What is your favorite hat crease?

[Stoney]

Nicely Done

Hey Dinerman,

Great job on the demonstration video!

 

[Dinerman]

Hey Dinerman,

Great job on the demonstration video!

thanks, I try to help.

 

[rikrdo]

click to watch.

does this help at all?

Cant wait to try this out !!
Very impressive.

 

[Hondo]

Question

Good creases, I got my new Akubra Fed, so I am experimenting creases, toying with it carefully, creases depends on the wearer and over time, should be flexible.

 

[Matt Deckard]

Good video indeed. I myself have to use two hands.

 

[Warlock]

This kind of information is what makes the Fedora Lounge such a good resource. Thank you!

 

[Jack Keller]

Good video, but how do you keep it in place after that?

Hello Everyone,

I recently joined the Fedora Lounge, and I have been immensely enjoying the posts. This one is good as I am hoping to make a new crease in my hat soon, but I don't want to mess it up -

I had a question about the steaming, one that may have already been covered here, but if so I missed it. I've worn a lot of hats but not adjusted them, so this may sound ignorant, but after you steam it and then make the crease with your fingers, do you just have to hold it until it dries, or do you have to put something else there to hold the crease in place for a while?

Also, how do you get the brim to do a nice angle down further in front or slightly to the side, like Bogart's hat in "The Maltese Falcon" or **** Powell's hat in "Dames"?

Thank you,

Keller

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

Wow, the color of that hat is gorgeous!

Tony, is that the Fed in your avatar? The ribbon doesn't look like a Fed? Do you have a picture of your Fed?

My previous avatar shot is actually of my brown Dobbs fedora:


Here's the Akubra Federation Deluxe:

 

[carter]

Great Thread

This is a terrific thread. I have to show this to my son.
I've been working with a Stetson Homburg that I purchased on EBay a couple of months ago. It's pretty stiff but I'm working on a C shape. Hope it turns out well. I have the same question as several others regarding the best method for steaming. Thanks for a great tutorial. Some of the hat threads should go into a book!

 

[J.T.Marcus]

I love that you were able to "dry shape" all those different creases. It can only be done with a really good fur felt. The first hat I discovered I could do this with was a Stetson Homburg, marked "standard quality. Imagine that!

 

[Dinerman]

Looking through, I noticed that this one was absent.

 

[Edward]

I like a tear drop, myself - probably because all the hats I've owned to date came pre bashed, and that's what they had. Seems to make sense to have that little dome for yer bonce in the top! I'm not sure how easy that would be to replicate, though, when it comes to doing it on my own.... I'm looking to buy an Indy hat for the Autumn, and I'm hoping or a reasonable screen accurate bash, which will have to be a pinched front with the centre dent. To me, the defining mark of a good Fedora style is those front pinches - I prefer to leave the side bashes for the cowboys.

 

[Dinerman]

Teardrop isn't that hard to do, but generally it takes a bit of steam to get it smooth.
There are so many different variations of pinches as well. I don't care much for the indy pinch, with the fromt of the pinch being a straight line extending all the way to the ribon . I like a tight pinch, but I like the region of the pinch to be defined, and there to be a "^" shape between the pinches, instead of an "I"

 

[carter]

can someone please explain to a newbie (me) how to steam a hat? Do you use a tea kettle and steam the outside of the hat?

ledsled asked this question earlier in the thread. Can someone provide direction on the proper use of steam in bashing your own hat? Now that I'm bashing an Akubra, I could also use the guidance.

 

[barrowjh]

I pulled this off of hatsuk dot com (I have NEVER done this myself nor have I seen anyone else perform this):

Care and Repair
To effect a repair to a dented hat, first of all boil a kettle over a gas or electric ring, do not use an electric kettle as you will need a constant supply of steam and ensure the kettle does not boil dry. When the kettle is steaming freely, turn down the heat just enough to keep steam coming out of the spout with a little force.

Position the affected area over the jet of steam and allow it to penetrate the straw or felt, keep moving the hat around in order that the heat and steam spreads evenly in and around the material. Remove the hat from the steam after about 20-30 seconds and quickly push out the dent or rework the shape with the fingers, blow on the repaired patch to cool it and the material will stiffen. Do not overdo the steaming as you can distort the hat, especially if you are working on a sharp edge or fine detail, try not to "overwork" any area and work in small stages. It is also possible to stiffen your hat by steaming the felt or straw thoroughly and allowing the hat to cool, this is due to the nature of the stiffening agent used in hat making, the stiffener will soften when hot but re-bonds and hardens when cooled.

 

[beauty123]

Thanks!That's Great!


__________
Electric Forklifts

 

[Ian Dundrillon]

Diamond Crease

I saw a good example of the diamond crease in "After the Thin Man" (1936). Do you suppose Matt Deckard and William Powell were roomates in college?
"That's a joke, son."
Senator Claghorn
1945

 

[Edward]

Happened to catch The Wolfman (1940) on the television yesterday - oh did I love the lead male's fedora. Very much Akubra Fed in look (at least, the kind of hat an Akubra Fed is obviously based on!) - I suspect even a diamond bash, if they'd given us a clear view from the top. (Amazing the things I've learned in a few short weeks - this would all have been double Dutch to me before lol ).

Anyhow, a question about bashes occurred to me the other day.... was there ever a time when anyone wore their hats open crown, without any bash or pinch whatever? It'd be an odd look, for sure, but I wonder was it ever done?

 

[Shaul-Ike Cohen]

Anyhow, a question about bashes occurred to me the other day.... was there ever a time when anyone wore their hats open crown, without any bash or pinch whatever? It'd be an odd look, for sure, but I wonder was it ever done?

Yes, but the use is rather restricted, and it does look odd in my personal opinion. I can think of two cases:

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[Edward]

Ah, yes... TBH, I'd always thought of the Hassidic(sp?) Jewish hat as a specific type - though to qualify that, before I can here I wasn't aware of such a thing as an "open crown" - I'd never seen a hat that hadn't been preformed to my knowledge before. I'm sure i have an image in my head (probably what i was thinking of when i posted the question) of someone on TV or in film wearing what was presumably an open crown hat in a light grey or tan.... Dukes of Hazzard springs ot mind, but i' not sure it wasn't something more traditionally Wild West in content.