Let me introduce myself: I am Jens from Germany, 28 years old and (obviously) an Indy fan. I came over here from MK's Fedora Lounge and have been lurking for a couple of weeks now searching for advice on Indy Gear - which led me to buy Indy pants and shirt from Wested, the bag (with strap) and belt from Noel Howard and an Akubra Federation from HatsDirect.com.
The hat arrived today (open crown, of course) and I immediately started on giving in the Raiders look. I already own a number of Fedoras (no Indy Fedoras, though, just two Biltmore Royal and one Panama) and all came pre-shaped. I have never before tried to shape a hat, so I kinda learn as I go and maybe I am just too afraid to damage my new hat...
I read through both John Ndy's and Pagey's tutorials but I am not really happy with the way it came out.

Here is what my problems are (photos below):
The biggest problem is the brim. It just doesn't look right, especially from the front. I tried shaping it without steam first, but that wouldn't work at all, so now I tried my luck with steam. It looks better now (especially front and back), but the sides (if seen from the front) just don't shape right.
The pinch looks OK, I guess, it only seems to be a bit crooked, maybe even off-center. I think I have to work on that again.
Here the pictures (Pardon the quality, the flash has discolored it quite badly, in reality it is a beautiful Akubra Federation




Pictures of me in the hat will follow...
Allbest...
...Jens