warped brim

[vespasian]

Sorting out a warped brim. The brim on my grey fedora goes up slightly on one side. It was 1/4 inch too large anyway, so with patience, a very accurate measure and some chalk Ive worked the brim to the size Im comfortable with, however the warp is still evident where the frontal dip meets the slight upturn at either side. What is the best way of setting the brim and keeping it that way? It always seems to be problematic where the dip meets the upturn.

 

[Uncle Vern]

Have you tried steaming the brim and reshaping it with your fingers?

 

[Biltmore Bob]

Is the hat kinda' tight on in the front and back? If it is the sides will tun up a little. If your head is a long oval and the hat is tight, I mean. If so, there's nothing you can do. I would just wear it like that.

 

[vespasian]

I have a quite rubbishy old felt thing and tried a little practice session on it. I added a little spray starch then dried it to shape. For a long while as it dried it was quite pliable and a bit of a worry as no matter what shape I set it, I could tweak it with my fingers and it would stay like it, not spring back as I had set it. However I left it for some hours sitting on its brim exactly as I shaped it. Now tweaking it does leave a little twist in the brim but it mostly springs back. I suppose the good thing with this is I can rinse it out and go back to the soft felt and spray starch of this kind doesnt stain at all. I wouldnt go this way on an expensive lid but on a ?Ǭ£35 day in day out hat Im happy to experiment a little. I actually reblocked a ten year old brown by using shaped card and a hat stretcher to set the shape. I am utterly astounded what a little watered down starch, steam and a lot of patience has created from what was rapidly becoming a very floppy, almost useless hat. I think my next purchase however will be a bit more costly, fully lined and as I want it without the need for tweaking.