Club Obi Wan

Well I got a call a week ago from Jenny at Hatsdirect telling me that my customized Akubra Bushman was ready.
The only problem is, I never ordered one. I had discused it on the phone with Hatsdirect a couple of months back, but never decided to actually go through with it. They must have thought I was placing an order, but I really just wanted to know more info about the bushman.
So, there you have it. I have another hat.
BEHOLD!!!!

BEAUTIFUL Akubra.......but it garners a question.... when did HatsDirect start customizing hats for customers?

It states emphatically on their website they do NOT custom bash hats for customers, and yet here one is in brilliant color! Are they branching out with their services?

Regards! Michaelson

They didn't custom bash it. They just applied the different ribbon.
When I asked if they could do it they said they could, and they gave me a form to fill out. They said there would be a deposit.

I don't remember paying the deposit, and I certainly didn't fill out the form, but when they told me the hat was ready, I decided..what the heck. And paid for it.

I've never seen one that didn't come open crowned, so someone had to put that top bash in the hat, let alone change out the ribbon. Did you do the work yourself?

Like I said, this isn't something they ever did before, or offered.

Interesting.

Regards! Michaelson

It came open crowned. I put the bash in personally.

All they did was give me a Bushman without the side vents and chin strap holes and with a ribbon from a fed dlx.

Ah, now THAT makes more sense.

Anytime you put the word 'customized' and 'Akubra' in the same sentence, you raise a lot of eyebrows with those of us who have worked with HatsDirect for so many years.

Thanks!

Regards! Michaelson

hey!!! you got MY bushman!!!!......just kidding

nice hat.....perhaps we can push the envelope on what hatsdirect is willing to do for us {insert evil laugh here}.....how bout a more sa bow on the ribbon for starters and i'm sure aries cannon has got some more points to add?

You might want to review my 'Reader's Digest' history of the Fed. They didn't WANT to be SA, specificially. The Fed line was created to cover several markets.

Regards! Michaelson

Looking nice.
A couple of days ago I inquired about having a Bushman special ordered with the federation ribbon and no eylets and was told not a problem just would have to wait.
One question though, did your Bushman there come with the 3 1/4 inch bound edged brim or did it come from the factory with the Federation brim specs?
Thanks

And what color is that? Brown or grey/gray?

Ron

kobol wrote:Looking nice.
One question though, did your Bushman there come with the 3 1/4 inch bound edged brim or did it come from the factory with the Federation brim specs?
Thanks

Yes, it came with the large bound edge brim. It looked pretty sharp off of my head, but I ended up cutting the brim down to 3/4 in on the sides because I didn't like the large round brim when I tried it on.

Captain Ron Solo wrote:And what color is that? Brown or grey/gray?
Ron

It's kind of a hybrid between brown and gray. Or as AC correctly put it: Bray.

Aeris_Canon wrote:Wow, I didn't realize the felt was so similar to the Fed Regular. Might be the pic or the lighting but the felt looks very Fed Regular.
I thought there was a bit more difference between the two for some reason (although it might have to do with what Kobol's mentioned; about the brim showing up with the dimensional cut already.) Looks very Federation, though, right down to the "huh?" shade of "bray".
Please give more details, though, as to what exactly was discussed and what you received. Who cut the brim? What color "is" that? and Can you tell any difference between the Bushman and the Federation?
Nice going, Kap! And if that is a 5 1/2" crown, then there's hope!
It's nice to see that Hatsdirect will (or has on occassion) filled custom requests like this.
It'd be great to see a side-by-side between your two hats. (You happen to take any while it was still open crowned?)
One step closer to getting a Fed Deluxe felt onto a Bushman block....... but even a Fed regular on a Bushman block (with just a bit shorter crown) seems to work.
This still looks like a Fed regular. Congrats on another hat, though.
Notice any difference in the block shape between the two?

Thanks AC, I'm going to try to answer all of your questions.
The felt is very similar to my reg fed gray/gray except for the color of course. I'm not sure what color a reg fed is because I haven't handled one before but I think my bushman is a "Deep Fawn" I could be wrong. As for what was discussed when I ordered. I don't really remember ordering. I just asked if it could be done. They said yes, and I ended up paying for it when they surprised me a few months later.
I cut the brim myself down to 3/4 in on the sides and turned the hat before bashing it.
The main difference between the block of the federation and the bushman is that the bushman has a much flatter dome. This made it easier to get a long deep center dent than with my gray fed. I think that the sides on the bushman are slightly straighter, but not by much.
YES IT IS A 5 1/2 in CROWN! There is hope!
I'm sorry I didn't take any open crowned pics. I was too excited to bash and trim it.
If I had really placed my order, I would have requested fed dlx felt. Unfortunately it didn't turn out like that. But I think I like the color. It's way way different than my other hats. (And to think I still have an AB and AB dlx coming)

Camptown, Bushman, Gray Fed reg

Camptown, Bushman, Gray Fed reg

Camptown, Bushman, Gray Fed reg (in foreground)

Kaplan:
Thanks for answering my questions. You have a nice collection going on there. When I emailed HatsDirect about a similar Bushman, they told me they had put in a special order (with fed trim) to keep a few in stock beginning at size 57 and up. But since I am a 56, they would have to place a new special order for me and it could take a couple of weeks for it to arrive. So it sounds like they have been getting quite a few similar inquiries.

Ron emailed me today, and told me it must be something that Jenny is doing, as they do NOT want custom work or orders, as they just can't keep up with the demand, so don't get all excited.

This is an 'exception' rather than a 'norm'.

They had a few special requests for Campdrafts and Bushman hats without the side vents and no bound edge. This I find MOST ironic, and amusing, as THAT'S what we were using to make our first Indy hats before the Federation line came out. You can see some of the original examples on the fedora page on the main site. What once was old is now new again!

Regards! Michaelson

Michaelson wrote:...This I find MOST ironic, and amusing, as THAT'S what we were using to make our first Indy hats before the Federation line came out. You can see some of the original examples on the fedora page on the main site. What once was old is now new again!

That could be because of this tutorial that still talks about this home customisation. Could it be that the orders for these special bushmans and drovers are from people who just don't realise there is a federation?

I thought that too.

Ron did tell me that the Bushman/Camptown are still a bit taller than the Fed line, so for folks wanting a taller crown, they are still a good base to start out with.

Regards! Michaelson