Brim Shaping

[Ray-Vigo]

Does anyone here do any brim shaping on pre-formed fur felt fedoras? I know with the old style ones that came unformed you'd steam and set the brim. What about ones that come pre-formed?

I've seen pictures in here of hats in here with brims that are slanted, have extra drop in front, etc.

I have a couple hats that are ones with pre-formed snap brims. One of them might be nice with a little more drop in the front part of the brim. Is steaming something that works for this or are they best to let alone the way they arrive?

 

[Dinerman]

Does anyone here do any brim shaping on pre-formed fur felt fedoras? I know with the old style ones that came unformed you'd steam and set the brim. What about ones that come pre-formed?

I've seen pictures in here of hats in here with brims that are slanted, have extra drop in front, etc.

I have a couple hats that are ones with pre-formed snap brims. One of them might be nice with a little more drop in the front part of the brim. Is steaming something that works for this or are they best to let alone the way they arrive?

I only have experience with vintage hats, but they've all come with the brim flanged up like a bowl all the way around. You just snap it down with your hands- no steam necessary.

I've never seen one where the brim comes snapped down and can't go back up. Can you link me to a picture?

But to give a brim a little more drop, steaming works. Snap the brim down in the front, over the edge of a table, or over something rounded, like a mailing tube or something similar. Steam the brim, and shape it the way you want it. Let it dry and cool and you should be good to go. You can also accomplish the same thing by wetting the felt and then shaping it.

 

[Not-Bogart13]

Dinerman, a pre-formed brim can, in some cases, look exactly like a snap brim! The most obvious, though, are westerns.

Anyway, pre-formed, unformed, snap, whatever. The methods for altering shape remain the same. Stiffly set brims might require a little more effort and patience, but it's all the same drill.

 

[Ray-Vigo]

The brim I mean is a pre-formed snap brim-- a hat that comes shaped from the factory (not open crown) with a snap brim. The snap down feature on this one is somewhat milktoast-- it only drops in the front just a little. What I was thinking of was steaming it and increasing the drop a little. But I wasn't sure if that would cause shrinking or deformation.

 

[Not-Bogart13]

Try this; Hold the brim with both hands at about 5 and 7 o'clock. Waggle the hat up and down, letting the weight of it snap and unsnap the brim over and over again. Do it about 10 times and then see how the snap looks. Repeat the process a few times if desired. Sometimes all it takes is a little breaking-in.

If not, a light steaming shouldn't hurt, unless it's wool felt. So, you can add steam to the method I just described. I had to do that with one of my Akubras.