Club Obi Wan

Well....after a trial run on a couple of hats, I pulled my very first Akubra Fed D out of the closet. And yes...It was the hat that was mauled by a certain feline.

I start with what it looked like through to the final (If there is such thing re-bash)

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y161/K ... 001665.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y161/K ... 001666.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y161/K ... 001670.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y161/K ... 001672.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y161/K ... 001673.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y161/K ... 001674.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y161/K ... 001675.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y161/K ... 001685.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y161/K ... 001686.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y161/K ... 001687.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y161/K ... 000024.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y161/K ... 000023.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y161/K ... 001676.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y161/K ... 001682.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y161/K ... 001684.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y161/K ... 001690.jpg

With the reblock on the Akubra complete, I watched abit of LC to get some styling cues. The only thing I can say is that there is alot to be said for crown height. You just can't get the top crease as you'd like without another Inch of crown material.

I'm also curious with the best way to apply stiffener. Following the Noggin tops hat stiffener info, I'm just not satisfied. Any tricks would be appreciated.

Anyway....After rebuilding my "Cat Scratch Special" I can actually wear the thing again. First test today against snow storm conditions.
Should be a good test eh!

Warm Regards
Kilgour Trout

P.s. If any of the hat guys see any problems pleases sound off. I'm here to learn.

Thanks for the pics. I agree, it looks like you need about another 1/2 or 1 inch on that crown. Looks good, though.

Great job, Kilgour! I finally took to playing around with an old beater hat of mine over the weekend, though it's got a LONG way to go to look that good!

bink

Just keep playing Bink . I think that for those of us who love Indy and vintage this is really the only way to go. I've learned so much reblocking these three hats I feel I can do basic maintenance and restoration work. I still have a long way to go in learning other tricks.

Marc had passed on the ironing trick which I did. It kept me from have to pounce at all. A bit of spritzed water, an Iron and much less pilled rabbit eh .

I'm still not 100% happy with the results as the block can't show its best without another inch of felt in the crown. One day, I have to get a real 5.5-6 inch hat to test. I'm not quite brave enough to try my AB.

Just keep playin...and post your results. It helps all of us even when we got Lugnut results eh!

Warm Regards
Kilgour

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y161/K ... 001672.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y161/K ... 001673.jpg

Those pics are gonna bring me nightmares for sure tonight

That's just part of the reblock process. Sure, you don't necessarily want to get caught in a downpour in your hat if you can help it, but when you clean and reblock at hat, it needs to be soaked before being pulled over the block. As it dries, it will conform to the shape of the block.

Now, if you really want something to have nightmares over, just think what they used back in the day to clean hats... pure gasoline. No joke!

bink

Wow, thx for the information. I'm always interested in learning new things about Fedoras...

/me looks @ bink's signature

/me hugs bink