Club Obi Wan

A long story to begin for context:

So I have a beautiful grey beaver fedora from Adventurebilt that I recieved from Steve around 2010... When December would roll around, I'd wear it daily for the entire month of December when I was off the ski slopes, through rain and snow... And I was almost shocked that through it all, it never tapered or shrank with nary a reblock in sight.

Around 2019, I packed up and moved cross country in the summer, and looked ridiculous driving a tiny sedan full of hatboxes. I did worry about my seven day trip, with temperatures hitting 80 degrees, but figured 'if delivery companies shuttle hats in the summer, guess these guys should be fine...?'

Then Covid hit, and I sadly had to stop wearing my favorite fedora since 2019.

Anyway, fast forward to 2022. Today, I pulled my hat out of storage, and thanked my lucky stars that there was no sign of moth damage.

And then, I put it on.

The brim looked... askew. So, I did what I've done for years to no ill effect. I tugged the front of the brim down and...

Wait. This is weird.

Instead of having 'bounce' for lack of a better word, and having the entire front half of the brim bend forward like I've seen all my hats do over the years, this time I was left with a finger sized dent where I had tugged on the brim.

Imagine seeing a fedora viewed from the front. Now imagine if the curve of that brim suddenly made a half inch V dent...

Uh oh.

I tried to smooth it over, and eventually it did, by basically running my fingers back and forth while pinching the sides of the brim.

But wait, there's more...

Then, the entire brim became wonky. Tug one bit up, and just that bit of the brim gets raised. Pinch a different area down, and... you get the picture. It essentially had become too pliable, as if it were made out of clay.

If I put it on, the brim would slant sideways. So I straightened it, shaping it to look norma. I then wore it for an hour, took it off, and put it back on, and again it looked crooked. Basically, it had no memory, as if it had just been taken off a steamer... but refusing to set.

I apologize for the long story, and thank you if you've sat through all that... But does anyone know what on earth is going on? I swear this never happened before, and it depresses the heck out of me. This has been with me for over a decade... heck, it was practically best man at my wedding!

Has this happened to you? Is this what hats look like when they need a reblock? Is it the stiffener going bad? Is it heat damage from a long car ride? Years of moisture finally catching up? Or perhaps a long haul consequence of Adventurebilt's pre-aging of the felt?

And more importantly, is there a fix?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

First, 80 degrees isn’t hot. Where I live it reaches 115 in the summer. I’ve never left a hat in a vehicle at those temperatures, but I’ve worn many fedoras in those temperatures with no ill effects.

Second, I have good hats that are decades older and they don’t all of a sudden act up like that. They taper and lose shape but they don’t ask of a sudden have a “bad hair day.”

You didn’t say if the hat was Beaver or Rabbit. They do act differently, but sort of a reblock or reflange I’d try misting the entire brim- both sides, with water enough to dampen (but not soak) and gently reshape it, then wear it as it dries. I’ve sometimes used a flat countertop to flatten the brim completely and then let it dry on a stand into its natural shape before putting it back on.

In the end, a reblock will get you back to “factory settings” so there’s no harm trying.

Thank you for the advice, ridge! That does make me feel better, knowing that extreme heat shouldn't harm the hat... (for context, it was sitting in a black car that was burning to the touch, but yeah, none of my other hats seem affected).

It is a beaver fedora, and it's just weird since I've never seen this happen before, even after getting this hat drenched in rain, nor have I read of this happening to anyone. Just so weird to have the brim become super pliable, and stick to whatever shape you put it in, as if it were made from play dough.

What I ended up doing was to wear and shape the hat to what looked good, then I simply turned the hot water on in my shower on full blast, turning it into a sauna, essentially. I was afraid that the act of taking off the fedora would distort the brim, so I kept it on and sat in the bathroom for 10 minutes. Then, I wore the hat in a cool room for another 10 minutes.

From what I can tell, it seems to have mostly fixed the issue, fingers crossed. The brim is still a little pliable, but definitely holds its shape much better, and doesn't get all funky just taking it off. I might need to do what you suggested and get it in for a reblock though if it doesn't get better.

Still very confused as to what happened. After my move, it sat in a hat box in a closet in a room that was almost always 70 degrees and dry... None of my other hats have the same problem, including an identical (but unused) CS train beaver that I picked up a few years later, but otherwise was in identical storage conditions. So weird. Maybe it's just the many rain showers that this hat went through that caused the stiffener to go funky.

Fur hats by their very nature are organic products and will behave differently over time. If the brim continues to be wonky, but the crown hasn’t tapered, you can have the hat reflanged without a full reblock.

Regards,

Indiana Jeff

Fair point, would definitely be easier than a full reblock! Thank you Jeff!

I have an AB from 2010 that has a pretty wonky brim. I would send it somewhere for a reflange, but the way it fits and with as floppy as the brim is, it is my windy day hat so I keep it as is.

Regards,

Indiana Jeff