Club Obi Wan

Hi everyone,just recieved my new Fed regular,I was a bit nervous about doing my first bash but I am quite happy with the results-also took 1/8 inch off the brim to fit my face..what do you think?

VERY nice! Change nothing!!! Just wear it, and it will take on YOUR personality!!

GREAT job!!!!

HIGH regards! Michaelson

Perfecto-mundo!!! If only I did as good of a job on my first Fed. Looks great! Wear it with pride.

Got any straight shots from a distance? Tried the turn yet? Well done with the bash.

Mark Seven,

It looks great to me, but Indiana Tone is the Fed guru around here. He already said it looks terrific. And, you got a thumbs up from VP and that is sayin' somethin'. Congratulations.

Thanks everyone for all your kind comments,I'm so impressed by the quality of a fed,I love this hat!,VP-I put a little bit of a turn in-maybe more on the next one ,here's a bit wider..

Mark, that is a great looking fedora. I have been wearing my Fed almost every day for a month and it just keeps getting better. You are going to love it.

tyree

Mark,

Looks good...I think you could maybe take a bit more off the brim, but still looks good as is. I've been thinking about trimming down the brim on my Fed Deluxe, since the brim is a bit too wide for my face. Seeing your pics, I think I may just go ahaead & do it!How did you trim the brim? I'm a bit hesitant to take the scissors to it...
~Jace

Super job! How did you get the brim to loosen up?

WOW!!! You did a fantastic job on that hat! What size is it? I wonder if you have one of the "better block" sizes. My Akubra never looked so good.

I own a Fed. Deluxe and after seeing how good his regular Fed. looks I'm left wondering what is the distinct advantage of owning the Deluxe over the regular.......is it just the felt or something?

The bash you did does look fantastic and it was your first time as well. You should be proud.

Hi everyone,Tyrloch,I'm a bit reluctant to take any more off the brim because I want my hat to be a little bit wider than my ordinary fedora but not overpowering..such a delicate balance!,I used nail scissors to trim it- just 1/8 inch all around-I didn't use chalk just by eye and then I used a nail file emery board to smooth the edge.Lao,I used a little bit of steam on the brim to loosen it up,Bink,the size is a 56.Thanks guys!

Mark,

As I said, it reallhy does look good the way it is, just that you could take a bit more off if you had wanted to. Size 56, huh? Same size I have! If I get up the guts, I may try to trim 1/8" or so off mine -- I'm a bit hesitant since I've never been able to cut in a straight line with scissors!!

~Jace

haha i thought you meant nail clippers at first

Great job my friend.

How'd you manage to curl up the brim?

Any tricks or tips helpful.

I agree with Tyrloch, that you might take a bit more off the sides. Looks a little too wide IMO.

Pitfall, I think the wool is the only difference. I've got a Fed Deluxe as well. It has a more brown color and the felt is supposedly better.

Very nice job, it looks terrific...KC

Harrison,I didn't have to do much curling,I found that just by putting the turn in instantly gave a nice curl on the left hand side and the rest was just helping it along, fiddling with it everytime I put it on(which was every 5 minutes! )-I only used steam on the front brim,the rest was dry-bashing.when it arrived it was quite loose and I thought I might have to send it back but after a few days it has tightened up nicely and fits great.I knew I had to take some off the brim staight away-Tyrloch,I don't think I breathed as I did it..it was a scary thing to do but it instantly made it look a lot better,I found the fed felt very easy to cut and then smooth.Indydoc,I did want a nice wide brim and I don't feel uncomfortable with the width now(2 1/2 inches on the sides)but I'm going to wear it for a while and see how I feel,thanks again everyone..time to have some adventures!

Looks fantastic!!!

Looks great as is, wear it in for a while. You are really going to enjoy that hat!

I decided to take just another 1/8 inch off the sides-and by jove I think it works!-thanks everyone for kind comments and advice..now I'm going to relax and enjoy my new hat!

Looks better! I just took 3/8" off my Fed. Deluxe, & I love the way it came out! I used a scoring tool that's used to score a line in metal -- it has a measuring gauge so you can put a line at 1/8", 1/4" or whatever amount you like. I originally was going to use it to put the line on the hat where I wanted it to be cut, but then I noticed that it was cutting through the felt, so I kept going around til it cut all the way through. I really think those of us who either have a smaller hat size or a narrower face need a narrower brim -- or else it winds up looking like you're wearing a cowboy hat instead of a fedora!! Once again, nice job, Mark & thanks for the incentive to cut my own Akubra!!

~Jace

Wow! I envy you guys... I'd freak out if I have to cut my Fed's brim... but then again, that's what I said about my cutting the original straps of my vintage MKVII bag...

It's something you get used to, Kalkamel.
I've cut at least nine brims, not necessarily nine different hats but i've made at least this many cuts over the years. Narrow face, you know.
Nowadays I just pick up the hat in one hand, the scissors in the other and jump straight into cutting without hestitation. 30 seconds later and you're done.

I actually cut my brim twice to get 3/8" off it. I started with 1/4", then after seeing that it still looked a bit too wide, I took an additional 1/8" off. I could probably take one more 1/8" off, but it might end up being too much, so I think I'll just leave it the way it is...

~Jace

mark seven wrote:I decided to take just another 1/8 inch off the sides-and by jove I think it works!-thanks everyone for kind comments and advice..now I'm going to relax and enjoy my new hat!

The brim looks right, and the hat is great. The color will become better with time, as well. Nice Jacket, too. Cowhide?

Chewie

Pitfall Harry wrote:I own a Fed. Deluxe and after seeing how good his regular Fed. looks I'm left wondering what is the distinct advantage of owning the Deluxe over the regular.......is it just the felt or something?

The felt on the deluxe is higher quality, but I've heard it isn't pounced as well as the regular Fed. The big selling point, though, is that the felt and ribbon are more accurate in color. I've thought about it, but for accuracy I'm getting the AB. At any rate, both Feds are excellent hats, from what I've seen.
Chewie

Chewbacca Jones wrote:
The brim looks right, and the hat is great. The color will become better with time, as well. Nice Jacket, too. Cowhide?

Thanks Chewie,the jacket is FS chrome Goat(my autumn/winter jacket! )

Hi Mark Seven-- Thanks for the tip on using the steam to loosen the brim. Should have known! As #1 daughter would have, "Triple Duh, Dad!" The hat looks great (I'm a small size myself, 55 Fed Reg) and the jacket is superb! What size is that jacket you are sporting? Looking good all around! Cheers -- Lao Feng

Thanks Lao,the jacket is a size 38-I'm a 36 but I deliberately went a size larger for this jacket because I wanted a winter jacket and I knew I was going to be wearing a jumper or fleece underneath and it works fine-with a thick jumper on(and MKVII)it fits nice and snug,this Goat is tough as nails!..next jacket will be an authentic brown Wested lamb, ready for the spring!

WOW Great job!! that is one nice hat. Enjoy.

Hey bro, great lookin hat you got there. I remember when I got my Akubra I took off like an eighth too... a few weeks later I realized I still wasn't happy with it and did like a fourth. That was almost 2 years ago, and just a few months ago I took off another eighth. I think there were some other times too - but now I think it looks really great on my head - us skinny guys gotta fix our brims... what a hassle, huh?



Congratulations!

Here's my Akubra:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v295/ ... olored.jpg
Normally I like a little bit more curl in the brim than that. The right side is a little more curled than the left there, and that amount is good for me.

Again though - great hat. You'll love it!!

In Christ,
Shane

Thanks guys!, IndyMcfly your hat looks great..very SOC(is that sand on the hat or just a blur on the photo?)- it's still going strong after 2 years?,that's good to hear.Here's to us skinny guys!

Mark Seven, for a first effort at a bash and trim- outstanding i reckon. It looks like YOUR hat, not someone elses. If you were concerned at too large a fit, don't be, foam cures that problem, as well as the fact that a felt hat always wants to shrink a little, best remedy is to wear it a lot, and it maintains size and fit and importantly becomes part of you. I have been wearing the same federation everyday for three years and and i see it going for many more, well done cheers chauvel.

Mark Seven, congratulatons on the new fedora! Looks magnificent on you!

M Seven - It's actually Fuller's Earth (that just won't come off!).

And yeah - the Akubra really does hold up well. It's great. It's been through a good amount of rain and shine, and it's still going strong.

In Christ,
Shane

Fantastic hat MVII - don't change a thing!

Yes it's scary cutting a brim for the first time!

A great way to trim, in my opinion, first use scissors to get the rough size, then smooth the jagged line with a men's razor (not cut throat obviously). Initially it will fluff up a bit but use a damp cloth to remove excess fluff. You might want to cut it wider than your chalk line, then use the razor to finish the job neatly.

yeah, I ended up chopping off my fed III brim too, I think just under 1/4" more cutting wouldn't hurt on your lid, but that's my opinion.

That was my first fed(and first proper Indy hat),I have fond memories of that hat-sadly long gone now.

Oh yeah, that was dated 2006 not 2009! Oops!

Have you posted any more pics of your latest feds?

Also have you got your AB Henry yet? I'm dying to get an AB (or an AB Delux if I win the lottery) but the waiting time just seems ridiculous.

Does anyone know how long the wait for an AB Henry is?

Almost nothing, if you order it through Penman.

viewtopic.php?f=24&t=41070&hilit=first+ab+retailer

Nice one Ranger 36.

Is it the same price? Speaking of which, how much is the Henry and can Penman bash it?

No idea.

No prob - bu thanks for the heads up about going through Penman

You're very welcome.

Since you are in the U.K. you could just as easily buy it from Marc and Stefan at ABD: http://indygear.com/cow/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=39106

Regards, Geert

Lookin' good!