Club Obi Wan

I put it on and it teared a little...should I worrie?


thanks
Holt

Not sure how to respond to this, Eric.

If it tore, the hat is too small for your head. They just don't 'tear' on their own...especially Akubra (which I'm assuming is the hat you're referring to, based on our PM's this morning).

What tore, how much, and where?

Regard! Michaelson

yep..thats the akubra..I used some water on it and it shrunk a bit...when I put it on it teared a little over the stitches on the sweat band.1.5'' from the seam that is in the middle of the sweat band.


regards
Eric

Sounds like you got to 'frisky' with the lampshade trick, my friend.

Worried? Why worry? It's going to get any better.

Regard! Michaelson

This might be a good place to pop this reminder in for new folks. It's been posted many times before, but bears repeating....

Most good hats arrive a little 'loose' when you get them. Companies like Akubra, Camptown, and Peters Brothers (to name a few) send foam tape to install behind the sweatband to make the hat fit better. What happens in the wearing is a good leather sweatband will slightly shrink with wear, body heat and perspiration. After a week or two, you'll find you'll need to remove that foam, as the band has slightly shrunk and form fit to your head shape and size, and will stay there.

The lampshade trick can be used if you're trying to down size a hat that's up to a full size to big....but it's not something you should do with a properly sized hat right out of the box. It's GOING to be loose.

In this case, Eric, I'm not sure what I can tell you. It's torn, as you shrank it too far over an artifical heat source, then pulled it on your head. The seams gave.

I suppose you can resew it yourself.

Regards! Michaelson

ok thanks.
I flipped the sweat band over a applied a little pecards on it cause it was DRY man...

I hope that this wont hurt the sweat band either...

here is wat I ment.


Eric

No, the Pecards won't hurt it. Wipe off the excess after it's soaked in all it can soak. Try not getting it on your felt.

Yep, you did go quite a bit past your need for shrinkage! I thought you said it was the seam that failed. That's the leather itself...so you REALLY went past what you required!

That shouldn't cause you a problem, as it's still attached to the hat.

Regards! Michaelson

oh yeah I ment the leather tore..not the seam...sorry for the confusion...

the band itself and the seams are still intact and attached to the hat...no seams are teared...


so this wont weaken the hat?

thanks mark

eric

No, it won't. As long as the seam and wire in the seam is intact at the connection to the felt, you're fine. From what I can see in the photo, that has not been damaged, so once the Pecards has been wiped out, you're good to go.

Regards! Michaelson

I will add a little to Michaelson's excellent advice - if you use the lampshade trick or the hairdryer method to reduce the size of your hat the trick is gradual and patience.

Leather does not like getting hot - it will not shrink in front of your eyes. Wet the band, warm (not heat) the leather then leave it to dry slowly - go and have a coffee, read a book or whatever and come back to it in a few hours. In fact you can do it without heat at all, it may take a few goes thats all.

If it has not reduced enough, repeat the process, wetting a bit more of the band - gradual is good, patience rewarded!

No matter what the brand a half size too big is good, use a little foam, a felt pad or whatever to firm it up, the hat will soon settle to a perfect fit, just wear it and the heat and sweat from your head will do the rest.

Ron

Hey, I learned that from you years ago, Ron, so of COURSE it's excellent advice!

HIGH regard! Michaelson

Yeah, this is definitely something to watch out for. Doing the lampshade trick a little too much or fast has the effect of sucking all the moisture out of the sweatband, thus making it more brittle and easy to tear. I have a vintage Stetson Whippet that came like this, and believe me, it was in far worse condition than your hat is now with numerous tears all over. By the way, did the tear not go through the entire piece of leather, it looks like that in the picture?