Well, I got my new Akubra Deluxe through the mail yesterday and I've been fiddling with the bash for a while now. I ended up having to use some steam and I may have to use some more later on. This hat was very stiff right out of the box but I'm sure it will loosen up over time like my other hat has.
I'm very impressed with this hat and the craftmanship. I can only imagine what owning an AB most be like. Maybe someday I'll know but for right now I am very happy with the way this hat has turned out. I truely feel like I'll be able to achieve the look I want with this one. I look at the "official hat" I bought and realize now the difference it makes. Man, I wish I could send that other hat back and get my $88 dollars back. What a costly mistake. I guess I'll use that hat as a "Stunt Hat".
Here are some pics I took really fast tonight so everyone could see it. The one pic I'm posting because the lighting makes it look like sunlight and I like the silhouette it gives off.
Last edited by Pitfall Harry on Sat May 20, 2006 5:35 pm, edited 4 times in total.
awesome pitfall, u and i now have the same hat! I love mine as well, but the thought of an AB has been luring me in as well. I didnt use any steam, but maybe i will sometime. Did u turn ur hat at all? I have mine turned a bit. Its uncomfortable at first, and makes ur head want to spin left , but it will losen soon and give the brim the proper look. Give it a try!
oh yea, ur bash looks really good man, nice heart dip ontop.
I actually used the steam for the sides of the hat. I was having a little bit of a problem because the hat was so stiff that the sides didn't want to swoop like I wanted them to and I'm still working on them to.
I tried and I believe I did "turn" the hat to some degree. The middle of the bow is towards the front of my ear like the tutorial I read stated. I don't think though that it's turned as much as Ford's was but who's to say for certain how far or if Ford's was "turned".
I'm happy with the way the bash is turning out now and it doesn't have to be an exact copy of the Cairo look.
Did u turn ur hat at all? I have mine turned a bit. Its uncomfortable at first,
A tip on making the hat more comfortable with the turn. Steam the underside of the brim well, and then put the hat on and turn it. The steam will soften up the brim(which actually provides much of the stiffness in the fit) and it will conform to your head much more comfortably. Fedora
That's a nice dark brown color with a good contrast between it and the ribbon too. I'm glad you were able to get it, and I hope it serves you well! Fedora is definitely the man with the "turn" advice for you, so I help that helps to soften the brim a little too.
Looking good!
Ken
Well, I just fired off these pics real fast last night because I wanted to show off the hat. I need to post some shots of it in the sunlight outside.
I can tell you one thing I will NEVER buy a cheap Indy hat again. If and when I get another one it will be either another Akubra or most likely an AB.
I believe I did the "turn" right but maybe I didn't if I'm not getting the same sensation wearing the hat that Indakin is getting with his. I also went back and did the "turn" with my other hat a while ago and that was uncomfortable at first but I got used to it rather fast some maybe that's why I'm not noticing it with this one.
Boy, what a difference an actual leather sweatband makes. I can't believe how soft the thing is to wear. Although, I did notice that my forehead was starting to sweat more while wearing it.
I know you guys are probably sick of seeing photos of these hats but I couldn't help myself and I wanted to post shots of mine.
It's only a day or two old so it's still a work in progress but I'm extremely happy with the crown and how easy that was to shape. Plus, no taper.....perfect straight up and down sides!!
Pitfall Harry wrote:
I can tell you one thing I will NEVER buy a cheap Indy hat again. If and when I get another one it will be either another Akubra or most likely an AB.
Boy, what a difference an actual leather sweatband makes. I can't believe how soft the thing is to wear. Although, I did notice that my forehead was starting to sweat more while wearing it.
I know you guys are probably sick of seeing photos of these hats but I couldn't help myself and I wanted to post shots of mine.
YAAAAAAAAY! Finally, a qualified Indy fedora! It's weird, isn't it? You don't notice just how bad the other hats are until you get a really good one. And then there's no going back. (I wore a wool, tapered and everything, for an Indy fed and still laugh at myself to this day thinking about that.)
It looks good, Pitfall! (You didn't ask for advice so please take this or leave it.) But, other than the "turn", probably want to work on the back curl of the brim to give it some more Indy Mmph. Looks like the steam folded both the front and back down. If not, the back should snap back up. Beautiful color on that lid!
Yes, it is weird that you don't notice how "bad" the other hats are until you buy something like this. I placed the two together on the table the other night and I couldn't believe the difference just by looking at them.
As far as the downward swoop in the back and front goes I did that on purpose. It can be flipped upward if I want but I've noticed from certain scenes the hat is flipped up in the back and in others where the hat is pointing downward in the back.
I've only been messing with it a total of one day and I'm still working on the curl and upward swing to the sides. I was suprised and a little shocked that the steam really wasn't having to much effect on the hat. It's a good hat and it's going to require some time to get it broke in and to how I finally want it to look. I don't think I'll be messing with the crown though, I like how I have it now.
Indiana_Tone wrote:
YAAAAAAAAY! Finally, a qualified Indy fedora! It's weird, isn't it? You don't notice just how bad the other hats are until you get a really good one. And then there's no going back. (I wore a wool, tapered and everything, for an Indy fed and still laugh at myself to this day thinking about that.)
Amen to that! I still have my old destroyed Stetson Ark from c. 1990 with the tear drop crown and all, and I'm amazed in hindsight that I wore that one for so many years. Once I got my Fed deluxe, I had much the same reaction...no going back indeed.
Pitfall-
Very nice bash, it looks excellent; definitely looks better on you than the old one. There's nothing like a good lid.
Looks good Pitfall. I would suggest stopping with the steam on the crown. It will make it shrink. Just give it time. Work it with you hands, and if you need it, a little cold water.
prairiejones wrote:Looks good Pitfall. I would suggest stopping with the steam on the crown. It will make it shrink. Just give it time. Work it with you hands, and if you need it, a little cold water.
Thanks.
Actually, I never really used the steam on the crown, that was all done dry. I was using it though to try and loosen up the sides of the brim and curve them more.
I'm guessing by the time I post pics of me in my gear and new Akubra I'll have worked out all the little details with the hat.
Hemingway Jones wrote:I agree with Prairie about avoiding steam. It can be unpredictable in its effects, so don't tempt fate!
Boy, your jacket looks brand new. That is a fine jacket.
Yeah, I'm well aware of that. Believe me there isn't anyone any more skitish then I am when it comes to messing with stuff right out of the box. I probably didn't even have the hat as close to the steam as I probably could have because I didn't want to take a chance and possibly oversteam it! ...If that's possible?
I used a spray bottle on my "Dorfman" at first because I was afraid to steam it and I wanted to reshape it. Will water leave stain marks on the Akubra Deluxe?
I was taught as a kid to always take care of my stuff because we didn't have a lot of money so I tried to keep things as new as possible so they would last.......that's why most of my toys from childhood look brand new to some degree. My Wested is still very new and I do wear it everwhere but I also try to keep it as clean as possible...I know that goes against actually achieving the "Indy Look" but I can't help it.
Truthfully, it will take years for my stuff to distress.
Pitfall Harry wrote: Will water leave stain marks on the Akubra Deluxe?
...
Truthfully, it will take years for my stuff to distress.
Nope, a little water doesn't hurt the Akubras. They're made to be worn outdoors and take abuse! That's what I love about them; they've got dress hat looks with outback work hat toughness.
And as far as letting your gear distress naturally, you're not the only one. There are plenty of fine folks here who let their gear age on them
Pitfall Harry wrote: Will water leave stain marks on the Akubra Deluxe?
...
Truthfully, it will take years for my stuff to distress.
Nope, a little water doesn't hurt the Akubras. They're made to be worn outdoors and take abuse! That's what I love about them; they've got dress hat looks with outback work hat toughness.
And as far as letting your gear distress naturally, you're not the only one. There are plenty of fine folks here who let their gear age on them
Antone
I'm guessing by the time my stuff looks like Indy's in Raiders I'll look like "Old Indy" from the TV show.
Yeah, I think it was because my other was an "official" hat and that's why it left some marks on it.
Antone wrote:
Nope, a little water doesn't hurt the Akubras. They're made to be worn outdoors and take abuse! That's what I love about them; they've got dress hat looks with outback work hat toughness.
I read a quote somewhere that Ian Fleming's concept of James Bond was that he was the kind of guy who wore suits tailored at Saville Row for the refined look, but using hard wearing, down-to-earth materials that were capable of taking the punishment the job required.
Lucas' initial idea of Jones was as a sort of 1930's Bond-type. I know we're in the realms of pure fantasy here, but it's nice to think that perhaps the Akubra would have been the kind of hat Indy would have chosen.
I'm glad the Akubra worked out for you. I made the same upgrade myself, from a Dorfman to an Akubra and I couldn't be happier!
Great looking bash as well. I made a similar decision when bashing my hat that you did I think. The bash might never be an exact duplicate of a screen used hat, but I think every hat needs to be bashed so it looks *it's* best, and not just be a clone.
Again, thanks for sharing pics, and keep 'em coming once you've got it worn in to your liking!
The hat looks great Pitfall Harry! The hat will definitely soften up with age and use.
Pitfall Harry wrote:Will water leave stain marks on the Akubra Deluxe?
Not at all! The best "bash" I ever got out of my Akubra Deluxe was after getting it soaked in a major rainstorm. The hat was soft and soaked, I shaped it and let it dry. I have been thrilled with the hat ever since.
Just got to keep working on those sides. I may try some water on them to try and get them to curve up. I will say this about my Dorfman it has broken in nicely and it came with a little curl to the sides that I liked.
I've been busy with stuff around the house and I haven't had time to break it in.
I do feel like now I actually own an Indy hat. I'll try and post some pics of me in my gear wearing the new hat. I'm also curious to see how this hat will look with my new Old Navy shirt.
Great job PF. I'm also a proud owner of a Fed Delux. What size is yours? There's a theroy about the block size above 58 or 59 being better looking than the one lower than that.
What color is that jacket? Looks black in that lighting! I've noticed that about mine to though. Very wide range of hues it can look like.
IndyDoc wrote:Great job PF. I'm also a proud owner of a Fed Delux. What size is yours? There's a theroy about the block size above 58 or 59 being better looking than the one lower than that.
What color is that jacket? Looks black in that lighting! I've noticed that about mine to though. Very wide range of hues it can look like.
The hat is a size 59. It was a little to big when I got it so I ended up using the sizing tape under the sweat band. I also recently had just got my hair cut really short so I'm sure that was part of the reason why it was loose.
My jacket is a Wested Dark Brown Goatskin. I guess you could still say it's brand new. I've been wearing it alot but it doesn't seem to be loosing it's shine which I guess is fine. It looks great either with jeans or semi-dress clothes.
I took these photo's late one night last week so the flash was on and the house was dark so that's why everything seems darker. I want to get some good pics with it out in the sunlight but I've just been so busy with other stuff that I haven't had the time.
Pitfall Harry wrote:
I ended up using some more steam today and messing with the bash and the sides a little more.
Here are some photo's of just the hat and me with the hat on. Try and guess which is which!
I might suggest making the center crease a little deeper on the back, it would drop it down lower for a more Raiders look...so long as that leaves room for your head. The front looks great though, I'd leave that part alone!
Pitfall Harry wrote:
I ended up using some more steam today and messing with the bash and the sides a little more.
Here are some photo's of just the hat and me with the hat on. Try and guess which is which!
I might suggest making the center crease a little deeper on the back, it would drop it down lower for a more Raiders look...so long as that leaves room for your head. The front looks great though, I'd leave that part alone!
Antone
PS--You're the yellow one, right?
Yeah, I know what your saying. Before I started messing with it I was looking at Fedora's AB he made Ford and from the side the back of the crown starts to curve downward because of the deeper bash. This is supposed to cause that "reverse taper" from what I understand.
For me though (maybe I didn't push down enough) it didn't seem to make a difference when your looking at it straight on so I decided to leave it for now. I could also feel the inside of the hat hitting the top of my head too.
Thanks for the tip and I might still mess with hat later on to try it again.
Sorry I caught this thread late so I dont have any new imput but the hat looks great... I'm gonna be getting a job after I graduate and I'll probably get one of these Akube's to "distress" then again I've been say that for awhile :c)
Actually, I don't really think that hat needs it unless you want the same profile shot of the Raiders hat.
When I pushed the center dent farther down at the very back it didn't seem to change anything about the hat when looking at it from the front.
Like I said I'll experiment a little more with that but for agrument sake the hat is "Indy" enough for me and looks a 1000 times better on me then that Dorfman did.
Well, I just followed your advice and from all different angles my hat looks close to the pics of Fedora's hat for Ford. Of course it doesn't look as good because A) His is an AB and mine is a Akubra and B)Fedora has been doing this for years.
I tested how the hat looked on me by taking some more pics from different angles just a few minutes ago and I'm happy with the way it looks on me. Of coures were are all going to have our different tastes on how we "think" the hat should look and the same "bash" isn't going to look right on everyone either because of the shape of our heads.
I'm guessing that in total I probably have worn my new hat less than 24 hours so if what everyone told me about these hats is true it's going to take a long time for me to break it in and it should last me years.
Hey guys- I just got my new Federation Deluxe to replace my tattier Federation. I'll post pics after wearing it for a few days and softening it up. I forgot how crisp and stiff these hats are out of the box!
Pitfall, hat's lookin' good. But do I see a really sharp angled cut in that brim?? In the one pic, it looks like you mis-sliced a dimensional cut? Is it just the camera angle playing tricks on me?
Also, that target behind you,,is that meant to be comical? It looks like someone hit everywhere EXCEPT the bullseye!
Texas Raider wrote:Pitfall, hat's lookin' good. But do I see a really sharp angled cut in that brim?? In the one pic, it looks like you mis-sliced a dimensional cut? Is it just the camera angle playing tricks on me?
TR
It must be the way the camera angle is because I haven't made any alterations to the hat's brim at all. The lighting and where I had the camera sitting weren't the best. I just wanted to fire off a few shots and post them on here.
Last edited by Pitfall Harry on Sat May 13, 2006 4:56 pm, edited 2 times in total.
That target with the bullseye kind of reminds me of the old B27 targets that we used to use to qualify with the handgun. The B27 target has the silhouette of a person with different scoring areas and it had a small bullseye that was a circle between the size of a quarter or siver dollar. The circle had an X in it and was referred to as the X ring. If more than one person shot a perfect score of a 100, you could break a tie by counting how many rounds went through the X ring.
Our course of fire consisted of 60 rounds and most were shot in groups of two or three from different positions, and distances, and some using baracades. We had targets that turned, and you would start with your gun holstered and your hands at your side. When the targets turned, you had either two or three seconds to draw and fire two or three rounds before the target would turn away from you.
Several years ago, they went away from using the B27 target and used some other target that didn't have an X ring. I have often stated on this forum that I always qualified as Master, which means I had a score between 99-100. I remember the last time I qualified on the B27 target, I shot a 100 with 33 out of the 60 rounds going through the X ring.
On that target, I can't say that there was too much of the X ring that was left. Actually, the only way to score that target was to count all the individual holes that you could see right around the X ring, and since there weren't any holes any further out, you had to assume that all the rest of the rounds went through the spot where the X ring had been. If I would have known that would be the last time I would shoot at a target with the X ring, I might have saved it. But, it went in the dumpster with all the rest of them.
Another time, when we were shooting on a combat course, you had to run around and hide behind all kinds of things and shoot at different targets while you were being timed. There was one silhouette target that we had to shoot at three times during the course of fire and each time that you had to shoot at it, you were supposed to shoot twice to the chest and twice to the head.
I had seen it in some movie, I think it was Lethal Weapon, where someone shot a smilie face on the target. I thought it was funny, and during this combat course, everytime I had to shoot at that silhouette target, I continued to work on my smilie face.
When I finished the course, the silhouette target had six holes in his chest and a perfect smile on his face. I was all proud of myself, but my instructors didn't seem to think it was funny. I was senior enough of an officer that I didn't get in any trouble or anything.
Anyway, I guess I shoot well naturally, because I never practice. I would only shoot when the department made me. I did enjoy it a little, just not enough to cause me to go do it on my own time. I used to be amazed when people that I worked with would struggle to meet the minimum qualification score of 75. The State of Maryland only required 70, but my department required 75.
Anyway, the mention of shooting at targets reminded me of some stories, I am sorry to get off topic so far.
Oh, remind me to tell you about the time I shot my good friend during simunitions. Simunitions is a chalk bullet that is fired out of a modified Beretta 9mm at 900 fps. With head and eye protection, it is safe for us to train by shooting at each other in various scenarios. It does sting a bit though.
He is 6'4" and 245, a five time gold glove boxer, runs triathlons, and leg presses over 1,000 lbs. I noticed he had not bothered to take cover before attempting to shoot at me, so I shot him in the crotch. His reaction was priceless. We all still laugh about it.
Pitfall Harry wrote:It must be the way the camera angle is because I haven't made any alterations to the hat's brim at all. The lighting and where I had the camera sitting weren't the best.
It's really pronouced in the second pic, and a little in the first one, but I guess it's just where the brim "breaks".
Well, once the sun comes back (which should be next month!) here I'm sure I'll snap some more pics with the hat on outside and then you'll be able to see the sides more clearly.
(I wore a wool, tapered and everything, for an Indy fed and still laugh at myself to this day thinking about that.)
...If that's possible?
