Hat Creases

[athanasiuskircher]

Hi all,

I am new to the world of hats. I dress in a 1930's and 1940's style, and I currently have one late 1940's Borsalino fedora in my possession. I am looking to acquire another hat, and I happened upon a listing for a 1940s Knox Homburg. This hat has no creases at all - i.e. the crown is dome-shaped. Being a novice, I am unsure what this means. Does the wearer add dents and a center crease? Or, is this some style of hat that is intentionally without creases? Could I add creases myself, or would I need to have a hat shop block it? Most 30s/40s pictures of Homburgs that I see have creases similar to fedoras (at least a crease down the center of the crown, sometimes front dents). Advice welcome!

 

[Olumin]

Most hats you can shape yourself no problem, plenty of tutorials on YouTube. However the crowns of certain older hats were actually hard and cannot be dented. Most famously certain types of Derby/Bowler. So make sure you ask the seller before you buy whether the crown is soft or hard (meaning can be pushed in or not).

Ive actually had this myself just recently with a 1940s Hückel I was interested in. Beautiful NOS hat, but after inquiring, the seller told me the crown was hard and cannot be shaped. Shame really.

 

[rogueclimber]

I did a quick search for crease in titles and here are two promising leads

https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/crease-your-hat-with-a-rolling-pin.60653/

https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/the-creative-crease-collection.46293/

 

[jlee562]

So....

Hats of that era were sold open crown, i.e., un-creased, then creased to the wearer's preference. You can do it yourself, no shop required. Most typically, the Homburg has a center crease and no dents. I have one with just a center dent, and another with an added pinch.