothing else. Let the hat maker, make the hat.

That's good to know. I may have overthought or second guessed my size though with regards to how I like my hats to fit. On the snug side that is. I have a 21 3/4" measurement where I probably should have stuck with my initial 21 1/2" measurement. It is all good now though. Fits great.

It's ALWAYS best practice to never second guess your hat maker.....or ANY custom craftsman for that matter.

Just give them the exact measurements they ask for and allow them to do their magic. It always works out.

Regards! Michaelson

I did. It second guess Steve, I second guessed myself. Also the same reason I am not good with true and false tests.

BendingOak wrote:

Ridgerunner58 wrote:What they said. I measure out at 22 11/16". All of mine arrive at 22 3/4" and after a week or two they fit like a custom made glove.

A little rain - a little heat - work magic.

I'm going to let you in on something my friend. I work like Steve as we work in 1/8 inch increments.

So I round up all your hat from 22 11/16 th to 22 3/4 but like Steve I add a 1/8 inch so they are really 22 7/8. This 1/8 inch accounts for what most leathers shrink at. The average that Steve and I have found is 1/8 inch but from time to time you get a sweatband that will expand slightly rather then shrinking. Doesn't happen very often but from time to time.

I think you might have told me that a couple of years ago. Whatever it is you, Steve and the other custom makers do works like a dream. I've never received a custom made hat from anyone that didn't fit perfectly. If I could only get that kind of performance out of the other things I have to deal with I'd probably have a lot less grey hair.

Ridgerunner58 wrote:

BendingOak wrote:

Ridgerunner58 wrote:What they said. I measure out at 22 11/16". All of mine arrive at 22 3/4" and after a week or two they fit like a custom made glove.

A little rain - a little heat - work magic.

I'm going to let you in on something my friend. I work like Steve as we work in 1/8 inch increments.

So I round up all your hat from 22 11/16 th to 22 3/4 but like Steve I add a 1/8 inch so they are really 22 7/8. This 1/8 inch accounts for what most leathers shrink at. The average that Steve and I have found is 1/8 inch but from time to time you get a sweatband that will expand slightly rather then shrinking. Doesn't happen very often but from time to time.

I think you might have told me that a couple of years ago. Whatever it is you, Steve and the other custom makers do works like a dream. I've never received a custom made hat from anyone that didn't fit perfectly. If I could only get that kind of performance out of the other things I have to deal with I'd probably have a lot less grey hair.

Jeremiah wrote:I did. It second guess Steve, I second guessed myself. Also the same reason I am not good with true and false tests.

I rarely post anything, but I wanted to let you guys know I got 2 rabbit raiders hats from Steve (brown and gray) and I just placed an order for a beaver CS which he says I'll have before xmas

I have no words.

Seven years ago, today, I ordered my first Adventurebilt...had no idea of the adventure that lay ahead at the time...

Pics or it never happened!

alex1152 wrote:I rarely post anything, but I wanted to let you guys know I got 2 rabbit raiders hats from Steve (brown and gray) and I just placed an order for a beaver CS which he says I'll have before xmas

should make the people waiting 8 years pretty happy..lol..

youngjedi71 wrote:

alex1152 wrote:I rarely post anything, but I wanted to let you guys know I got 2 rabbit raiders hats from Steve (brown and gray) and I just placed an order for a beaver CS which he says I'll have before xmas

should make the people waiting 8 years pretty happy..lol..

I'm not trying to be a jerk, I was just sharing my excitement with my recent experience dealing with adventurebilt.

Jeremiah wrote:Pics or it never happened!

I'll post some later today

As I promised, here are the pictures of my hats.

This is my Raiders Rabbit AB


My Adventurebilt Deluxe in Chichen-Itza




Here's my current AB collection, from left to right: AB Hero Rabbit Raiders, AB Grey Rabbit Raiders and my favourite one ABD Raiders.


I can't wait for my Crystal Skull fedora, even when the movie was awful, the hat looked beautiful.


Hope you guys like them, I'll post more pictures of me wearing them soon.

Never tire of seeing ABs and you wear yours well.


Regards,

Indiana Jeff

alex1152 wrote:
I can't wait for my Crystal Skull fedora, even when the movie was awful, the hat looked beautiful.


Hope you guys like them, I'll post more pictures of me wearing them soon.

nice hats..i love the movie KOTCS and the gear..I think KOTCS gear looks best..then I would say Raiders..then TLC ..then TOD

That's a good looking collection Alex, you wear that Raiders lid well

Thank you guys! I'm glad you like them.

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Got this in the mail today Crystal Skull Beaver

thing of beauty it is!

2015 is going to be the year I finally order an AB...All the amazing pictures in this thread will just have to hold me over until I can get one wrapped around my melon...

Got more pics? Nice appetizer though.

Yea come on alex1152 don't hold back!

I'll post some good pics on Friday, I'm on vacations right now and didn't bring it with me.

This is my AB beaver. The bottom stains on ribbion are from sweat I would think, but notice the change in ribbon color? This from fading in the FL sun? I wear this baby every day. i think it adds character, but still. Is replacing ribbon at hat re-block time the solution?

Seems like a good idea.

What? Of course Steve would put on a new ribbon if I asked, but that was not the point of my post.

It was if there was a way (not that I would necessarily do it as I think it does add some character) to clean this or does this resemble sun fade which can not be simply washed off.