Club Obi Wan

Some of my hats tend to taper when I wear them and I am not sure if it's my skull shape or the size issue... Anyway, this is a pretty close rendition of my skull shape... I am still not sure if I am a regular oval or a round oval... Can anyone determine this? Thank you!! Any help is appreciated!!

You've got a round oval head shape. I have the same problem, so for me, if I want a straight sided hat it has to be custom made. I know Marc has round oval blocks, John Penman made me a hat with knowledge that I have a round oval head and it worked a treat. And Steve, bless him, went through so much trouble to get the Raiders hat to fit me without taper. I am apparantly round round oval as my head is only 1/2" longer than wide (Steve custom made a block for me...for which I have to ). Your's is a round oval, from what I can see.

Thank you!! That about sounds right... I always suspected my head being more of a round oval shaped... Guess that solves that dilemma... thank you!

Is there a phrenologist in the house?

LJ

We have the same problem. Also, I've noticed that the turn doesn't work too well on our heads. I tried turning my Christy's, but by the time the brim got that nice Raiders warp, the ribbon was over my left eye!

I think we've got ourselves a round headed club.

Also, the amount of turn needed to get a brim warp makes the hat look stupid! That's why I prefer the hybrid bashes. I like the LC curls with KOTCS upward back swoop with the Raiders front pinch.

achi11es wrote:I think we've got ourselves a round headed club.

Yup that sounds about right... haha.

So what do we call our little club?

Well-Rounded Skulls?
Round Oval Skull Society (ROSS)?
haha

TaterHeads.

(Yes, I'm one too.)

Maybe you should consult Cesare Lombroso on this one...

ROSS sounds good to me. For me it's not only the taper, but anyone else find that even wearing the hat without a turn warps the brim? Mine tends to dip at the back to a point. I've had to have all my hats converted to round ovals because of that.

achi11es wrote:ROSS sounds good to me. For me it's not only the taper, but anyone else find that even wearing the hat without a turn warps the brim? Mine tends to dip at the back to a point. I've had to have all my hats converted to round ovals because of that.

I just basically have problems with the turn... it doesn't want to warp. So a Raiders turn won't work for me.

I haven't had a chance to try any turns yet, so I wouldn't be able to say... Things I noticed with the brim warping is that instead of the brim warping upwards, it tend to go downwards thus flattening out the warp... I never seem to get that Raiders swoop unless I train the brim.

Just looking at the image I would say a round oval is a understatement. I think you will need not only your hat made round oval but some extra work done to get the turn to work for you but not impossible.

gi_canuck, is the top of your diagram the front of your head?

OK, so then... By the numbers, can someone (John) give me a rough definition for the many grades of oval-ness? For example canuck's head is only about 14% longer than it is wide (if I am doing my math right), thus being considered round or even round-round oval. What, to a hatter, would be considered 'normal' (if there is such a thing)?

After putting numbers together I think he is in-between reg oval and round oval. It looks really round just looking at his drawing. I would like to know how he got his shape?

Reg oval 1 1/2 longer than wide
Long oval 2 1/8 longer than wide
Round oval 5/8 longer than wide

And these are my numbers.

RCSignals wrote:gi_canuck, is the top of your diagram the front of your head?

Yes it is...

stevemahaffey wrote:OK, so then... By the numbers, can someone (John) give me a rough definition for the many grades of oval-ness? For example canuck's head is only about 14% longer than it is wide (if I am doing my math right), thus being considered round or even round-round oval. What, to a hatter, would be considered 'normal' (if there is such a thing)?

Understand that there is a variation from block maker to block maker on the differential on these various blockshapes. But, the one that I use is....

Round oval = 1 inch differential (differential equals the front to back measurment
minus the side to side measurment)

Regular oval = 1 3/8 differential
Long oval = 1 3/4 differential


Or basically you step up or down 1 3/8 inch. Some blockmakers use a 1 1/2 inch differential, and some have no rhyme or reason.

I recently had to make two blocks, in round ovals just to get a decent fit. I am gonna have these run in all of the sizes by a blockmaker, as it is too time consuming to have to handmake these blocks. But when you need em, you need em. And some guys are even more than a round oval. Some heads are wider than they are long. Don't expect the "turn" to work out on these head shapes though. Goes against geometry.

BendingOak wrote:After putting numbers together I think he is in-between reg oval and round oval. It looks really round just looking at his drawing. I would like to know how he got his shape?

Reg oval 1 1/2 longer than wide
Long oval 2 1/8 longer than wide
Round oval 5/8 longer than wide

And these are my numbers.

Hello Oak!! I got the shape using the old coat hanger trick... it may not be that accurate, sorry... I think you are right, I might be an in-between shape... I'll post a photo of myself with towel around my head as well... (Peter's Bros hat people asked me to this once...) Hope that helps... Thanks for the input!!

Sorry about the quality of the pic... I had to take the pic by myself...

Okay, I had a guy want me to make him a block and he said he was a long oval. He had tried on my hat (reg oval) and he could stick a finger up into the hat on the sides. I made a set of big calipers and used those to get his front to back and side to side. He had a ratio of 1 7/8 longer front to back than side to side.

Would this be a long oval? Well its longer than my shape. The great thing about everybody is there heads are all a wee bit different so it is nice that there are some Hat makers on here that can offer a well fitted hat no matter the shape.

I found a Bessey K-body bar clamp also works well to get front to back and side to side measurements.....in a pinch...lol

Ohio

ps...years ago I tried the wire method....it was a disaster!

gi_canuck wrote:




Sorry about the quality of the pic... I had to take the pic by myself...

I just picket up a tool to get head measurements and head shape. I can always have it shipped to you to try.

BendingOak wrote:
I just picket up a tool to get head measurements and head shape. I can always have it shipped to you to try.

THANK YOU!! That would be just awesome Oak!! How should I proceed with that, if I want that done? Can you email me the details?

gi_canuck wrote:

BendingOak wrote:
I just picket up a tool to get head measurements and head shape. I can always have it shipped to you to try.

THANK YOU!! That would be just awesome Oak!! How should I proceed with that, if I want that done? Can you email me the details?

Ill contact you when i get it.

Fedora wrote: And some guys are even more than a round oval. Some heads are wider than they are long. Don't expect the "turn" to work out on these head shapes though. Goes against geometry.

I know a guy who's head looks like it IS wider than it is long. Thanks for confirming this Fedora.

Just measured my head with a caliper... Front to back is 7 1/2 and Sides are 6 1/2... 1 inch differential... therefore ROUND OVAL. Ah ha!