re bashing/revert to a non turn bash

[indyhan]

hey indygang
maybe (probably so) the question's been asked already, but i can't seem to find anything pertaining to it, so here goes

have one fine henry that i had the german Adventurebilt team bash raiders style, with turn, and another one, crystal skull bashed
same size exactly, both of them
yet, the raiders bashed one looks funnily too narrow on my noggin (crown wise, that is) while the crystal skull looks just right (which by the way is the reason why i have this "for trade" thread in the trading section : going one size bigger and keep the raiders bash, oh well...)
plus, i find the extra swoop in the brim doesn't look so good on me
so i'm considering turning my raiders back to a crystal skull bash

thing is, the bash's been in and firmly settled for quite some time in the crown felt
can i trying re bashing the crown with steam in the hopes the Raiders bash creases will just disappear, or should i go the professional rebash way and entrust my trusty henry to a regular hatter ?

[Ridgerunner58]

if it's not pinched too tight (and doesn't have an discoloration or fading where the current front pinch is) you should be able to use water or steam to undo to current creases and then re-crease it differently. I have quite a few hats I have done that with over the years with no problems at all.

The key is patience. Don't expect to do it all in an hour.

If you use cold water, push the creases out, mist the crown, try to gently smooth it back to an open crown, then let it sit and dry for a day. Once it's dry, if any residual creases remain, re-mist it, and smooth it out again. If you use steam, same thing. Don't overdo it. Progressively smooth it back to an open crown over time.

Once you feel you have a decent "blank slate" to work from you should be okay to crease it as you want, keeping in mind that the felt MAY have an internal memory that has to be overcome in the process.

[indyhan]

hey ridgerunner

thanx for the advice

i think i'll be trying that patient approach

i have a few hats so i won't be deprived of wearing a fedora all through the process