Circular Side Dents

[jimmy the lid]

OK. Perhaps a bit esoteric as a thread topic, but I thought I'd post a few examples that inspired this weekend's bash-a-thon. I've always been intrigued by some of the vintage ads -- generally from the late thirties to very early forties -- that show side dents that tend to be more circular, rather than elongated. It's definitely a distinctive look:

So, I thought I'd give it a whirl:

Any other examples out there?

Cheers,
JtL

 

[RBH]

Wow you brought those ads to life, the hats looks great. I had never really noticed that before.
Thanks!!!!

 

[Colby Jack]

Jimmy...I bet they look great on you too!...hint hint...

 

[GWD]

Jimmy, what technique did you use to make such stunning circular dents?

 

[J.T.Marcus]

JTL, Just when I think I have an eye for detail, somebody comes along and points out something I never noticed. Dean pointed out the "fingerprint" dent; now you've documented the "round" dent. I love learning stuff like this! :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[jimmy the lid]

Glad to know this topic is of some interest! The old vintage ads tend to capture a variety of styles, and the "rounded" side dents caught my eye.

GWD -- as far as technique goes, it's a lot easier to accomplish than it is to describe! But here goes...

With these lids, I started by putting the open crown lid on my noggin, making sure that it was lined up properly on my head. I extended my index and middle fingers as a unit, placed them on the lid at about where the bottom of the dents would be, then "scooped" in while sweeping up and around toward the top of the lid. I did this simultaneously with both hands -- the result is that you are scooping in the dents at the same time, and you can watch to see that they are centered on the hat and carved out evenly. Then, I reversed direction and came back down and through -- sweeping my extended index and middle fingers back toward my ears. Now, if you were to stop the flow when your fingers are pointing at your ears, you wind up with a fairly standard elongated dent that comes to a bit of a point at the rear. Instead, I kept moving my fingers in a circular direction -- coming "full circle," so to speak. Went through this process a few times, sweeping in a fluid motion with the extended fingers.

Both of the lids I was working with were medium weight in terms of felt thickness, so the dents were accomplished fairly easily and organically. I really liked the look, so I set the dents with some steam to make sure that they would retain their shape during the rest of the creasing process. Only after the dents were "locked in" did I crease the rest of the lid, making sure that the creasing preserved the rounded dents along the way.

My experience is that the thickness and nature of the felt has a lot to do with how creative you can get with the dents. For example, I think this would be a bit harder to accomplish with a lightweight felt. One other note -- I never use my fingertips to make the side dents -- only sweeping motions with extended fingers. In some cases, depending on the nature of the felt, it is hard to actually make a dent without collapsing the side of the lid (if you know what I mean). So, in those cases (which are relatively rare), I'll press up and out from the inside of the lid while pressing down and in from the outside of the lid with the back of a tablespoon (and rotating it) to help create the dent -- kind of scooping it into the felt.

Having now re-read this, I hope it doesn't sound too ridiculous. [huh] But, it's about the best I can do to describe the process.

Cheers,
JtL

 

[Lefty]

Very nice. With the way it gently forms into the hat, the circle dent looks like a real conservative look. For the whipper-snapper, there's this:

 

[GWD]

^^ I may have to try that one! I wonder what it looks like from the front?

 

[johnnyphi]

Seems very similar to this Lee that just sold...

What do you think?

 

[BellyTank]

The Klingon..?

B
T

 

[Torpedo]

The "Montana Peak Split"?

Frankly this looks really like a bash difficult to get comfortable with...

Dani

 

[jimmy the lid]

Hey, what's PADDY doing in this ad??? lol

Quite the crease you've found there, Lefty. I think I'd call it the "Mercury," or the "Winged Messenger"...

Cheers,
JtL

 

[Lefty]

It's been in the hat ads thread for longer than I've been around.
I like the Mercury, it seems like the perfect name for a hat from the era.
From the front, I'm guessing it just looks like a regular center dent with pinches, but the bash may have only existed in the mind of the artist. If anyone can pull it off, it might be the first time that the artist's vision of this bash is realized.

I feel like I'm in an episode of History Detectives.

 

[Brad Bowers]

I think the entire point of the "Saratoga" ad is in the phrase "Delightfully Light in Weight," and Anderson's strange creasing is designed to show off just how lightweight this felt really is. Maybe some guys back then styled their hats in this fashion, but the ad probably wasn't intended to get guys to copy it exactly.

Brad

 

[duggap]

JRL, I read your tutorial on side dents. I have come to the conclusion that you write technical manuals for the space program.lol

 

[jimmy the lid]

JRL, I read your tutorial on side dents. I have come to the conclusion that you write technical manuals for the space program.lol

Duggap - I'll be sure to send along my tutorial on creasing lids in zero gravity. It's a real page turner...lol lol

Cheers,
JtL

 

[duggap]

Shoot Jimmy, I'd give a months pay to be able to crease a hat as good as you do. Everyone of yours looks so wonderfully done.:eusa_clap

 

[jimmy the lid]

I appreciate that, duggap.

Cheers,
JtL