BRIM RESHAPING

[Havana Joe]

Hopefully I'm not asking an already answered question, but the search did me no good.

I want to reshape the brim on an Akubra, probably a Cattleman, with a sort of curl similar to Hugh Jackman's hat in Australia. I really like that brim.
I read that the Jackman's hat was made from an Akubra.

I am thinking that by taking my time and steaming it/working the brim, I may be able to do it. I also thought of wetting it or steaming it and somehow folding the brim edge up around a shape, like a section of tubing/hose. After that, I can work on the overall brim shape.

Suggestions will be appreciated.

Does this sound feasible or like the pipe-dream of someone on hallucinogenic substances on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride?

 

[RobFedoraField]

pencil curl

I know this isn't much help, but you might want to do some searches on a pencil role brim

 

[Havana Joe]

Pencil

I know this isn't much help, but you might want to do some searches on a pencil role brim

Thanks. It was helpful, and I appreciate that you took the time!

I've been doing that search but on the forum I find nothing (could be my search incompetence) and on the web I just get examples.

Back in 2005 I bought a Sunbody Palm Leaf hat on Whiskey Row in Prescott, AZ. It was a Gus with a 4" brim, low crown, and a pencil roll.

Like this one:

https://ssl.webwize.com/Sunbody/moreinfo.cfm?Product_ID=86

I got a lot of positive comments on that hat. I still have it, although it has a tear on the front of the crown. I can and will get another, but when I saw Jackman's hat in Australia I thought "Holy Cow! That's it!" I just really like the combination of the western flare with the fedora type crown. I'm moving back to really rural N.E. AZ and I tend to dress rugged much more than I do spiffy, so I want a hat like Jackman's because it isn't the typical "cowboy" look.

 

[barra063]

http://www.nungar.com.au/catalog/popup_image.php/pID/67

The Akubra Sombrero has a pencil brim. I have put a teardrop bash in mine. The brim is a little larger than the one on Hugh Jackman's hat. My cattleman has a 3 3/8" brim and the sombrero has a 4 3/4" brim

 

[J.T.Marcus]

When you have a bound brim edge, putting that much curl in it is usually quite easy. The edge binding, like the ribbon, is a cotton/rayon blend which shrinks when it gets wet and then dries. This is what fits the ribbon to the taper of the hat's crown, and what causes a slight pencil curl. By allowing the hat to soak in cold water (about 30 minutes); then shaping it, as you desire and allowing it to dry, you will get that much curl on just about any hat with a bound edge.

Here's one I did.

And another.

And one more.

In none of those cases did I deliberately try to put the curl in. It just happened as the edge binding shrank. The upside is that the curl is not so severe that you can't still snap the brim down. This is the same hat as the first picture, above.

 

[Matt Deckard]

I'm always keen on the fedora with the up brim

 

[Havana Joe]

When you have a bound brim edge, putting that much curl in it is usually quite easy. The edge binding, like the ribbon, is a cotton/rayon blend which shrinks when it gets wet and then dries. This is what fits the ribbon to the taper of the hat's crown, and what causes a slight pencil curl. By allowing the hat to soak in cold water (about 30 minutes); then shaping it, as you desire and allowing it to dry, you will get that much curl on just about any hat with a bound edge.

Wow! THANKS!

 

[Havana Joe]

I'm always keen on the fedora with the up brim

Me too. I like that about fedoras-that you can pop up the brim and get a different look.