Club Obi Wan

The last time I wore my AB, I got the sweatband full of... well, sweat. I decided to throw my hat-jack in it to help retain size. When I put it in, the brim really warped. It was hideous. I figured maybe the jack was adjusted too large, but no matter how small I make it, if it catches in the sweat at all, the brim gets severely wacky. Anybody else have this problem? Anybody got a clue as to why this would happen on my AB, but not on other hats? Most importantly, if I leave the jack in, will this odd shape get trained into the hat?

Chewie

Hat sweat bands are made of leather, so I guess the moisture in the leather made it warp.

What a hat jack?

A hat jacket inside a hat:


A hat jack is used to help keep the hat (mainly the sweatband) from shrinking while not in use for significant stretches of time.

Chewie, did you wipe down your sweat after you sweat profusely in it? I always try to take a damp cloth or something to wipe down the sweatband after I've sweat a lot in a hat. I think it helps remove some of the sweat which could dry out the leather and make it shrink over time. Also, how tight is your hat jack? I've never used one, so I can't say how they work or otherwise. Is your hat turned? That may have something to do with it, too.

It all sounds a bit new-fangled for me...

If you elongated one too far, would it become jack the ripper? :

Binkmeister, I always wipe my sweatbands as dry as I can manage. I didn't leave the jack in because I didn't want the brim to stay that way. The jack is adjustable, and I tried making it just big enough to not simple fall inside the hat. Same result. The pressure of it being there is all it takes.

It is turned... maybe that's the problem. But I know others have used a hat-jack on their turned hats. :

Well, if you wear a turned hat on your head, essentially, the displaced pressure on the inside of the hat is what causes the brim to act how it does while you're wearing it. Put a proxy in its place, i.e. a hat jack, and I imagine it'll do the same thing.

I use one similar to Bink's pic on my AB Deluxe all the time. Due to a measuring screw up on my part, it is about .5 cm too small. I really crank on the hat jack and have never had any problems. Maybe it has something to do with the width of the jack that you are using. Maybe if it's too wide it can cause a problem.

But when I put it on my head, I only get a slight change, it looks good. What the brim does on the hat-jack is... is... evil.

CJ, can you pot pics of it????

I am always afraid of those hat jacks with a Raiders fedora. The hat jack had a tremendous amount of taper on the edges that go next to the sweat band. I am sure that they are made like that, to fit properly in a tapered hat. They are geared towards the cowboy hat market.

I have one, but I rarely use it. I even had the taper removed from mine by a commercial sander.

If you are putting it in a turned hat, the hat jack is going to cause the brim to warp. The turn causes the brim to warp when you wear it, as soon as you head puts pressure on the hat on the inside. Put your finger on the inside of the sweat band where the center of your forehead would be and a finger (of the other hand) in the spot where the middle of the back of your head would be and push in opposite directions putting a little pressure on the inside of the hat. The brim will warp as soon as you do this. The hat jack is doing the same thing.

Buff - so technically, couldn't he use that hat jack if he only made it as tight as it would be on his head? What I mean is, if the amount of pressure on the hat was no more than it would normally have to deal with, being on his head, would the warping remain the same as when you wear it, and not turn the hat into the shape of a warped vinyl?

Surely there's gotta be a way for folks with turned hats to use hat jacks.



We have top men working on it right now.

In Christ,
Shane

I'm fairly certain that excess pressure should only be placed on the hat from the hat jack if one is trying to 'upsize' it--Therefore, at all other times, it should be the same tension as your head--ie. If you wear a size 59, your hat jack should be 59 cm circumference.

If your sweatband is wet, and your worried about shrinkage, I should think that as gradual a drying process as possible would be the way to go--What about turning the hat upsiddown and flipping the band out?

Cheers
Craig

I am still afraid of those tapered sides on those hat jacks. It is tapered quite a bit. I wouldn't want to tighten that thing inside my hat. Mine is not as bad, like I said, I had all of the taper sanded out of it. I think it is a combination of the tapered hat jack and the turned hat that is causing all of the whacky warping.

IndyMcFly wrote:Buff - so technically, couldn't he use that hat jack if he only made it as tight as it would be on his head? What I mean is, if the amount of pressure on the hat was no more than it would normally have to deal with, being on his head, would the warping remain the same as when you wear it, and not turn the hat into the shape of a warped vinyl?

Surely there's gotta be a way for folks with turned hats to use hat jacks.



We have top men working on it right now.

In Christ,
Shane

Shane,

If he is a conehead, then I am sure the taper of the hatjack will match that of his head just perfectly. I am not sure if he is from New Jersey by way of France or if his parental units are named Beldar and Prymaat, if not, then the taper could cause a problem. Mebs!

Anybody got a clue as to why this would happen on my AB, but not on other hats? Most importantly, if I leave the jack in, will this odd shape get trained into the hat?

The less stiff the brim, the more you will see of this sort of thing. This is what I would do if it were my hat. I would place the hat stretcher into the hat and crank it out not quite to the size you want to go up to. Then, I would take my handheld steamer and steam only the outside of the hat, at the sweatband area. Turn the hat upside down so the extra steam hits the brim and not the upper crown. Once I had steamed this area to where the steam actually pentrated and moistened the sweatband, I would then steam the well heavily, work you hands around the brim to reshape as much as possible and then let the hat dry over night with the stretcher inside. The next day, pull it off and steam and shape the brim again, with it on your head.

Generally speaking what shrinks in the hat is not the felt. It is the leather that the sweatband is made from. Leather tends to shrink, when it gets damp and dries. But, it can be stretched back out, if you get it moist, stretch it, and let it dry in that stretched out state.

The brim distortion you are speaking about is what happens when you crank out the stretcher to stretch the sweat. Perfectly normal. Fedora

Fedora wrote:Perfectly normal. Fedora

From the man himself... That's good to hear.

Wal-mart in the luggage section. They sell hand held units that can be used to steam wrinkles out of hanging clothes when removed from suitcases.

Regards! Michaelson

Michaelson wrote:

Wal-mart in the luggage section. They sell hand held units that can be used to steam wrinkles out of hanging clothes when removed from suitcases

Finally, a use for the Christmas gift my wacky aunt bought me 20 years ago.

Mr. M. is correct, as always! Steamers are great -- just don't over use! Have a grand day and don't burn yourself while using the steamer! W>

I have my reasons for not wanting to shop at Wally World. Are there any other recommendations for shopping for a hand held steamer?

I'm sure you could find a steamer at any similar store near you, like Sears, K-Mart, Target, etc.