Club Obi Wan

So I have a hat (non indy) but still applicable.
I was wearing a Scala Bowler hat that had been heavily distressed.

Recently with time it has become too tight on my head. To the point where it was hard to put on and leaving a very red mark on my forehead.............I knew that stretching might not help much. So I tore out the leather sweatband and now it fits beautifully and comfy.


How important is the sweatband? Will my hat eventually loose all shape and form and become a blob of felt? haha

It's essential for comfort, both suppleness & correct sizing. Love the sweat on my Garrison--ultra soft & really conforms to your head even w/ the turn!

Not sure about holding the shape--my thinking is it's the block shape that does more of that, but I could be wrong. You might try sending it to one of our hatters & seeing what they can do w/ it.

My thinking is the sweat is essential for the long term "health" of the hat. The felt is not designed to come in direct contact with your skin. Eventually the sweat and oils from your skin will soak into the felt and at the very least stain the felt. At the worst I would think the felt could "break down" and not only lose its shape, but become weak overall.

My suggestion is to consult with a hatter about a reblock to fit a sweat that will fit your head correctly.

Regards,

Indiana Jeff

In addition to the above, my experience is the sweatband is structural. Hats i've seen that have the sweatband removed tend to start tapering and try revert to the "cone" shape they started out in. I think the sweatband stops that from happening.

Why do we have sweatbands? To stop/slow sweat from soaking threw the felt of your hat and discolouring it. Possibly shrinking your hat as well. Also to add comfort to your head, Rougher felts may be uncomfortable. With that said I have seen some vintage hats that people have taken the sweat band out of. Sweatbands may also crack and fall out with time ( we are talking years here)

Now I have a Akubra snowy river and a old First generation Federation that the sweat band shrank to much. I started with a hat jack to keep it in its original size. The I got a wood block of my head made up. What you can also do is get the leather swapped out with a vinyl sweatband. Maybe a little hotter under the brim but the sweat will not soak threw and it will not shrink.

My two cents worth.

Johnny.

backstagejack wrote:Recently with time it has become too tight on my head. To the point where it was hard to put on and leaving a very red mark on my forehead.

Just curious has your hair grown out? I notice my hats can get very tight if I let my hair grown longer then usual.

lantzn wrote:

backstagejack wrote:Recently with time it has become too tight on my head. To the point where it was hard to put on and leaving a very red mark on my forehead.

Just curious has your hair grown out? I notice my hats can get very tight if I let my hair grown longer then usual.

My hair has grown out a lot actually but I noticed the hat getting very tight even before that. When I bought it it was already a snug fit, I probably should've gone for a size up in the first place but it was a uniquely distressed bowler hat that I really wanted. With the sweatband out though it fits very comfy...

Sweatbands do serve a very good purpose or they wouldn't use them. Reseason being already stated and then some. With a stiff hat like a bowler or a top hat a confirmture is a must. Soft felted hats like a dress weight fedora you can go without but not a stiff hat
Like a bowler.