Club Obi Wan

After a long hiatus I'm finally getting back on the forum and I'll start my return with a question: Is it standard practice to trim the brim on an Akubra Federation? I've seen this in some tutorials on shaping an Indy style fedora, and I understand that a standard Federation brim is 1/8" wider than the original movie hat. Is that extra 1/8 really that noticeable? I'd be more nervous trying to trim a hat and end up with an uneven and/or sloppily cut edge. Opinions?

Glad you're back Panama Tom Jr.!

I trimmed mine, but at the end of the day, it depends on ...

-the shape of your face (Thin, long, round, etc.)
-height of the crown

I was looking for more of a TOD hat. I knew my ROTLA hat was going to be a different hat all together. As you know, once it's gone, it's gone!

The Akubras crown is low and rounder than a Raiders block. I thought it looked better with a thinner sided brim. But I have a skinnier, chisled face.



Regards,


Eric

Exactly!
1. Try it on.
2. Wear it.
3. If happy with it, proceed to 5. If not, proceed to 4.
4. Trim it, but remember that a little does a LOT for the overall appearance. One step at a time is good. When finished proceed to 5.
5. Look at that shiny smile of yours in the mirror while wearing it.

That's pretty much how I went by for what it's worth.

Regards,
Swindy

I did trim mine, back in the days (read: less than a year ago) I had no clue whatsoever about hat dynamics (construction, reblocking and such).
Should I order an another Fed, I guess I'd reblock it first to push the crown to a full 6 inches or more. Then, I'd see if the brim needed any additional trimming.

The brim of my fed deluxe looks too big when comparing it for screen accuracy, especially with the shape of my face. However, I've had it for a few years now and I really like it the way it is.

BUT if I were to buy another to purely be my 'Indy hat' I would trim the brim just that little bit.

I didn't trim mine, and I'm not going to.

No trimming on my Federation.

I trimmed mine, but only after I've had the hat 6 months or so. I mulled over the idea for at least a month or so before finally doing it.

With the Federation, it really does depend on what size the hat is and on the wearer. As I understand the story, when those at COW helped create the hat, they wanted the brim to be equal in proportion regardless of the hat size. So if it was a smaller hat, the brim would be proportionally sized to that of a larger hat. Apparently, the Akubra folks didn't want to do this, so they made the brim a standard width regardless of the hat size. So if you wore a size 6 7/8, the brim width would be exactly the same as a 7 1/2. If you have a larger hat, then the brim is probably better proportioned to your hat. I wear a 7 1/4 (58) and trimming an equal 1/8 inch worked for me.

bink

No trim...I like the way they come right out of the box....

The crown, however, is a different story.

I have not felt a need to do any trimming on mine.

Like has been said earlier, I think it depends on the size of the person.
I have not trimmed mine, but I wear a size 59 cm.
Wear it a while before you do anything.

Hatman

I never cut mine either. I like it like it is size 59

Get your Akubra (Best Fedora I've owned in over 20 years), wear the heck out of it for 6 months and think about how you want to make it better. Then send it to a pro to do the work.

There ain't no pros around here.

Got a federation deluxe back in May. Didn't trim it, just wore it through seven kinds of H-E-Double-Hockey-Sticks.

Won't trim it now, and it just keeps looking better and better.

The most I might do is send it to Art Faucett for a reblock at a later date, but right now, it doesn't need it.

-Dan