Head Shape...

[fatwoul]

I mapped the shape of my head, where a hat sits. I've always said my head is lopsided (the grid is in inches, the red line it where the axis seems to be look more balanced):

I'm considering re-sanding my new hat-stretcher to this shape, so I can leave it in my current hat so it will always fit my bizarre head nicely.

 

[RBH]

Hey Fats, that is pretty neat!
I would sand the hat stretcher a little at a time, till I had it right.
Just dont get carried away and try to sand your head.

 

[fatwoul]

...Just dont get carried away and try to sand your head.

But why not? I could sand my head nice and round so hats always fitted properly. I JUST WANT TO BE NORMAL! IS THAT SO WRONG?? *SOB*

 

[carter]

But why not? I could sand my head nice and round so hats always fitted properly. I JUST WANT TO BE NORMAL! IS THAT SO WRONG?? *SOB*

fatwoul, Do not despair. This looks like a long oval. For many, many people, a long oval is normal.

Have you tried having a hat reblocked?

 

[fatwoul]

fatwoul, Do not despair. This looks like a long oval. For many, many people, a long oval is normal.

Yeah I know I was just messing about. I established I am long oval when I was ordering my Fed Dlx from hatsdirect, and the nice people there put my hat on a stretcher for the weekend to ovalise it for me. Its shrinking in nicely now.

Actually, the long oval bit isn't what concerns me; it's the fact that my head appears to be very slightly wonky.

You'll notice from the diagram that the oval of my head is off-axis with the direction my head is pointing, which is what makes brims more complicated for me.

Over on the "Indy Nutter Website" (Club Obi-Wan to the rest of you), those guys like to "turn" their hats (where them assymetrically), in order to force the brim in the same swooshing shape that Dr Jones' hat was, particularly in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

My problem is that because my head itself is assymetrical, putting a hat on it dead straight causes the swoosh without turning it at all. I'm getting used to the idea of the swoosh, but right now I am pretty uptight and OCD about wearing a hat anything other than dead central.

Have you tried having a hat reblocked?

Not yet - I have only just received my first fedora a fortnight ago (my fed dlx), although I am about to give Ken the go-ahead for my Camptown, and I am on the waiting list for a Delk Adventurebilt.

The Camptown may one day need reblocking, but its a different shape and style, and is reputedly made of felt taken from rabbits and beavers which have been fed exclusively on raisin bran and liver (I've been told that the Camptowns are cast iron), and the AB from Mr Delk will have gone through his patented ageing process, so should need very little blocking (fingers crossed).

Sooner or later, though, the Dlx will need reblocking, at which point I will have it blocked LO. The hat itself fits wonderfully - especially now it's taking to my head shape. I just need to get over the lop-sidedness.

My head is kinda like the Earth - true north and magnetic north aren't at the same place!

 

[J.T.Marcus]

fatwoul, Your head is really more normal than you think. Nobody is perfectly symmetrical (SIC?). Ask any barber.

 

[punkinhed]

Map a head?

I mapped the shape of my head,

Fatwoul, or anyone else who might know, what's the best way to "map" a head?

 

[carter]

My problem is that because my head itself is assymetrical, putting a hat on it dead straight causes the swoosh without turning it at all. I'm getting used to the idea of the swoosh, but right now I am pretty uptight and OCD about wearing a hat anything other than dead central.

Fatwoul, I have the solution! Have your neck realigned!

Just kidding.

 

[fatwoul]

fatwoul, Your head is really more normal than you think. Nobody is perfectly symmetrical (SIC?). Ask any barber.

Thanks, JT. See, this will teach me for cutting my own hair for the last decade - no barber to reassure me about my crazy head!

Fatwoul, or anyone else who might know, what's the best way to "map" a head?

Well, as a photographer, my method was a photographic one. I took a picture of the top of my head taken with a long lens (to minimise distortion), and on Photoshop I drew around my head with a paintbrush. Although I held a ruler next to my head for reference, I used a medical sliding caliper ruler to measure the width and length of my crown. I did this several times, and took the average of the results, but the numbers didn't vary much at all, so I was confident they were accurate.

To confirm this shape is accurate. I printed it onto card at 1:1 reproduction, and cut out the shape. My head fits perfectly inside it!

Punkin - alternatively, take a trip to Optimo, or get yourself an Art Fawcett creation - both will (as I understand it - correct me if I am wrong) use a conformateur to accurate map the shape of your head specifically for hat-making purposes.

Fatwoul, I have the solution! Have your neck realigned!

Just kidding.

Yeah, but then I'd always be looking slightly to the left. I'd need to get my face re-centred too. lol

That's a lot of work to do on my head just for a hat.

"Just" for a hat? Did I really say that? Better pretend I didn't.

 

[scotrace]

That's a lot of sanding....

Maybe start with a long oval stretcher?

 

[carter]

use a conformateur to accurately map the shape of your head specifically for hat-making purposes.

Just make sure you have someone help you with the conformer. I tried it by myself with the one Art sent. Not a good idea.

It's kind of like trying to torture yourself with a vise for the head but not being very successful.

This is probably why inquisitors have assistants.

 

[fatwoul]

That's a lot of sanding....

Maybe start with a long oval stretcher?

You're right - it is a lot of sanding. But when you see the stretcher with the pencil marks on it, it's really not so bad - 5 minutes with a jigsaw would do it.

The stretcher I have is actually supposed to be a LO stretcher, and is certainly moreso than some I have seen.

Fortunately, it has lots of spare wood, so I can take some away without affecting the strength of the device.

 

[fatwoul]

Just make sure you have someone help you with the conformer. I tried it by myself with the one Art sent. Not a good idea.

It's kind of like trying to torture yourself with a vise for the head but not being very successful...

I'm sure that's a good tip. I've never tried one, hence the unorthodox method I used here.

...This is probably why inquisitors have assistants...

...and very shapely hats.

 

[J.T.Marcus]

I stand in awe of a master. My method of custom fitting a hat involves removing the sweatband, clipping the back seam, and wrapping it around my head. While looking in a mirror, I make a mark at the overlapping edge of the sweatband. After sewing it together, at exactly my right size, I sew the sweatband back into the hat. Now you come along with this "high tech" method. I'll never be the same...

 

[fatwoul]

I stand in awe of a master. My method of custom fitting a hat involves removing the sweatband, clipping the back seam, and wrapping it around my head. While looking in a mirror, I make a mark at the overlapping edge of the sweatband. After sewing it together, at exactly my right size, I sew the sweatband back into the hat. Now you come along with this "high tech" method. I'll never be the same...

You flatter me, JT.

Really, though, this is only a "high tech" method to look at the problem I face, and doesn't really address a solution to that problem. Your technique, on the other hand, of re-sizing the sweatband actually solves the size problem you have.

Ultimately, apart from reshaping my stretcher, my only other course of action is ti continue wearing my hats, sweating into them, and allowing them to conform to my crazy cranium of their own accord. I don't have any hats that are uncomfortable, and I am happy with how my Fed Dlx looks on me. My problem is that I like to solve things like this, and it bugs me when I can't. lol

 

[deanglen]

I stand in awe of a master. My method of custom fitting a hat involves removing the sweatband, clipping the back seam, and wrapping it around my head. While looking in a mirror, I make a mark at the overlapping edge of the sweatband. After sewing it together, at exactly my right size, I sew the sweatband back into the hat. Now you come along with this "high tech" method. I'll never be the same...

J.T., I know how much work it is to remove, re-size, and resew a sweatband into a hat, and honestly, it's a lot more work than I would want to do too often. I stand in awe of you, too!

dean

 

[punkinhed]

EUREKA!!

CT scan!!!

I wonder if my insurance would cover it for hat sizing.....

 

[fatwoul]

CT scan!!!

I wonder if my insurance would cover it for hat sizing.....

You could try telling them that you need a hat in order to lessen the chances of them having to pay out for skin cancer and retina damage treatments later on, and that the hat needs to fit correctly otherwise it might give you headaches that they will need to pay to treat.

You could try telling them that, but I think we all know how that conversation will go. lol