That Raiders Floppy Look

[thePawn]

Which hat is the best for obtaining that Raiders floppy look?

I've been working on my Todd's HJ through multiple "hat crushes" and re-bashes to get the floppy Raiders look and I am really impressed with how the HJ has handled the abuse.

I havent received my AB's from Steve and Marc so I can't compare the two.

How much stiffener does the Federation have?

I've tried rebashing my Peter Bros, but its almost impossible, they must make it out of cardboard felt. lol.

[fatwoul]

You're on the waiting lists of Mr. Delk AND Mr. Kitter at the same time? You're in for a year of treats, aren't you?

My Fed Dlx is easy to manipulate, and the stiffener soon softens out with minimal work. The front of my brim is good and soft now, after working it about a bit.

[Chewbacca Jones]

If you're looking for floppy, don't go with Akubra. The AB's will be somewhere between a Federation and an HJ in stiffness. To the best of my knowledge, the Todd HJ is the floppiest out of the box. However one of our own (Aeris_Canon) makes the point that an HJ with a little more stiffener will be able to "learn" the shape better (to paraphrase), but still softens up very well.

I've also seen AB's and Federations that, after years of use, have become crazy-soft. So it could also be a matter of patience. Frequent rebashing will soften any hat faster, but nothing beats real use.

As for the PB's, they have a ton of stiffener, but crushing and rebashing a few times will help some.

[Indycop]

Ok this is probably a dumb question but, if when your new hat has the brim shape you like, when it gets floppier does the brim just hang there or does it keep the shape.

[WinstonWolf359]

What I've done to soften up my Akubra Feds (2 reg, 2 dlx) is to work the felt a lot in my hands (especially the brim) before any bashing or shaping or turning. I also did a little sanding just to knock off any extra fuzzyness after all of the handling and to soften the hat further.

They're butter soft now, but still hold their shape just fine. A lot of the brim shape is created by just putting the hat on, so there's not much worry of it just hanging down.

[fatwoul]

Yep, that's what I've been doing with my Fed Dlx's brim, and as I said, it's really good and soft now, but still maintains its shape because it's only soft at the front, so the rest supports it.

[Indiana Blooze]

Your PB will soften up with (Ab)use. Mine was like a hard hat at first, now it is the softest hat I own.

[Fedora]

Indy Magnoli's are floppy too. No stiffener added. And the felt nails the Raiders look too due to the lack of stiffener. I guess the unstiff HJs are the closest you can get in floppiness to the original. It is not the original felt, but it is as soft as the original. Fedora

[Chewbacca Jones]

Ok this is probably a dumb question but, if when your new hat has the brim shape you like, when it gets floppier does the brim just hang there or does it keep the shape.

You might have to tweak it every now and then, but decent felt will sort of "learn" the shape you give it and hold fairly well after the stiffener is gone. It just moves easier, like with the wind. Some distant day, it might have trouble holding shape, but you can by stiffener spray if it gets that bad, or have it added during a cleaning.

[Chewbacca Jones]

Indy Magnoli's are floppy too. No stiffener added. And the felt nails the Raiders look too due to the lack of stiffener. I guess the unstiff HJs are the closest you can get in floppiness to the original. It is not the original felt, but it is as soft as the original. Fedora

Speaking of which.... will the next batch be rolling out soon?