I recently got this vintage hat block off ebay for a rather low price and was wondering if anyone had any tips or advice as to how to reblock some existing fedoras, mostly the vintage ones I have. I'm pretty experienced with the cleaning process, band/bow replacement, shaping, steaming etc but have never used one of these before and I'm not sure how to go about it with out damaging what I have. I'm going to first start off with an old DP that I have laying around, that is tapered like an upside down ice cream cone. I did send an email (below) to Steve Duelk ( Adventure built hats) with the following questions, hoping he can give me some guidance as well.
Hi Steve, I have a few questions and was hoping for your advice.
1) Do you think the stand pictured would benefit me in my attempt to re-block my hats or is it basically a show piece?.
2) should I first wet (soak) the hat entirely before stretching it out on the block? I would of course first remove the inner liner, band/bow and sweatband first.
3) Once I have the hat mounted over the block, is the portion where the crown meets the brim of the hat suppose to be flush with the very bottom of the block. Maybe this so that the brim flange flattens the brim at the right spot?
4) At what point do I place the flange over the block when the hat is
mounted ?
The Hat block dimensions are:
Block crown size diameter -7 3/8"
Height -5 3/4"
Flange (brim)- 2 3/4"
Stand- is part of the block crown and flange
If any of you guys or gals have any tips, please let me know. I've been wanting to re-block some fedoras for years but never had the courage.
Best regards,
Indiana_7
