Club Obi Wan

I finally did some bashing on my hat...looks pretty good for being my first time if i do say so myself
I do have a question though: I noticed some TOP bashes seem to be a kind of a "spread out" bash...best way i can describe it and others have just a bash down the center, more like a little "trench". Which is the "correct" one to put in?

also, where do you place the foam strip to give it a tighter fit? along the sides, fron or back of the fedora?

BTW I don't know how to post pics. when i figure it out i'll post to get opinions..
Thanks
Solo

my fed IV arrived today!!! WOOHOOO!!

this is my first ever bash so please be gentle, please and comments or tips on how to continue the bash are most welcome, i dont know if im brave enough to go for the full radiers bash yet

i feel like the brim isnt down enough at the front...what do you think?

Looks fine to me. You probably can afford to lower the back a teensy bit though, and move the side bashes back a little more. Main thing in need is probably the brim curl, you need more of it on the sides along with more up an upward angle.

thanks how do i achieve more of a brim curl?

Alex wrote:WOOHOO!!! I ordered my Fed IV last Thursday and it made it here by today!!!!! Here are a few shots of it with its happy new owner. What do you guys think of the bash? It was my first time.

Nice hat! It really suites you.

couple of pictures of me wearing my new and treasured akubra fedIV

my second attempt at bashing my new hat . iv tried doing the turn, by putting it on and turning it to the right but nothing really happens to the brim shape at all, not that i can see anyway?

im quite pleased with the crown though so im going to leave that as it is

Nice bash job this time. I love the crown shape too.

thanks , its real fun to bash! theres always that temptation to go that one step further all the time and you have to know when to stop yourself

morethanatimelord wrote:thanks how do i achieve more of a brim curl?

Moisten the brim or use steam and just use your hand to coerce the felt into the desired shape.

morethanatimelord wrote:...iv tried doing the turn, by putting it on and turning it to the right but nothing really happens to the brim shape at all, not that i can see anyway?

Sounds like you had the same amount of success as I did. Turning my hat resulted in some very minor "wavy" distortion that made the brim resemble an old vinyl LP that had been left in the sun, and trying to "coax" it by hand-shaping didn't help. Besides, it was so uncomfortable that I couldn't imagine myself wearing the hat that way, so I turned it back to the proper position and bashed the crown.

Since "the turn" didn't work for me, I simply started shaping the front of the brim to resemble something like this:



After getting it to look reasonably close, I noticed the edges on the back of the brim had begun to curl up on their own, like this, only not quite as pronounced:



I wasn't attempting a screen-accurate bash, so I'm quite happy with the results. BTW, I didn't post photos of my hat because our camera is non-operational at the moment; these production photos were the closest I could find that would illustrate my descriptions.

Marcus Brody wrote:

morethanatimelord wrote:thanks how do i achieve more of a brim curl?

Moisten the brim or use steam and just use your hand to coerce the felt into the desired shape.

thanks! im really scared about using steam as iv read a few bash instructions that say dont use steam i may give it a go though since the hat is looking better and better.

Zombie jones: yeah i havent had much sucess with `the turn` at all really and the hat looked exactly as you described, like an old vinyl LP left out in the sun . i put it back to its proper shape into what you see in my last couple of pictures. i would like to get the front of the brim to swoop down a little more though

EDIT: i decided to add the sizing foam strip to the inside of the hat as it nearly blew off outside!! its now a nice cumfy snug fit. my question is this...will the foam strip damage the crown in anyway due to the place iv put it?


i obviously dont want to strech or damage the crown or anything

Won't damage the crown. It's supposed to go inside the sweat band. At most, the leather sweat band will get a little wrinkled. Wear that until your hat decides to shrink a little on you (if it ever does).

thanks iv taken the foam tape out and actually the hat does seem to fit a lot more snug now so thats certainly worked fast! lol. fits like a glove now, i might do a little work on the brim at the front to make it swoop down a bit more. the sides of the brim have curled up a little really nicely so all in all its comming along great im so happy that i was able to get this hat at a great price. thanks to everyone here with your hints and tips too!

Fed 4 Deluxe (size 61) w/ Acme's Headpiece & Serenade's Marion's Chain.

If you order, be sure to ask questions. I was right between a 60 and a 61 and they recommended the 61, which fits like a glove (i.e. no foam).

It's the most comfortable hat I've ever owned, and the quality is outstanding! Took about a week to get from Australia to the Midwestern USA.

I've got a Fed IV on the way .. hopefully it comes before I leave town!

I love my leather fedora to death (great for RAIN and SNOW) but it's not Indy accurate at all.

I'll post pictures here along with some of these other great ones when it comes.

RC325

Hello I am a newbie here

I am thinking about ordering an FEDIV, I understand it is felt, but is it rabbit felt, or just felt. What I am wondering is, will it shrink in the rain??

thanks for helping fellows

its rabbit felt i believe and if you look after it right no it wont shrink in the rain. to make sure it doesnt store it out of the sun, upside down on its crown and just leave it to dry naturtally any heat on it while it dries may shrink it i think. the card that comes with the hat states that its made from 100% fur felt and that it is also shower proof. the care instructions tell you not to force dry your hat unless you want to make it smaller.

You are correct, it is rabbit felt and Akubras are made to handle harsh conditions.

Hi everyone, i'm a newbie of indygear and this is my first post.
I'm Italian and i live in Florence.
I've purchased a Federation IV from Hatsdirect and an Indy Jacket from Wested (Raider's style, brown in lambskin.
First of all i wanna thank Ron (Akuba) and Peter (Wested) for their fantastic work.
Onestly the quality of the jacket and of the hat are far beyond my imagination.
Thanks again guys for your beautifull work.
Now time for some pics:

http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/2144/intero1mq5.jpg
http://img127.imageshack.us/img127/113/cappello2uw4.jpg
http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/7548/intero2ub9.jpg
http://img127.imageshack.us/img127/4287 ... lo1ft0.jpg
http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/9269/pic0090mt6.jpg
http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/3595/pic0088fq9.jpg

I'm really entusiastic of my new "Indiana look", and of my home made bash of the hat .

You guys are killin' me! I've had a Fed IV Deluxe on order for about 2 weeks now and I'm still waiting...seems they are out of my size. In the meantime I'm reading these posts and am torn between marvelling over how cool the hats look and worrying over whether or not I ordered the right size.

After providing my head measurement I was advised by a Hatsdirect salesperson to order a size larger than my normal Akubra size. That means I ordered a 61 instead of a 60. That seems like good advice since their website says these hats run slightly small. But now most of you guys are saying that the hats run big and that a person should order his normal size. Yikes!

I'm just gonna wait on my hat as ordered and hope that the sales advice I was given was good. I'll let you all know when it comes.

Michael

whats the brim size on these akubra standard fed IV ? just the brim feels quite large and sometimes feels more like a cowboy hat than a indy style fedora

Another Italian! Benvenuto Ederdast!

You have enough now to hold your own summit! Erri is there as well!

Regards! Michaelson

Benvenuto a bordo Ederdast! And an Italian summit in Florence is not a bad idea!

Agreed. That's at least 4 members I'm aware of now.

Regards! Michaelson

my girlfriend took a surprise photo of me in my fed the hat is starting to become very comfortable to wear, and it feels wrong when im not wearing it . iv made the pinch a little tighter and the sides have curled up alittle on there own, cant really tell much in the first pic cus my head is slightly tilted back however the second picture shows the tighter pinch





the brim is getting a real nice swoop to it too, just shows that it takes a few days to get it right for the personal feel

Comic Sidekick wrote:You guys are killin' me! I've had a Fed IV Deluxe on order for about 2 weeks now and I'm still waiting...seems they are out of my size. In the meantime I'm reading these posts and am torn between marvelling over how cool the hats look and worrying over whether or not I ordered the right size.

After providing my head measurement I was advised by a Hatsdirect salesperson to order a size larger than my normal Akubra size. That means I ordered a 61 instead of a 60. That seems like good advice since their website says these hats run slightly small. But now most of you guys are saying that the hats run big and that a person should order his normal size. Yikes!

I'm just gonna wait on my hat as ordered and hope that the sales advice I was given was good. I'll let you all know when it comes.

Michael

By way of example, I measured my head by placing a tailor's measuring tape where I felt the hatband should be. Measured three times, got 60 cm each time, so I ordered a size 60. The hat I received was slightly large, but after wearing it a few days it "snugged up" to a near-perfect fit; after a week, it fit perfectly IMO.

morethanatimelord wrote:whats the brim size on these akubra standard fed IV ? just the brim feels quite large and sometimes feels more like a cowboy hat than a indy style fedora

According to the Hats Direct website, the brim is dimensionally cut - 2-1/2" on the sides, and 2-3/4" front and back.

While I know very little about the history of the Fedora, I've always thought it was simply a cowboy hat modified to look a bit classier and dressier. Most sources site the name Fedora as being taken from the title of an 1882 play. Princess Fédora, the heroine of the play, wore a hat similar to a Fedora, so I could be right.

Zombie Jones wrote:

Comic Sidekick wrote:You guys are killin' me! I've had a Fed IV Deluxe on order for about 2 weeks now and I'm still waiting...seems they are out of my size. In the meantime I'm reading these posts and am torn between marvelling over how cool the hats look and worrying over whether or not I ordered the right size.

After providing my head measurement I was advised by a Hatsdirect salesperson to order a size larger than my normal Akubra size. That means I ordered a 61 instead of a 60. That seems like good advice since their website says these hats run slightly small. But now most of you guys are saying that the hats run big and that a person should order his normal size. Yikes!

I'm just gonna wait on my hat as ordered and hope that the sales advice I was given was good. I'll let you all know when it comes.

Michael

By way of example, I measured my head by placing a tailor's measuring tape where I felt the hatband should be. Measured three times, got 60 cm each time, so I ordered a size 60. The hat I received was slightly large, but after wearing it a few days it "snugged up" to a near-perfect fit; after a week, it fit perfectly IMO.

morethanatimelord wrote:whats the brim size on these akubra standard fed IV ? just the brim feels quite large and sometimes feels more like a cowboy hat than a indy style fedora

According to the Hats Direct website, the brim is dimensionally cut - 2-1/2" on the sides, and 2-3/4" front and back.

While I know very little about the history of the Fedora, I've always thought it was simply a cowboy hat modified to look a bit classier and dressier. Most sources site the name Fedora as being taken from the title of an 1882 play. Princess Fédora, the heroine of the play, wore a hat similar to a Fedora, so I could be right.

i never knew that well you learn something new everyday

Thanks Indiana Strones and Bazzano Jones for the warmly welcome.
(Italian mode on)
Grazie mille ragazzi .
Per il summit in Firenze volentieri, non è detto che non si trovi il modo..
(Italian mode off)
For what y've understood we are four from Italy here.
Ah sorry for my english, is not so good I now but i'm trying to improve it.

lol dont worry about it, im english and my english isnt very good most of the time

ederdast wrote:Ah sorry for my english, is not so good I now but i'm trying to improve it.

In Italy we usually say "We are all on the same boat!" (Siamo tutti sulla stessa barca!)

Probably sounds much nicer in Italien


Cheers

For sure .
A question that is not about the Akuba: the Tony Novak jacket is still ordinable or is alredy out of production?
Thx.

P.s. Beg your pardon if i'm going off-topic...

Well, I discovered in this forum that "to be in the same boat" in also an English expression. Very interesting!

Ederdast, I'm sending you a PM about the Nowak jacket.

***Ederdast ti ha mandato un messaggio privato, controlla***

i live in the north east of england, newcastle way and "in the same boat" is a very common phrase used here too

Hey guys....the fed4 looks great, but... does it is crushable?

I'd say no. It comes pretty stiff. There is a softening technique (check Lee Keppler's website), but that won't make the hat crushable.

ederdast wrote:Hi everyone, i'm a newbie of indygear and this is my first post.

My god your fedora is being eaten by a cactus....

Zombie Jones wrote:While I know very little about the history of the Fedora, I've always thought it was simply a cowboy hat modified to look a bit classier and dressier. Most sources cite the name Fedora as being taken from the title of an 1882 play. Princess Fédora, the heroine of the play, wore a hat similar to a Fedora, so I could be right.

Just in case anyone cares about the history of the Fedora, apparently I'm wrong. According to Hatless Jack written by Neil Steinberg, the Fedora is "a descendant of the slouch hats of the Civil War era."

gabrielle wrote:

ederdast wrote:Hi everyone, i'm a newbie of indygear and this is my first post.

My god your fedora is being eaten by a cactus....

Lol, no is still in a quite good shape .

Joining the ranks!!!! First bash ever!

I got my Fed Deluxe today too, and here is my first-ever bash. I think I got the pinch in the front pretty good, but I think I have a problem with my 'turn'. The sides of the brim seem extra wobbly... and the front doesn't point down as far as the movie hat does. I'm pretty sure I did the turn correctly, but mabey I have a crazy shaped head. Does the brim eventually 'work' its way into place, or should I start from scratch? Anyway, here's a pic of Daddy's New Toy...



Great bash BTW, Bardoon...

Better pics of my Fed IV Reg (taken in home, without flash and with a serious camera...); generic Crystal Skull/LC bash:

I have just recently became a new member of COW, and have been lurking for sometime now. Since this is my first post, I wanted to say thank you to all who have contributed to my choice of hat. I just recently received my Fed IV standard (sorry no pictures, yet) and couldn't be happier with it. I measured for a 56, ordered a 57 and with the foam inserts, the fit was perfect. It has already started to shrink a little and some foam is being removed as needed. When I can, I will post pictures of my bash, ROTLA, slightly turned. Great looking hat. It looks good with my Todd standard jacket, bag and strap, whip holder, web belt (brown). But I don't believe that makes me a gearhead though, does it?

I've finally gotten around to taking som pictures of the Fed Deluxe IV I got a few weeks back. First hat/bash ever!

Not really going for any particular style... Let me know what you think.

Here ya go:

Jens,
Looks like a pro bash to me! You've got it down pat. Congrats!!
Just got my Fed IV today and bashed it. I'll post some pics soon.
Cheers!
Mike

Looking really good there. Might I add, nice little touch matching the jacket, too.

Looks just like an AB, super bash!!!