Club Obi Wan

The inside of my hatbands are generally around the 7 4/5 inches "long" and 6 1/3 inches "wide", mark.

I've always wondered, does this make my headshape what they call a "long oval"??

It can be difficult to judge anything by measuring a hat that way, and ultimately tells you about then hat, not your head. Most hats that aren't super stiff will give a little to conform to your head shape. Maybe one of the hatters will know the ratio of length to width for a technical answer.

But there are indicators you can use if you don't have a proper tool to measure your actual head. The best way to tell is to measure your head with a tape, and find a regular oval hat that is sized accurately to fit that measurement. If you find it tight in the front and/or back, but have space on both sides, you are probably a long oval. Space on only one side might not mean you are long oval, though. Heads can be very oddly shaped, while hats tend to be rather uniform.

Another clue is if you have to wear a size larger than your measurement tells you in order to be comfortable, and that generally feels loose.

If you can find a way to get an impression of your head or use what's called a conformer you might know for sure.

If you have a large calipers, you can measure the front to back measurement of your head (the length) and the side to side measurement (the width). Measure where you would wear your hat. Then subtract the width from the length. Various folks have figured some creative ways to get the measurements.

The categories have a Length minus Width difference as follows:
Oval = 5/8"....................Regular Oval = 1-3/8"
Long Oval = 2-1/8"..........X-Long Oval = 2-7/8"
XX-Long Oval = 3-5/8".....XXX-Long Oval = 4-3/8"

I have several vintage hats in 7 3/8 LO from the 40's and 50's and they fit like a charm. I've stretched a couple 7 1/4's that fit my noggin well, too. Had a couple hats reblocked into a long oval by Graham Thompson of Optimo Hats and have been pretty satisifed with those. A couple months ago I came across 7 1/4 XLO, a Resistol San Antonio Beaver Twenty-Five, an Open Road clone, and that one turned out to be a steal. Having the right fit can add A LOT to a hat.

The categories have a Length minus Width difference as follows:
Oval = 5/8"....................Regular Oval = 1-3/8"
Long Oval = 2-1/8"..........X-Long Oval = 2-7/8"
XX-Long Oval = 3-5/8".....XXX-Long Oval = 4-3/8"

Part of that sounds right, but not all. I own no long, long oval blocks. But I do own regular ovals, and long ovals. The regular oval has a differential of, as you said, 1 3/8 inches. My long ovals have a 1 3/4 differential. I think as you move up or down in ovals, the differential changes by 3/8 an inch. So, a round oval would be a 1 inch differential. A round oval, is still an oval, just slightly so. But as with everything else in hatting, you see different differentials depending upon the blockmaker. Some regular ovals I have, vintage blocks, feature a 1 1/2 inch differential, but Lamode told me, he uses the 1 3/8 as it was more common. So, it just depends upon the blockmaker. Like those online sizing charts, there is no rhyme or reason with this stuff. No industry standards.

Fedora wrote:So, it just depends upon the blockmaker. Like those online sizing charts, there is no rhyme or reason with this stuff. No industry standards.

Therein lies the inescapable problem. Combined with the subtle variations of nature, it's a pain. I'm told I'm a regular oval, but I have to say that I find a long oval very comfortable. Like just about all my clothing sizes, I'm probably in between reg and long!

Hmm... Where would "Round" skull fit into? Regular Oval? Asian person like myself tend to have a round skull that pushes the sides of the hat hence generating that dreaded taper no matter what kind of hat I put on... I hate the taper with passion. Urrrgh. I hear Marc has a round skull block or something... Maybe I should get a hat one size bigger and stuff some foams on the front and back of the hat to prevent taper from happening. Anyone has any suggestions for this dillema?

Hmm... Where would "Round" skull fit into? Regular Oval? Asian person like myself tend to have a round skull that pushes the sides of the hat hence generating that dreaded taper no matter what kind of hat I put on... I hate the taper with passion.

I think you would need a round oval. Marc's first Raider block that he still has is a round oval block. I don't have any though.

I would almost bet though that you could wear a CS fedora without that taper, since the hat is so darn straight to begin with. Have you tried one of these? It might be the solution. The hatter would just move up a block size to make your hat, and then drum in the sweat. But, me thinks it would work for you. Fedora

Fedora wrote:

Hmm... Where would "Round" skull fit into? Regular Oval? Asian person like myself tend to have a round skull that pushes the sides of the hat hence generating that dreaded taper no matter what kind of hat I put on... I hate the taper with passion.

I think you would need a round oval. Marc's first Raider block that he still has is a round oval block. I don't have any though.

I would almost bet though that you could wear a CS fedora without that taper, since the hat is so darn straight to begin with. Have you tried one of these? It might be the solution. The hatter would just move up a block size to make your hat, and then drum in the sweat. But, me thinks it would work for you. Fedora

Awesome!! Thank you, sir!! I haven't had a chance to try any CS style hats yet... All the hats I own are in Raiders bash. I just like that tight pinch look better for some reason. I'll definitely try the CS fedora when I get a chance for sure though!! However I have one more question for you, if you don't mind... What do you mean by "DRUM" in the sweat? You mean like reinforce it with another strip of leather or something? Once again thank you very much for the input, Mr. Delk!! You are the man!!

Well, you could put a Raiders crease in a CS block hat. It's not the crease but the block that I believe Steve is talking about. The CS block is very straight. So your head "pushing" on the sides of the hat wouldn't affect the shape of the hat as much as a hat blocked on a different block, one without the extremely straight sides.

Dave

What do you mean by "DRUM" in the sweat?

It's an old hatter's term. Basically it means sewing in a sweatband that is smaller than intended for a particular hat size. It is generally used for in between sizes. Say your head measurment is 23 3/4 inches. Now, a size 7 1/2 hat is by most charts, a 23 1/2 sized sweatband. Which fits the 7 1/2 block perfectly. And a 24 inch sweatband is a classic 7 5/8's sized hat. But you are in between. So, a hatter would generally take the 7 5/8 block and make your hat using that size. He would then cut your sweatband at 23 3/4, and drum, or sew it in. And that is how you get in between sizes made. It just takes a lot more short stitches to drum in a sweat.

In your case though, if a hatter did not have a round oval block, he could move up one size larger, then, drum in your sweatband that is your size. The resulting hat, being larger, would not tend to give you that taper that comes from a round head in a regular oval hat. Just another trick of the trade. Plus, the CS block is very straight sided. NO taper at all. That would also help to address the issue. You could crease the CS hat with the Raiders crease. And, the CS block makes a decent Raiders hat, IF you drop down the height of the front and back crease, to give it an arc on the top, as seen from the sides of the hat. And of course, turn it too. Fedora

If you're not sure of your head shape, it's actually quite easy to make yourself a set of temporary large calipers for just a couple of bucks. Take a piece of thin (1/8") plywood and using a jigsaw cut out 2 exact same pieces the shape of a large tree caliper, drill a hole in the centre and pop a bolt though it. Slip it over your noggin and measure the distance of the opening! Then compare the measurements to the head chart above.

Yup, I was THAT bored one day!

Thank you all for the aweosome input!! Now I know exactly what I should do from now on to get a better looking / fitting hat!! I think the CS Block definitely is a way to go!! Thank you very much everyone!! Hope this would help other people with the Round Oval syndrome...