Murder and Rebirth - The Custom Akubra

[mooniteman]

So A while ago I posted this: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=39735&p=561573#p561573

This is my BEFORE PICTURE:





As you can see my Akubra was waaay too big for my slender face - SO I did some math - found with a slight 8% reduction I could achieve a more accurate and appropriate look.

I did some measuring and got my exacto knife and well....

Murdered my hat !

First I trimmed the brim to see what it would look like.... It looked good - but the hat was still way too #### tall !

So I did what no man should ever try...

I cut the crown - that's right - it came off like some kind of beaver felt cereal bowl and just laid on my floor.

This is where my stomach turned a wee - bit - but not to worry I had some Barge Cement and a needle and thread - so I cut out the chunk I needed to maker it smaller and glued VERY carefully just the edges together. - Then very tediously I sewed around the edge.... This took a while.

But after a lot of sweat I think I just made one of the worlds only custom Akubra's !

Oh I also fixed that ###### Bow !

Take a look mates and let me know what you think!





I will try to get better pics when its not 4 in the morning!

Cheers!

AJ

[Strider]

You've sure got more guts than I do. I think the original crown height was better, but the brim looks better proportioned to your face now. So do I have this right? You cut the crown away from the brim, then cut the crown down shorter and glued/sewed everything back together?

[mooniteman]

So do I have this right? You cut the crown away from the brim, then cut the crown down shorter and glued/sewed everything back together?

Yes sir !

And I understand that the original height may look better - but the longer the crown is the longer my face appears and that's the last thing I want.

Cheers!

Moony

[enigmata_wood]

Bravely done. I think you just proved that it's better to be an Indy inspired version of oneself than an Indy clone.

[binkmeisterRick]

YOWZA! It's FrankenHat! I would've opted to have the hat reblocked with a shorter crown height, and then trim the brim, but that's just me. Still, if it works for you, it works. However, I would be concerned with the longevity of this hat at this point. There's no way to reblock it now, as it couldn't possibly be soaked and stretched over a block without tearing at the glue/sew line. Even getting caught in a rainstorm, it won't be as watertight as it once was as it would soak through at the same line. At least you appear to have hidden the scars nicely under the ribbon.

[Fedora]

I thought I had seen everything. I was wrong!! I guess that is one way to skin a cat, but certainly not the best way.

A reblock on a shorter block IS the only way to go. Rabbit shrinks up with no trouble.

Thanks for giving me nightmares!! Just kidding. You can do anything you want, since it is your hat! But my friend, you have me rolling on the floor this morning, and I spilled coffee on my pc keyboard. But, you certainly did think outside the box. Kudos for that. Fedora

[jacksdad]

Wow you have guts, looks good. good luck.

[enigmata_wood]

I wonder though if this technique is in any way related to the double brimmed safari hats of yore. Was the second brim a sewn in cut-off? Any hatters here with more info on that?

[binkmeisterRick]

There was discussion on this a long time ago. I think one idea may have been that it was a double body hat... Still, adding a second brim wouldn't compromise the initial crown/brim hat body.

[BendingOak]

There is no doubt in my mind that your pair dropped a long time ago. Thats a first for me.

[enigmata_wood]

There was discussion on this a long time ago. I think one idea may have been that it was a double body hat... Still, adding a second brim wouldn't compromise the initial crown/brim hat body.

I suppose if the solar heat was that much greater than one's own body heat a double body might insulate it out.