HJ Hat Question

[FairlyStormy]

Hello All. This is my first time posting in the fedora lounge. I recently ordered an HJ Crusade beaver poet and i think the hat is amazing. Sadly, it doesn't look amazing on me. I thought for sure that the hat would fit my face, bit it did not. Honestly, the hat looks like a pilgrim hat on me. I'm at a bit of a loss of what to do. Should I try and have it reblocked/reshaped? Or should I cut my losses and sell it? I've tried reshaping it myself, but I need the crown lower than what I can comfortably get it. Do any of you have any suggestions? I'm somewhat new to hats and I'm open to to ideas. Ive tried reaching out to HJ to see if they would let me pay for a reblock into a temple poet, but I have had no reply. Thank you all.

 

[Judgmentalist]

Hello All. This is my first time posting in the fedora lounge. I recently ordered an HJ Crusade beaver poet and i think the hat is amazing. Sadly, it doesn't look amazing on me. I thought for sure that the hat would fit my face, bit it did not. Honestly, the hat looks like a pilgrim hat on me. I'm at a bit of a loss of what to do. Should I try and have it reblocked/reshaped? Or should I cut my losses and sell it? I've tried reshaping it myself, but I need the crown lower than what I can comfortably get it. Do any of you have any suggestions? I'm somewhat new to hats and I'm open to to ideas. Ive tried reaching out to HJ to see if they would let me pay for a reblock into a temple poet, but I have had no reply. Thank you all.

Hey

I have an HJ Temple Poet that I had reblock into a Raiders hat by a member here. They may be able to help you. @HatsBySam

…unless you are a 59 - in which case you should sell it to me ; )

 

[FairlyStormy]

Hey

I have an HJ Temple Poet that I had reblock into a Raiders hat by a member here. They may be able to help you. @HatsBySam

…unless you are a 59 - in which case you should sell it to me ; )

Tempting. But I'm a 62

 

[blewnote]

Hello All. This is my first time posting in the fedora lounge. I recently ordered an HJ Crusade beaver poet and i think the hat is amazing. Sadly, it doesn't look amazing on me. I thought for sure that the hat would fit my face, bit it did not. Honestly, the hat looks like a pilgrim hat on me. I'm at a bit of a loss of what to do. Should I try and have it reblocked/reshaped? Or should I cut my losses and sell it? I've tried reshaping it myself, but I need the crown lower than what I can comfortably get it. Do any of you have any suggestions? I'm somewhat new to hats and I'm open to to ideas. Ive tried reaching out to HJ to see if they would let me pay for a reblock into a temple poet, but I have had no reply. Thank you all.

What happens when you crease it with a c-crown/teardrop instead of a center dent? That usually lowers the back of the crown and creates a nice looking rake to the hat if that's your issue.

If it's that the front of the crown is too tall, perhaps you just need to get used to it? I have a hat with a marginally higher crown than my others and every time I throw it on I think it looks too tall but I think it's just because I'm not used to it.

I've read a few Esquire articles from the Golden age that discussed how to pair hat shape with face shape, but they never seem to acknowledge that the basic proportions changed over time and what was a standard height crown or brim width differed depending on the decade.

On a side note, the main difference between those two styles you mention looks to be that the temple has a flatter brim profile and a slightly less defined pinch in front. Can you just use some steam and your hands and a flat surface to try and remove some of the swoop and similarly loosen the pinch up a little bit? I don't think they're blocked on different blocks (although they might use a slightly different flange).

 

[belfastboy]

Hello All. This is my first time posting in the fedora lounge. I recently ordered an HJ Crusade beaver poet and i think the hat is amazing. Sadly, it doesn't look amazing on me. I thought for sure that the hat would fit my face, bit it did not. Honestly, the hat looks like a pilgrim hat on me. I'm at a bit of a loss of what to do. Should I try and have it reblocked/reshaped? Or should I cut my losses and sell it? I've tried reshaping it myself, but I need the crown lower than what I can comfortably get it. Do any of you have any suggestions? I'm somewhat new to hats and I'm open to to ideas. Ive tried reaching out to HJ to see if they would let me pay for a reblock into a temple poet, but I have had no reply. Thank you all.

Can you post pictures? I am a hat maker and if I have a clearer idea of what we are dealing with I can give a clearer suggestion.

 

[jlee562]

It's not uncommon for the Indy hat to be a bit overwhelming. Most folks are not used to the straight sides because most modern hats have a much more tapered profile. I suspect you're just having a bit of hat anxiety and you may warm up to it over time.

The Indy hat is not blocked particularly tall as far as hats go, it should be around 5 1/2" open crown. HJ does use a graduated set of blocks, so a 62 might be slightly taller to maintain proportions, but it's not a particularly large hat in and of itself. Just as one example, my Stetson Junior Cowboy is 5 3/4" tall with a 3" brim, and that's a hat intended for young folks, judging by the name.

 

[FairlyStormy]

What happens when you crease it with a c-crown/teardrop instead of a center dent? That usually lowers the back of the crown and creates a nice looking rake to the hat if that's your issue.

If it's that the front of the crown is too tall, perhaps you just need to get used to it? I have a hat with a marginally higher crown than my others and every time I throw it on I think it looks too tall but I think it's just because I'm not used to it.

I've read a few Esquire articles from the Golden age that discussed how to pair hat shape with face shape, but they never seem to acknowledge that the basic proportions changed over time and what was a standard height crown or brim width differed depending on the decade.

On a side note, the main difference between those two styles you mention looks to be that the temple has a flatter brim profile and a slightly less defined pinch in front. Can you just use some steam and your hands and a flat surface to try and remove some of the swoop and similarly loosen the pinch up a little bit? I don't think they're blocked on different blocks (although they might use a slightly

What happens when you crease it with a c-crown/teardrop instead of a center dent? That usually lowers the back of the crown and creates a nice looking rake to the hat if that's your issue.

If it's that the front of the crown is too tall, perhaps you just need to get used to it? I have a hat with a marginally higher crown than my others and every time I throw it on I think it looks too tall but I think it's just because I'm not used to it.

I've read a few Esquire articles from the Golden age that discussed how to pair hat shape with face shape, but they never seem to acknowledge that the basic proportions changed over time and what was a standard height crown or brim width differed depending on the decade.

On a side note, the main difference between those two styles you mention looks to be that the temple has a flatter brim profile and a slightly less defined pinch in front. Can you just use some steam and your hands and a flat surface to try and remove some of the swoop and similarly loosen the pinch up a little bit? I don't think they're blocked on different blocks (although they might use a slightly different flange).

I am looking into the c crown at present. The reason why I posted was to prevent myself from moving forward with lack of evidence again. So I really appreciate your comments.

I usually use a garment steamer when I need to revitalize my stratoliner hats, so u could definitely use that to fix the poet.

 

[FairlyStormy]

Can you post pictures? I am a hat maker and if I have a clearer idea of what we are dealing with I can give a clearer suggestion.

 

[belfastboy]

Hard to see clearly from the pictures....is that a picture of the hat with an open crown or is it creased?

It looks to be very tall, even taller than a Indy Hat should be. With a bit of steam you should be able to lower the crown substantially. Look for pictures of a classic teardrop of diamond shape. I betcha you can lower the crown at the pinches down to 4 1/2" which is a good height for your face and build. Give it a deep crease and pop out the middle a bit to give you more internal head room. This started out as a 5 3/4" open crown and ended up at 4 1/2" at the pinch, about 4 1/4" at the back. When posting pictures if you click on "insert" then "full image" your pictures will post upright and easier to view.

 

[FairlyStormy]

Forgive the serious face

Hard to see clearly from the pictures....is that a picture of the hat with an open crown or is it creased? View attachment 810980 It looks to be very tall, even taller than a Indy Hat should be. With a bit of steam you should be able to lower the crown substantially. Look for pictures of a classic teardrop of diamond shape. I betcha you can lower the crown at the pinches down to 4 1/2" which is a good height for your face and build. Give it a deep crease and pop out the middle a bit to give you more internal head room. This started out as a 5 3/4" open crown and ended up at 4 1/2" at the pinch, about 4 1/4" at the back. When posting pictures if you click on "insert" then "full image" your pictures will post upright and easier to view.

Yes! Thats crease and all. I couldn't believe it. I mean, I'm a tall dude woth a big head. But I was surprised. I'm going to start on it tonight.

And thanks for the upload tip! All of you have been gentlemen and scholars.

 

[belfastboy]

Forgive the serious face

Yes! Thats crease and all. I couldn't believe it. I mean, I'm a tall dude woth a big head. But I was surprised. I'm going to start on it tonight.

And thanks for the upload tip! All of you have been gentlemen and scholars.

Thank you for the compliment but in my case it is probably overstated!!

Forgive the serious face

Yes! Thats crease and all. I couldn't believe it. I mean, I'm a tall dude woth a big head. But I was surprised. I'm going to start on it tonight.

And thanks for the upload tip! All of you have been gentlemen and scholars.

Oh, if you have an old baseball hanging about it works well the place the outward dent in the crease. Just press the ball on the inside of the hat and push gently back and forth til you get it how you want it.

 

[FairlyStormy]

Thank you for the compliment but in my case it is probably overstated!!

Oh, if you have an old baseball hanging about it works well the place the outward dent in the crease. Just press the ball on the inside of the hat and push gently back and forth til you get it how you want it.

Perfect. Thank you

 

[belfastboy]

Perfect. Thank you

I have an expensive tool that does it....but truth be told a baseball works just as well.

 

[FairlyStormy]

I have an expensive tool that does it....but truth be told a baseball works just as well.

While I have you here, and beings that I'm a little timid with this felt, is there a trick to putting in a tear drop crown? Maybe a video you prefer?

 

[jlee562]

While I have you here, and beings that I'm a little timid with this felt, is there a trick to putting in a tear drop crown? Maybe a video you prefer?

There's no trick really. New folks always overthink creasing. Most all creases start with the center dent anyways, so you're halfway there already. Push down on the back part of the crown with your thumbs. You may or may not want to lower the height of the dent at the back of the hat, so you have a bit of rake front to back. Then simply smooth out the 'drop' part of the teardrop, making sure the height is even around the back. You're just following the curvature of the crown, so there is less room for error than you might think. If you feel like there is too much resistance, hit it with some more steam. You don't have to do everything in one go, you can keep hitting the crown with steam as you go.

It's harder to mess up a hat than you probably think it is, just go for it.

 

[belfastboy]

While I have you here, and beings that I'm a little timid with this felt, is there a trick to putting in a tear drop crown? Maybe a video you prefer?

Zito Hats has a bunch of FB posts. Not sure if he has any on tear drops but he what he calls his PCH style hat. You might like that one. If you check out YouTube you will probably find one covering tear drops.

 

[Chuck14911]

Tempting. But I'm a 62

Ther's your problem, you need a head shrinker

 

[FairlyStormy]

Ther's your problem, you need a head shrinker