Brim curl

[AcmeNews]

I have a few straw and felt fedoras. I snap the front brim down, but it always maintains a little bit of a bend on the down slope. I would like it to stay flat but still bend down.

Any suggestions?

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

Flat but bent? Not sure what you mean, m'friend.

Can you post photos so we can see the trouble?

I'm fairly confident that steaming or water would help to shape the brim to your liking but until seeing what you're up against it's hard to say for sure.

 

[AcmeNews]

Photos of curl

See how the brims have that funky hump? I want them to bend down but without the curl.

I hope that helps.

Thanks

 

[scottyrocks]

It looks like you might need to extend the downturn around the sides a bit to put less stress on the front. My 40s Royal Stetson has that issue. If I snap only the front down, it gets that type of hump.

 

[AcmeNews]

Curl

I have tried to extend it, but it won't stay. I am to the point I wish to take a nice hot iron to these things, but then I'll probably ruin them

Hey, at least then I can go hat shopping.

 

[bolthead]

Maybe you need to re-flange them? [huh]

 

[AcmeNews]

Re-flange

Great idea.

What is it?

 

[metropd]

I wish I could get my brims with that curl. I envy you.:eusa_clap

 

[rrog]

I have tried to extend it, but it won't stay. I am to the point I wish to take a nice hot iron to these things, but then I'll probably ruin them

Hey, at least then I can go hat shopping.

I know you probably weren't serious about the iron, but I do want to say that using an iron won't necessarily ruin the brim. Just make sure there is plenty of steam, don't use a setting that is too hot and the times I've used an iron, I put a little dish cloth between the iron and felt. Of course, be extra careful.

Having said that, I agree with scottyrocks about extending the down turn around more on the sides.

rrog

 

[jonbuilder]

Have these hats been stretched? I gotten the same brim curl with hats that I've stretched.
jon

 

[suitedcboy]

I get that curl in that area due to having an extra long oval head and finding almost no hats blocked and flanged to my noggin shape.

 

[Dewhurst]

This is happeneing on multiple hats? That is somewhat unusual.

I don't want to assume you are storing these wrong, but that little upward hump you are getting in the front of the snap is exactly what will happen if snap brim hats are rested on their brim, rather than on their crown or on a hook when not wearing them. Are you storing these correctly?

[huh]

 

[AcmeNews]

Still trying

All,

Thanks for the input.

My head is 7 3/8, perhaps a bit oval shaped, so I suppose my head just forces the curl.

I generally store by hats on an old hat tree or on the crown, upside down, because I fear messing up the brim, although it doesn't seem to matter.

I have been wearing hats for quite a few years but have never done anything special in terms of blocking of shaping. I pretty much just go to the hat shop and buy the one I like and then snap the brim down.

And, just because people like to know, the hats are a Knox High Stepper, Stetson Andover and Selentino Sterling. I have, of have had, several of each of these hats.

Hats rule.

Again, thanks for the help. I'll keep experimenting.

 

[Brad Bowers]

These are curling that way due to the flange that was used on the brim at the factory. You can steam the front brim to flatten some of it out. You can also always find a hatter or hat shop that has a flatter flange to take some of that curl out (a flange is a wooden block ring that the brim is ironed on to give it its curl).

Also, snap brim hats should be stored with the brim snapped up, the hat resting on its sweatband, not the crown.

Brad

 

[AcmeNews]

Solved

The iron thing worked. I had done a little research and found several references to using an iron just hot enough to produce plenty of steam (thanks, rrog) with a white cloth as a barier.

Of course, that does make sense considering hats are often shaped with steam anyway.

The brims are great, and I guess I'll just take a little extra care in handling and storing them.

Thanks again for everybody's input.

 

[immortaldiamond]

This is happeneing on multiple hats? That is somewhat unusual.

I don't want to assume you are storing these wrong, but that little upward hump you are getting in the front of the snap is exactly what will happen if snap brim hats are rested on their brim, rather than on their crown or on a hook when not wearing them. Are you storing these correctly?

[huh]

Strange - I thought fedoras were meant to be stored on the brim rather than the crown - if not (ideally) on a hook.

 

[Chuck Bobuck]

Also, snap brim hats should be stored with the brim snapped up, the hat resting on its sweatband, not the crown.

Brad

Brad, I was curious about this. How about if your hat is worn or rotated fairly regularly, but left on a hook over night. Do you still snap it up? Or does too much up/down put stress on the brim?

 

[Brad Bowers]

I'd still snap it up before putting it on a hook. Think of a snap brim as a spring. Its natural position, where the spring is at rest, is when it is snapped up, because that's the way the brim was flanged. It has tension when it is snapped down.

Over time, of course, the tension breaks down as the felt breaks in with handling, which is why brims need reflanging. But some people also like that particularly relaxed look, so it comes down to personal choice.

Brad