Cut the brim...

[fatwoul]

So I cut the brim on my Fed Dlx. I looked at myself in the mirror long and hard, and I decided that the brim just looked a touch too big for my face, and for the style I was after. I wanted my Fed to be a hat I could wear in town as well as on the moors, and the brim just looked a little too large on me for a town hat.

So I carefully cut the brim down a little - about 3/16th. I never like doing it. It's one of those things you just can't undo if you change your mind, and I'm one of those people who always tortures themselves with doubt, even when they are sure it was the right thing to do. But I figured that Fed Dlxs aren't prohibitively expensive, So if I give it some time and really can't get used to it, I can always get another (or a Fed Reg) and I definitely didn't want to try the same thing with my Camptown or AB when they arrive, so it was the best brim to reduce.

Haha this thread sounds like I am confessing to some kind of sin.

Anyway, I'll post some pictures soon, but what I need from you guys for now is unreserved reassurance that I did the right thing, without even seeing the results.

Thanks.

 

[RBH]

Haha this thread sounds like I am confessing to some kind of sin.

You are arent you?
Maybe if you also put a thin ribbon on it, we can get Dean to absolve you of your great sin.

lol lol lol lol lol lol
Just kidding, as I have said in another post, the wide brim is not for everyone.
And it has taken me awhile to get used to it. I have had my AB for over a year and just in the last few months I have really fallen in love with a wide brim. Anyway post us a few photos. I am sure it looks great as I thouight it was fine the other way. BUT to paraphrase Douglas ...
YOU HAVE TO BE CONFORTABLE IN YOUR FEDORA OR NEITHER IT NOR YOU WILL LOOK RIGHT!

 

[surely]

I looked at myself in the mirror long and hard. I'm one of those people who always tortures themselves.
see what a little creative editing can reveal.

 

[Anders]

Yep, I've cut the brim on both my indy hats (probably too much on the first one ). I just wouldn't be wearing them with their old brims, but they're both everyday hats now. I find it either takes a very specific facial structure or a lot of confidence to sport a brim like the federation, I'm sure the risk was worth it.

Besides, on the chance the cut doesn't end up perfect, it's better to have a slightly imperfect brim on a hat you'll wear than a perfect brim that's too big.

 

[fatwoul]

Yeah would have worked better if you hadn't goofed up the quoting, smart guy.

Seriously though, you are close to the truth. I don't like looking at myself in the mirror. It's not a confidence thing. I dunno what it is.

 

[fatwoul]

Yep, I've cut the brim on both my indy hats (probably too much on the first one ). I just wouldn't be wearing them with their old brims, but they're both everyday hats now. I find it either takes a very specific facial structure or a lot of confidence to sport a brim like the federation, I'm sure the risk was worth it.

Besides, on the chance the cut doesn't end up perfect, it's better to have a slightly imperfect brim on a hat you'll wear than a perfect brim that's too big.

See that's kinda my feeling. And yes, the cutting wasn't perfect; there's an error at the back that can't be more than half a mil, but I know it's there, and I can feel it with my finger. I don't mind that, it kinda makes the hat mine, more personality and all that.

I do feel the brim is less cumbersome now. What I mean is that before, I felt sometimes that the brim needed to be guided through narrow doorways or something. I know I'm exaggerating, but I'm sure some of you know what I mean - the brim just felt like it touched things too often. Anyway, now it doesn't, and the hat feels more like I am wearing it, rather than hiding underneath it.

 

[MattJH]

If I had used your method, I probably wouldn't have sold my Carbon Grey Federation, but even the crown felt too big on me. So far, I haven't really liked any fedora commonly purchased/worn by Indiana Jones fans, so now I know there's no reason to save up for a Akubra Federation Deluxe, Akubra Explorer, Adventurebilt, etc. They don't work for everyone. Good job trying to make it work for you.

 

[fatwoul]

...Anyway post us a few photos. I am sure it looks great as I thouight it was fine the other way. BUT to paraphrase Douglas ...
YOU HAVE TO BE CONFORTABLE IN YOUR FEDORA OR NEITHER IT NOR YOU WILL LOOK RIGHT!

Oops forgot to actually type my reply to this one.

I think I will be happier with this brim, but it just takes some getting used to. To be honest, nobody else is familiar enough with the hat to have noticed. I've asked my family if anything looks different and they haven't detected it.

You and Doug are right - the confidence is the issue, and I'm sure that will be restored once I'm used to it.

It's not that I didn't like the brim before - it was fine, as you have said - but I wanted one of my hats to have a smaller brim, and figured it might as well be the one that was the easiest to replace. This is to be my everyday hat, and so I think a slightly smaller brim is appropriate.

Anyway, thanks for your reassurance. I will post pictures shortly.

 

[fatwoul]

If I had used your method, I probably wouldn't have sold my Carbon Grey Federation, but even the crown felt too big on me. So far, I haven't really liked any fedora commonly purchased/worn by Indiana Jones fans, so now I know there's no reason to save up for a Akubra Federation Deluxe, Akubra Explorer, Adventurebilt, etc. They don't work for everyone. Good job trying to make it work for you.

Thanks, Dj - Actually the crown height is what I like, which is just as well, because reducing the brim has enhanced it further. I love my Dlx, which is perhaps why I feel a bit bad about "defacing" it, but like I said, much as I love it, its probably going to be the least irreplaceable hat I will own for some time.

I appreciate what you're saying about the Akubras, but I sincerely hope that my AB will work for me. Afterall, they are custom-built for each customer, around their face. Steve basically makes the hat that will work for you, so if I were you, I wouldn't write his work off in the same penstroke as a factory-made Akubra, because I'm sure he could make an Indy hat that even you felt right in.

I'm also going to leave the brim nice and big on my Fieldmaster, for two reasons:

1) It would feel criminal to cut away any of the brim felt when it's such nice felt (apart from the dimensional strips Ken is doing for me anyway, of course).

2) I plan on my Fieldmaster being precisely that - my field hat. My Fed Dlx will be fine for every day, but when it gets wet, or cold, or snowy, I plan on turning to the thicker, softer, iron-clad felt of the Camptown.

So it's not as if I won't have any big brims...

 

[MattJH]

I appreciate what you're saying about the Akubras, but I sincerely hope that my AB will work for me. Afterall, they are custom-built for each customer, around their face. Steve basically makes the hat that will work for you, so if I were you, I wouldn't write his work off in the same penstroke as a factory-made Akubra, because I'm sure he could make an Indy hat that even you felt right in.

But I don't like Indy hats!

I've seen photographs of his hats, though, and if they're on the right person, they do look very, very nice.

 

[RBH]

Anyway, thanks for your reassurance. I will post pictures shortly.

You, my friend did fine!
As stated you have to like the hat to want to wear it.
I have a vintage Stetson my father in law got me at an estate sale. It has an 1 1\2 brim... I just cant wear it.
Nice hat but I think I look like a kook in it.
I may be a kook, so I dont need a hat to help me out. lol
That is one reason on my Peters Brothers straw I stressed that the brim was wide [and a high crown], the hat is great but some would love the straw while bemoaninhg the wide brim.
Keep on keeping on, and be sure to let us know what you think. As the old saying goes "knowledge is power"

 

[Wolfmanjack]

And yes, the cutting wasn't perfect; there's an error at the back that can't be more than half a mil, but I know it's there, and I can feel it with my finger.

After trimming, it is easy to fix any errors with sandpaper. Hold the sanding block (or a nail file) at right angles to the brim (vertically and horizontally) and gently smooth away any imperfections.

 

[Colby Jack]

Fatwoul...don't worry. I'm sure it looks great!
I'm trying to figure out what I can do with a Snowy River...I don't feel the crown is high enough, but that's shown me that I need a higher crown to feel like it will stay on my head.
...I'm also messing with a 2X Resistol...just a reshaping of the crown...
Like you said..the Fed's aren't cost prohibitive...I'm looking at a carbon grey Fed next.
Cheers
Colby Jack

 

[fatwoul]

But I don't like Indy hats!...

Aww you don't mean it. What's not to like?

...I've seen photographs of his hats, though, and if they're on the right person, they do look very, very nice.

There you go. That's better. lol

...I have a vintage Stetson my father in law got me at an estate sale. It has an 1 1\2 brim... I just cant wear it...

Yeah I haven't cut the brim that small. It's still 2.5 at its smallest down the sides, and a little over front and back.

..."knowledge is power"

Then I am one of the least powerful people I know.

After trimming, it is easy to fix any errors with sandpaper. Hold the sanding block (or a nail file) at right angles to the brim (vertically and horizontally) and gently smooth away any imperfections.

Thanks Wmj I did use some fine sandpaper afterwards, but after giving the brim a quick once-over I put the sandpaper away. The temptation is too great to keep fiddling, and before I knew it I'd make things worse. The imperfection really is not noticeable unless you're searching for it.

Fatwoul...don't worry. I'm sure it looks great!...

Thanks!

...I'm trying to figure out what I can do with a Snowy River...I don't feel the crown is high enough, but that's shown me that I need a higher crown to feel like it will stay on my head...

Yep that's me - high crown, VERY slightly smaller brim.

...I'm also messing with a 2X Resistol...just a reshaping of the crown...

Reshaping is definitely my favourite bit. That's why I'm getting my CtFm* from Ken open crown.

...Like you said..the Fed's aren't cost prohibitive...I'm looking at a carbon grey Fed next...

I might try getting a Fed Reg at some point. One of the mid-brown ones. Because of my colouring, brown works much better than anything else.

Colouring? Did I really just use the word "colouring"? When did I become a woman?

(* CtFm - I don't know if an "official" abbreviation for Camptown Fieldmaster has become employed yet, but that's what I propose. It looks distinctive and recognisable, and is kinda nice to say. Like TTFN, only much less camp. Well, not less camp, its got "camp" right there in the word. Oh, nevermind...)

 

[DanielJones]

Haha this thread sounds like I am confessing to some kind of sin.

Well my son, have three Bloody Marys, go forth and sin no more.lol

Cheers!

Dan

 

[Benzadmiral]

Yeah, too much brim was the reason I had the vintage Churchill, an olive-green consignment store find that was otherwise great, undergo a brim trim. Formerly it was in Open-Road territory at about 2.75, and in that color, I guess, it didn't seem right on me. Now, at 2.5, it works much better.

I wear my Feds with slightly more casual clothes. To me, a brim that wide doesn't sit well with a suit, and I might have my Moonstone trimmed and get a narrower ribbon in a lighter color put on. Then it would work. Again, for me.