ANYONE HAVE NEWS ON THE NEW FEDERATIONS?

swcrazyfan · Post by **swcrazyfan** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 11:42 am

IndianaSolo wrote:Well The block btw the Fed and Adventurer is different (Fed is MUCH MUCH MUCH Better) I just want a more acurate color. Ron says that the Fed uses the same color as was used in the current Fed Dlx, which most people say is more accurate. I want to see what the current Fed Dlx looks like outside of the Hatsdirect site because the color of the Fed Dlx he has in the Fedora section does not match the color of the Fed IV. Can anyone provide more clarity?

I don't think we''l be getting any more pics until someone receives theirs next week.

Fedora · Post by **Fedora** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 11:48 am

Here is a side by side comparison with my AB. The AB is on the right. Yep, Ron did his homework!!!

The hat on the right is Ron's AB, a larger sized hat than the Fed IV on the left. Ron's got a big head.

And yes, I had some input on this new Federation. AB supports the guy who went out of his way to provide us with the first fan based hat, the Federation a few years ago. This time, it was just me and Michaelson though. The committee was too large the first go around.

I think most folks are gonna love the Fed IV. I already do. Should get my two, today!!! I will be able to finally have a new hat. Can't find the time to make myself one. I think this new Fed is exactly what I am looking for, if I can't make it myself. Fedora

Georgia Jones · Post by **Georgia Jones** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 11:55 am

Indianasolo - that may just be a lighting differance...my fed dlx III can look like both depending on light...

IndianaSolo · Post by **IndianaSolo** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 11:55 am

Thanks Steve,

It was easier for me to compare the hats side by side. Yup it definitly looks good, can't wait till I get mine. Both of them.

I still drool every time I see an AB and it makes me more and more anxious for mine

That colour

That Texture

That Shape

binkmeisterRick · Post by **binkmeisterRick** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 12:54 pm

Fedora, that's a sweet comparison pic! Is that the regular Fed IV or the Deluxe Fed IV?

Post by **Dr. Nebraska S.** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 12:59 pm

Fedora wrote: I think this new Fed is exactly what I am looking for, if I can't make it myself. Fedora

Ron can't get much better of an endorsement than that!

DOHERTYJAX · Post by **DOHERTYJAX** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 1:25 pm

I got my official update from Ron this morning. should be here in 5 to 10 days. That is awesome news................

gabrielle · Post by **gabrielle** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 7:33 pm

swcrazyfan wrote:Here is a comparison GIF animation I made of both the Fed IV and the Adventurer:

The fed is a better looking hat IMO. I don't like the color of the Adventurer.

Piker · Post by **Piker** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 9:39 pm

Adventurer is a good lid, don't diss the Advy!

Advy has the old style ribbon. New Fed ribbon is reworked. Advy has always been a big brim hat. SA? Maybe for us big fellows, it looks right.

And it is Heck-Fire for tough in the woods.

First rule of Fight Club? Don't Diss the Adventurer!

Post by **Michaelson** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 10:04 pm

They're made from the same felt, so we know they're both tough as a pine knot.

Personally I wouldn't 'diss' ANYTHING that Akubra makes, no matter what version you're talking about.

Regards! Michaelson

IndianaSolo · Post by **IndianaSolo** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 12:23 am

Michaelson wrote:They're made from the same felt, so we know they're both tough as a pine knot.

Personally I wouldn't 'diss' ANYTHING that Akubra makes, no matter what version you're talking about.

I agree. I had an Adventurer an I can tell you that It can hold up. Even though David Morgan designed it, Akubra MAKES it and uses the same Imperial felt. I sold the Adventurer and am awaiting for my Fed IV because it has the look that I wanted for an LC hat from the beginning. But after the Adventurer, I will make sure that I ALWAYS have an Akubra somewhere in my hat pile. They're simply THE BEST, allaround factory produced budget felt hats you can find.

Raider · Post by **Raider** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 7:08 am

OK, for ones joining the topic, looking for clear instructions:
(From Ron, hatsdirect.com)

"please find information at this address

http://www.hatsdirect.com/federation

We are upgrading the site at the moment and have new images on the way. The side bar in this section is where you order from. Once we have settled the range and are better organised this will be better linked to our main site. Prices are on the product pages and colors are added as they come in.

We are shipping the new hats now."

Cheers,

:junior: Raider

Fedora · Post by **Fedora** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 10:37 am

I received my two hats from Ron yesterday. As with any hat that is close to the Raiders fedora, it does not take any detailed work to get this hat looking like it came from the film. A neophyte should be able to get an accurate looking Raiders fedora from the new Fed IV, without having hat creasing skills like some here. Some could turn a sows ear into a silk purse. This hat is the silk purse out of the box.

The blockshape is superiour to anything I have seen from Akubra to date. When Ron found that old block at Akubra, he hit a gold mine in my opinion. I find it hard to tell the difference in blockshape from our own blocks. The 2 3/4 by 2 1/2 brim will work so much better with most folks as well. So, now I have myself a new hat!!! I have not opened the other box yet, but the box I did open had the Fed IV Deluxe. The finish is superiour to the old Deluxe. Ron must have requested these to be finished with a finer finish. Crown height once creased
is like our own, 5 inches tall at the sides. I have not tried to put the CS crease in the other one yet, but I can tell that it will be very accurate to the film by the overall open crown block shape. I will let others post pics of their hats once they get them. But I am really impressed with what Ron has had Akubra make for him. Not only does this hat look great from the front, it looks great from the sides, at least for the Raiders look, which is all I have put into one yet.

So, if you are in the market for a pure rabbit hat, you need look no farther than the Federation IV. I don't see how anyone could improve upon it. Critiques of this hat are gonna be hard to come by. It is the most Indy looking hat to ever come out of Akubra. Kudos to Ron once again in running with the ball and delivering a hat that he should be proud of. Fedora

whiskyman · Post by **whiskyman** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 10:41 am

How's thè colour? Is it very very dark?

Raider · Post by **Raider** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 11:08 am

Steve, one may say you're gentleman so many times! Your objectivity is impressive, as always.

My old Akubra went floppy and I feel sorry while abusing my authentic AB beaver. I see New Federation Deluxe is a great fullfilment for existing niche.

You (Steve+Marc) should just make a deal with Akubra and combine your forces

Just add AB's recpected logo (kind of recommendation), adding extra few dollars to a new Deluxe's current price

Everyone would be happy:
- Hatsdirect (extra sales),
- AB (save your time for authentic ABs, instead of looking for partner factory, earning the same from partnership with Akubra),
- users (having best from both worlds)

Take care,

:junior: Raider

Dutch_jones · Post by **Dutch_jones** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 12:29 pm

Fedora: please post some pictures!!

I'd like to see how this easy raiders bash looks like on this new federation

WarrenJones · Post by **WarrenJones** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 6:51 pm

dittos to that, would love to see it
Any ideas on how behind they are? I ordered about a month ago, and havent gotten an email.
thanks Brian

Mac · Post by **Mac** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 10:17 pm

Aeris_Canon wrote:as Mac in another thread pointed out and wrote:
;0

- Mac

I second that! Or maybe third it! (?)

- Mac

dr. tyree · Post by **dr. tyree** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 11:10 pm

Costello: When you pay off the first baseman every month, who gets the money?

Abbott: Every dollar of it.

Costello: All I'm trying to find out is the fellow's name on first base.

Abbott: Who.

Costello: The guy that gets...

Abbott: That's it.

Costello: Who gets the money...

Abbott: Every dollar. Sometimes his wife comes down and collects it.

Costello: Whose wife?

Abbott: Yes....

Fedora · Post by **Fedora** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 11:17 am

Now the question is, "When? When do we see the Raiders Federation?"

Monday? That's a solid two days to get it in shape.

I actually had loaned my digital camera to my daughter or I would have snapped a pic or tow pronto. I will get it back today.

Two days to get it into shape?

Totally unnessary, it took me 30 seconds to put the creases in. That was what impressed be first. The creases don't require alot of tweaking, the hat looks great with minimal work,and that is what the real Raiders fedora was like in my opinion. The right blockshape should lend the look with little work. If you have to spend alot of time getting it to look accurate, the blockshape has weaknesses. Once I get the digital back today, I will snap a few and post them. IF, I can get this one page in this thread to act right. It literally took my 5 minutes to scroll down to make this post, like something was taking a long time to load, on this page. I had to same thing happen on another thread, a single page that takes ages to load up to where I can read the last post of the page. Fedora

binkmeisterRick · Post by **binkmeisterRick** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 12:18 pm

Fedora, in the FedIV comparison shot, is that the regIV or the deluxeIV? When you show us your, please tell which version it is!

Fedora · Post by **Fedora** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 12:43 pm

Just for the record, it only takes a few minutes to put a Raiders in the other hats, too. (no effort or major tweaking, including weathering.) ::ducks:: Anyway

LOL. Yeah, I know Aeris, but there are some of us here, you being one of them that can make almost any hat look very Raider-esque, while that talent escapes many of us. A kudos to you. That is one reason, I hate to send open crowned hats. I have seen a few of mine that looked like......well, you get the picture. Not all of us are good at putting in the creases. But, I just feel this hat here from Ron will allow those less fortunate to get a decent look, after a few minutes of playing with it. Ok, the camera just got back, I pulled my hat off my head and snapped these. Now, this hat actually got wet the day that I got it, as I got caught in a little shower. Since Ron sent me a 59, it was a bit loose, so I did the lampshape trick, which had the hat fitting me perfectly in a few minutes.

Here is it right off my head, and I did not tweak anything as you can see by the top of the pinch sticking up a bit. And forgot to turn on the flash. The top radius on the top of the sides is very, very good. A weakness in some hats.

Side view with flash. Back is 4 inches front is 4 7/8, but needs to be a little lower, but I decided not to tweak this either to show you what it looks like just coming off my head after wearing it for the weekend.

And the back view.

Now, I don't know how you guys will feel about Ron's new Fed IV, but to me, it is a big improvement over the old Federation, in blockshape, in brim width, and in crown height.

This hat is a little stiffer than it needs to be, and I would love to see one that has less stiffener in the crown and brim. Ron may correct that later on, and I could very well crush this hat and work it with my hands, and beat it with my wooden handle on my brim brush to really soften up the factory stiffener. I may do that today. This block on a softer felt would really nail it for me, as softer felt allows for those Raider nuances we all love.

This block was sitting in Akubra's factory, unsued in decades. Ron took my hat in, and chose the block that matched it the best. I think he has a winner. Personally, as I said, this is the best yet, and it blows the Explorer out of the water high enough to use it for skeet shooting.

Fedora

Raider · Post by **Raider** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 12:53 pm

Thanks for the pics, Fedora!

This hat is a little stiffer than it needs to be, and I would love to see one that has less stiffener in the crown and brim. Ron may correct that later on, and I could very well crush this hat and work it with my hands, and beat it with my wooden handle on my brim brush to really soften up the factory stiffener. I may do that today. This block on a softer felt would really nail it for me, as softer felt allows for those Raider nuances we all love.

...and waiting for another, showing beaten FedIV!

Cheers,

:junior: Raider

Bernardodc · Post by **Bernardodc** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 3:40 pm

Steve,

Thank you for yours posts and pics of your Akubra IV. I have just ordered mine too. I have two questions if you don't mind:

-Could you please explain the "lampshape trick"? My first Fed came in size 58 and it was a bit big at the sides, and I didn't know what to do except wearing it until it shrinked a bit and fitted my head better. (I didn't use the foam strips supplied.)

-Did you bash your hat dry or did you use water from a spray bottle? I saw your bottle in the background and wondered

)

Thanks!

Bernardo

Indiana Max · Post by **Indiana Max** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 3:47 pm

Thank you very much for all your pics Steve, now I´m definitely in for SUPPORT THIS GORGEOUS HAT :!:

Dutch_jones · Post by **Dutch_jones** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 3:59 pm

Thank you for posting the pictures Fedora.

Now since this block looks so much like the AB and ABD block, why not have akubra make the factory AB hats?

Mac · Post by **Mac** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 4:05 pm

Now that is the Federation gearheads have been clamoring for!

Well done Ron, Fedora, Michaelson and anyone else who had anything to do with this.

- Mac

gabrielle · Post by **gabrielle** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 4:08 pm

That's one sharp looking hat!!! I have never bashed a hat before, but I'll try with this one.

Can anyone tell me what is best?

Dry bash
Water bash
Steam bash

And maybe just a short explanation on how to start???

Fedora · Post by **Fedora** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 4:21 pm

I dry creased this hat. I then took my steamer and steamed the brim a bit to turn it down in front. That's it! I don't think you need steam or water to crease this hat. Fedora

Fedora · Post by **Fedora** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 4:38 pm

Now since this block looks so much like the AB and ABD block, why not have akubra make the factory AB hats?

Marc and I want a hat with 20 per cent beaver in it, as a factory hat. Just enough to give it a better feel, and enough to help with stabilizing the felt a little better. Plus, while the new block is great, it is not identical in everyway to ours. But the best I have seen out of Akubra to date. It really takes the Raiders look and the CS look wonderfully though, as I just creased Michaelson's LC/CS hybrid, and when doing so, I looked at what it yielded in so far as a CS fedora. It is outstanding. Don't let these little nuances stop you or anyone else from buying this hat. It is a must have as far as I am concerned. And most times, you get it fast once Ron gets fully stocked. The best of both world's. A really accurate hat, plus fast turnaround times!! And best of all, its an Akubra. Fedora

gabrielle · Post by **gabrielle** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 5:36 pm

Fedora wrote:I dry creased this hat. I then took my steamer and steamed the brim a bit to turn it down in front. That's it! I don't think you need steam or water to crease this hat. Fedora

Thank you much. I'm eventually going to order one, but after my AB; still saving for that 1st. I have an itch though to crease my own hat, which is probably the same itch everyone here gets sooner or later...

binkmeisterRick · Post by **binkmeisterRick** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 6:09 pm

Steve, I'd still like to know if you've shown pics of the regular FedIV or the deluxe FedIV. Please?

Kittlemeier · Post by **Kittlemeier** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 7:58 pm

Also, how's the ribbon?

Kokopelli · Post by **Kokopelli** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 8:20 pm

anyone know if the Fed IV is available in other colors yet, besides the dark brown?

Piker · Post by **Piker** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 8:27 pm

Carbon Gray:

Tawny Fawn:

And Indy Brown:

WarrenJones · Post by **WarrenJones** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 8:31 pm

wow that carbon gray is pretty sharp too

Piker · Post by **Piker** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 8:39 pm

I can honestly say that I will own all three eventually.

WarrenJones · Post by **WarrenJones** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 8:43 pm

hey Piker,
Can I ask you a question? I preordered my fed deluxe about a month ago maybe even a little longer, but I havent heard anything yet, should I start emailing Ron?
Thanks Brian

Piker · Post by **Piker** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 8:47 pm

Did you get the general email about the sizes? If not I'd send a polite follow up.

They are busy, but it might be wise to check.

WarrenJones · Post by **WarrenJones** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 8:52 pm

no I didnt get the follow up, that was what was worrying me, I guess I will send a note, thanks alot, and sorry to bother you, the wait has been...well I dont have any fingernails left

Piker · Post by **Piker** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 8:58 pm

No bother, hope your hat comes in soon!

rebelgtp · Post by **rebelgtp** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 9:01 pm

hmmm i'm thinking that i'm going to have to order a new federation, these new ones are looking great

Kokopelli · Post by **Kokopelli** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 9:24 pm

Piker wrote:Carbon Gray:

Tawny Fawn:

And Indy Brown:

Are yhe other colors available now...or are they coming later?

Piker · Post by **Piker** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 9:35 pm

http://www.hatsdirect.com/cgi/products. ... Federation

I'd say now, since they are up, live and taking orders.

Honolulu Jones · Post by **Honolulu Jones** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 11:09 pm

Pardon the stupid question (I haven't been following Federation-related discussions), but you have to bash your own hat, correct? Akubra does not bash?

Thanks.

Post by **Michaelson** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 11:20 pm

You bash your own, but it's easy, and LOTS of folks are around here to help you if you need it.

Regards! Michaelson

Honolulu Jones · Post by **Honolulu Jones** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 11:30 pm

Thanks Michaelson. But don't you need a block to do it properly?

BoilermakerJones · Post by **BoilermakerJones** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 11:39 pm

The block in this case formed the domed open crown. You then form the bash - the front to back crease and the front dimples - that you want by hand. However, some hats do have the bash done at the factory, it isn't necessarily done with the block.

Search this forum for the post that had a link to Akubra's hat making video. It shows a separate step that shapes the crown after the hat has been blocked and is nearly complete. Here is the link: viewtopic.php?t=27897&

You may have seen some hat shapers that do have the bash formed in them.

Matt

Post by **Michaelson** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 11:40 pm

No sir! It's easy to 'cold' bash it by pushing in the shape you want with your fingers.

That, or use steam to activate the stiffiner in the felt, shape the hat the way you want, the allow to cool for the stiffiner to reset.

Blocking sets the hat in it's original dome shape, with hand shaping taking place after the blocking has been done.

The block has been set for you. All you have to do is put in the final shape YOU want.

EDIT: I see boilermaker and I were typing at the same time!

Regards! Michaelson

Honolulu Jones · Post by **Honolulu Jones** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 12:34 am

Ahh. Thanks mucho for the info -- seems much less daunting now.

P.S. Unfortunately, the links to the video seem to be dead now...