Reblock: is it safe to have it done by a ordinary hatter?

[Restless Dreamer]

So, the Henry is a nice hat indeed, but not very taper-resistant, I'd say. Mine has developed a nasty and ugly back taper, and if I try to deepen the back of the center bash, I end up with the sides tapered, and the top of the fedora sitting on my noggin.

In addition, if I open the crown, I can't bring the hat to its original shape: it now sport a hump on the top center, that was once quite flat. In the end, my hat needs to be reblocked. A shame, after just 2 months of use and very little distressing.

The point is: sending it to Marc would be the ideal, since he has the original blockshape; Oak could do just fine. But I fear for Marc waiting times, for taxes if I send it to Oak (I live in Italy), and for shipping costs in both cases.

In Rome there are a few hatters which, judging from what I've read, seem to work with the old techniques and care. But my question is: how could they reblock my Henry, if they don't have the original block? Might they try to clone it just to reblock my hat, or shall they use a similar (or maybe not-too-similar) block?

My fear is they don't choose the right blockshape and ruin the hat by forcing it on a block which is uncorrect, changing its overall look.

Tips, advices, comments? Have you ever had a hat reblocked by someone who wasn't the original hat maker? Tell me your experiences, I need to make a wise choice and I'm counting on your expertise

[gobo]

You could try getting one of these and reblock it yourself. I did, with nice results.
http://www.hatshapers.com/Product%20Pag ... d_Dome.htm

[Restless Dreamer]

and it would cost me 33$ plus shipping plus taxes...I'd rather send it to Oak or Marc, then ok, I would end up with a block that I could use over and over, but I don't feel very confident in reblocking a hat myself: take off the liner, iron the felt on the block while pulling it, put the liner on again... I'm not good at sewing, I don't know how to use a iron (I'm 20, never been a boy scout, so...), and most important I'm lazy and scared by the perspective I could ruin a 200$ hat no, DIY is not meant for me...

so, coming back to my question: what about having it reblocked by an "ordinary" hatter? safe, no-no, what?

[Marc]

That comes quite surprisingly to me. I've worn mine a lot outside in the rain during renovations of the new hat shop. No ill effects at all.

Send Stefan an e-mail at switthuhn(at)hotmail.com please and I'm sure we'll find a way to fix things up for you.

Regards,

Marc

[BendingOak]

If it wasn't an Indy hat any good hat maker could re-block your hat. This is a Indy hat and there are only a few who realy pay attention to the details of a Indy hat. Marc is one of these guys that smallest detail he will pay attenntion to. I would do as marc suggest an contact stefan . If stefan is working along side marc you will bet to get top notch work out of him and the details of an Indy hat will be there.

[Restless Dreamer]

That comes quite surprisingly to me.

surprised me too, but have a look yourself: here are some photos of the hat open crown:


http://img13.imageshack.us/gal.php?g=imgp1878.jpg


(hope it works...imageshack is often unreliable)

see the hump on the top? and the taper? when bashed, the side taper disappears, but not the back taper.

EDIT: and notice that the hat is lying flat on the table - so the back and front taper looks less noticeable

[Marc]

Jup I see what you mean and actually I have to thank you.

I sent this to the manufacturer and told him that people expect "built like a tank" once it has the AB name on it and that I wanted him to find a solution for future hats.

Since they have a very good reputation with traditional Jewish hats (that aren't accepted when tapered neither), he knew exactly what to do and this will be incoorporated into future Henrys as well. Please note: usually this is incl. in their 600-800 Euro hats...

Regards,

Marc

[Restless Dreamer]

glad to have contributed to improve henry's quality

[jasonalun]

he knew exactly what to do and this will be incorporated into future Henrys as well

What would this solution be? I have a Henry, but mine's still holding strong, but I haven't worn it much.

[Marc]

Not soaking it completely in order to re-crease it

Nah, kidding asside. I've worn mine quite a bit with no ill effects, so you should be fine. If really needed, it can be reblocked though - of course

Regards,

Marc

[jasonalun]

Pardon me if I'm being dense here, but I don't think you answered my question.
What "solution" does the Henry factory have for preventing taper in the hat? Or is it a trade secret? I'm just curious.

[Restless Dreamer]

Not soaking it completely in order to re-crease it

was this adressed subtly to me? I had to completely soak it because I gave my Henry a very tight pinch and creases, so I wasn't able to rebash it dry. I would have used only a little water, but the felt was very water repellent and water just slipped on it without wetting it: a complete soaking was needed.