Club Obi Wan

I've had my fed dlx for over 6 months now and i've been meaning to ask this but just kept never getting around to it. Anyways, I was just wondering if I got a poorly pounced hat or if they all come this way. My fed seems to be awfully shaggy compared here to my AB and even my Miller. This is noticable especially on the inside where it looks like plain rabbit fur.


thats the akubra on the left, AB on top right and Miller on bottom right. Is there anything to do about this short of sending it to someone who knows what they're doing? Other than this though it's been a great hat.

heres a couple more shots:

akubra and AB


inside of akubra

Akubra make GREAT hats for the outback. And that's just what they're made for: the outback. People living and working in the outback probably couldn't care less about the finish of their hats and that's why Akubra just doesn't put too much time into this subject. And in opposite to a beaver fur felt, it won't get better over time. It's no problem re-pouncing them though.

I re-pounce all Federation and Fed. Deluxe I get in for reblocks, as there's a really beautiful felt underneath. And so far I haven't seen one, that doesn't look like yours to start with (at least not of the two options preferred in here).

Regards,

Marc

Fedora said recently that you can pounce it yourself with very fine sandpaper. Unfortunately the finest our house has is 400 or something like that.

My fed deluxe looked just like that when I got it. I think they all do. I not only gave the hat a quick pounce with sandpaper, but I also trimmed some of the longer hairs by running an electric shaver over the hat. I will say, on my Akubra, the felt on the crown seems to be finished a bit better than on the brim...I didn't need to do much work to the crown at all, but I had to do a lot of work on the brim, and it still has some shaggyness to it.

I don't know how the regular fed compares in regard to the finish of the felt. I think I recall some folks saying that the regular fed is actually less shaggy, though I don't know for sure.

-GCR

Marc - what would you sand with? 1000 grit? 600?

Yes on both - I start with a 600 grit, move up to 800, 1000, 1200 and finally polish the felt with a 2000 grit sandpaper (whereas the 2000 grit sandpaper really doesn't deserve to be called sandpaper anymore, but still it makes a heck lot of a difference).

I've tried 2500 grit as well for a couple of hours, to see if I could get it even smoother than is, but that just didn't make any difference.

I have however realized, that there's a big difference depending on WHICH felt you pounce. On some felts, any sandpaper beyond 800 grit is a plain waste of time, as the structure of the felt just doesn't allow the surface to become slicker.

Regards,

Marc

GCR wrote: I don't know how the regular fed compares in regard to the finish of the felt. I think I recall some folks saying that the regular fed is actually less shaggy, though I don't know for sure.

-GCR

The regular Fed is MUCH LESS shaggy. I rather like the finish on the regular fed. It's actually pretty nice.
Chewie

Thanks for the suggestions. I just sanded my entire fed. dlx with 280 grit followed by a 400 grit and it made a world of difference! It looks almost like a completely new hat. I have a much deeper appreciation of this hat now. Anyone with a fed. dlx who hasn't done this should do it now. Whats the highest grit that will make a difference on an akubra?

I'm serious.
Everyone, quit reading COW and go sand your feds!!

Glad to hear that your sanding had a positive effect. Looking at your pics above, one more time, I realized that your Fed Deluxe was pretty dang shaggy...I don't think mine was that bad right out of the box, but it was still more shaggy than either of my millers or stetsons.

How about some nice before and after pics?

-GCR

squidkidd wrote:I'm serious.
Everyone, quit reading COW and go sand your feds!!

Was that a bunch of belt sanders I just heard fire up?

Regards! Michaelson

Nah, belt sanders usually have only 60 or 80 grit sandpaper so the pouncing would be a pretty quick job.

Just send it to Norm Abram over at the New Yankee Workshop.....He'll fix you up!

couple before and after pics for ya:

before:



after:


again next to an AB

mmmmm....that 'brand new akubra' smell....they should bottle that up so we could spray it on our old stetson temples, millers and dp's......

Thanks, Marc! And everyone else for the sanding info. It will help.

So (excuse my ignorance), but I gather that "pounce" is the, uh, furriness of the felt -- is that correct? What is it that Akruba does/doesn't do that leaves its felt so much furrier than other hatmakers'?

Randy

Thanks for the info, Tone. Merry Christmas!

Regards,

Randy

randystokes wrote:So (excuse my ignorance), but I gather that "pounce" is the, uh, furriness of the felt -- is that correct?

Pounce is the sanding process. I can't find this usage of the word in any dictionary, however; apparently it's a term only used by hatters.

Doesn't the Deluxe come with a liner? Even the Fed regular is more furry under the liner, but most people never see that part.

This link contains a definition of "pounce" that might relate to sanding the felt, in the second definition given:http://www.thefreedictionary.com/pounce

dean

Russ wrote:
Doesn't the Deluxe come with a liner? Even the Fed regular is more furry under the liner, but most people never see that part.

yeah, but I took it out, as it had a plastic cap which keeps the heat in like nothing other.

Squidkidd, those are probably the sharpest pics I have ever seen here. That first picture is art. ... I got my first Deluxe Fed this year, and I don't recall the felt being fuzzy... I sand my Feds Raiders thin with 36 grit aluminum oxide, and without going to finer grits, the felt looks smoothly pounced.

Squidd, what size is that Akubra?

thanks for the kind words $3K. I realize the fed dlx might come a little shaggier than the reg, but I really think I got the angora of the litter. It's a 56, Strider.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Huh. It looks pretty straight sided. My 58 was tapered to the point where a Raiders hat wasn't going to be possible, so I had to go with an LC bash.

Is there any technique or trick to the sanding/pouncing? Circles, clockwise, ccw, etc... Or does it just not matter? I'm going to work on my Fed Deluxe this week after reading this, I'd prefer it a bit smoother if it does not harm the hat. Thanks!

IndyFlyer wrote:Is there any technique or trick to the sanding/pouncing? Circles, clockwise, ccw, etc... Or does it just not matter? I'm going to work on my Fed Deluxe this week after reading this, I'd prefer it a bit smoother if it does not harm the hat. Thanks!

My guess (I repeat, GUESS) would be that pouncing the hat in the same direction as you would brush the hat (counter-clockwise on top, clockwise on the bottom, I believe) would be best, otherwise you're going against the grain, so to speak. That's what I did when I sanded my Fed D and it worked out fine for me.

-GCR

same here. I sanded counter clockwise on top and clockwise on bottom, keeping with the grain. If you go against the grain you're probably going to make the hat more shaggy. Don't be scared to use some force. I found myself going lightly at first and by the end I was using pretty good force. And for heavens sake don't be scared you're going to mess up the bash or brim. After sanding, the felt got all nice and soft and floppy and looks better than ever before.

Thanks. Alright, I'm off to the hardware store...