Aeris_Canon wrote:
Other answers would have included: Find out the exact steps and tools used from GCR for the one he shows in the "after" pics of his Fed Deluxe.
So that's why my ears were ringing.
I honestly only had to go to through several "makeshift" reblocks on my Fed Deluxe because I pinched it too high to begin with. Back when I got it, most folks seemed to think a pinch height around 5 inches was right for the Raiders look. Now, I know it should have been more like 4 1/2 inches. Trying to lower a front pinch is not easy by a long shot, and it took some drastic measures. If I had it to do over, I'd be curious to see what sort of results I'd get from a fresh, open crown Fed Deluxe with a 4 1/2 inch pinch.
Aside from all the tweaking and reblocking I did to get the crown looking right, the only major thing I did to try and get my old Fed Deluxe looking more SA was to modify the bow (specifically the center knot). There are a few methods on how to do this, so I'd recommend a search.
My results (New bow - ABOVE, stock bow - BELOW)
While it's not perfect and certainly not "SA", it's still a small improvement, in my opinion. I've seen others have much better luck reworking their bows.
Oh, and just to throw this out there: The color of the Fed Deluxe ribbon (same as on the regular Fed, I believe) is great. While not exactly the same as the color of the Raiders ribbon (like both AB's have) it's still a very nice, deep, dark brown. It is, in my opinion, the best color for an Indy ribbon I've seen outside of "THE" (vintage HJ) ribbon.
-GCR