Stretching out a crusher cap

[Hauser1920]

These are very uneducated questions, so forgive the way I phrase the first one, but I have two questions about trying to neatly remove the band from around a replica M38 crusher cap in order to stretch it out a little. I don't mean a stiffener, I mean a band made of a sort of canvas material behind the sweatband. 

First, IS there a way to remove it without damaging the rest of the cap or leaving a lot of very ragged spots.

Second, would removing it come anywhere close to changing the feel of the cap, like making a Size 60 feel anywhere close to a Size 61? (It's hard to tell by just looking closely or handling it.)

This is a pretty bad photo of the part I'm talking about (the dark one above the light-colored sweatband).

[Richard Auld]

Copies are cheap enough, would it not be easier to just buy one that fits?

Best

Rich

[Davejb]

There is a way to do it, but you need a hat stretcher and you have to do it over for or five days

[Hauser1920]

Thank you both.

I finally removed that part as carefully as I could. The good news is that I didn't harm the cap at all. The kind of bad news is that it doesn't feel even half a size smaller that way, and I really thought it might. (A hat stretcher sounds like a good idea.)

[Davejb]

Any progress on the hat stretcher ???

[Hauser1920]

I'm answering the question very late, but yes, really. Partly with the stretcher but partly by pulling out everything but that very sloid part of the liner.

Now it's pretty much like a 61.