A tutorial is in order for some of our less technical (me) members. I know it has been done before, but a refresher course would be wonderful.[/QUOTE]
Moon, thanks for doing the "leg work" on this. I was to the point where I thought I would just leave liners as I got them instead of risking fading the crests.
So the manufacturer replied to me that he is sorry but it is hard to say whose "fault" it is. I agree with him that perhaps it's Tonak that makes hats slightly larger (all my other hats are from Tonak). He suggested geting the hat stretcher as well. However, I am still undecided which one should I buy. The hat jack looks the best but they come in sizes. Small is from 6 1/2 to 7 1/8 and medium from 7 1/8 to 7 1/2. I believe that if I am 56, the small should be fine, but I might be close to 57 (7 1/8), so I am no sure. I am not able to measure my own head with such precision. So what do you think, small or medium hat jack?
The hat jacks I've seen have plenty of play beyond the size they are listed for. Go with a small and even if you go to a 57 you should still have plenty of room to stretch or hold a shape.
the manufacturer blamed the felt supplier ?
+1 Word!
Not the felt supplier, but here is the full reply:
Very sorry to hear about your size issue. We measure all of our hats throughout production and again just before placing them in the hat boxes, so usually we are pretty confident that the size is right. Sizes may differ a bit between manufacturers, it might be that Tonak's 56 is actually larger than 56cm. Or, perhaps we haven't been as thorough as I like to believe. From your picture however I can see that there's still space between the tape and the hat, and measuring width a tape like that really isn't that accurate.
Nevertheless, I will do whatever I can to help you out!
The leather sweatband has the amazing ability to both expand and contract. If you wear your hat a lot, the heat and moisture from your head will cause the hat to expand slightly and take the shape of your head. If you leave it a warm place however, it may shrink as much as half a size.
What you can do is to lightly steam it on the outside, before pulling it down tight over your head.
Personally I prefer my hats to be on the small side when they are new, but it really is a matter of preference.
If you have a lot of high quality hats, I can highly recommend getting yourself a hat stretcher. It will help you keep the shape of your hats and is able to help you out if a hat gets too small.
If we had them in the shop, I would send you one for free, but you can pick one up on either amazon or eBay for very cheap.
If you are not comfortable with doing it yourself, you can also send it to us and we can do it for you, but it will hardly be worth the shipping back and forth.
Hope this helps, be sure to let me know how it works out or if there's anything else I can do
sounds like a half assed answer to me to be honest... you should be accommodated with a hat that fits regardless of what the number of the size tag says and conflicts between manufacturer sizing
that one is here as well ... just not as good of a thread
