Federation tips

[Risu]

Hey, I just got my Fed in the mail and I was wonderign a few things.

1. Should I turn it?
2. If I turn it, am I supposed to trim the brim dimensionally before, or after the turn?
3. If I turn it, how far am I supposed to turn it?
4. How in holy blazes do you shape the brim out of that turned up all the way around shape?
5. If I turn it, do I put the creases in before or after?

Thanks in advance to anybody that can answer these.

[Strider]

1. Should I turn it?

Only if you like the way that looks on your head.

2. If I turn it, am I supposed to trim the brim dimensionally before, or after the turn?

Brim comes dimensionally cut, IIRC.

3. If I turn it, how far am I supposed to turn it?

However far you have to so that when you look in the mirror, you're like: "Yeaaahhh."

4. How in holy blazes do you shape the brim out of that turned up all the way around shape?

Very carefully. With either steam or cold water and a lot of patience and effort.

5. If I turn it, do I put the creases in before or after?

After. Otherwise, you might end up with something that's off center in a bad way. The brim on my old Akubra Fed is off by a slight, slight bit, and it still kind of bugs me. That's because I creased it before I really got an idea where the center of the hat was going to be after I shaped the brim.

[WeeMadHamish]

1. This is a matter of personal taste. Turned or unturned -- technically it's screen-accurate both ways.
2. The Federation is already dimensionally-cut. Unless you feel you need to trim the brim to fit your facial proportions better, you do not need to trim it at all. Otherwise, trim before you turn... the dimensional cut contributes to the shape of the turned swoop.
3. Until it looks good. 3/4" roughly, I think. Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, I'm sure.
4. It helps if you wet the brim with cold water and shape it while it's wet. I did the same thing to my own Federation to reduce the flip of the back of the brim and plain old water worked like a charm.
5. After. Put the hat on your head, turn it until the swoop looks good, then either pinch the front or push in the center dent while it's on your head. Proceed with the bash from there.

[Risu]

Thanks for the quick responses. I'm still having some trouble getting the brim right. I used some water to flaten out the front a bit, but I can't manage to get the sides to curl up and the front to angle straight downward at the same time. I'll keep trying, but I don't want to use too much water on it if I can help it. Water destroyed that wool hat I rebashed a while back.

(I tried ironing the brim flat with no water in the iron and if anything it just brought back some of the curl.)

[ANZAC_1915]

Steam the front brim and hold it gently level in your hand by the front of the brim and let it gently droop with the weight of the hat. Just do that, a lot.

[Risu]

I don't have a stove I can use on a kettle, the closest I could get is maybe 10 seconds of steam if I boil some water in my microwave. I tried for the turn and the front of the brim looks decent. The top dent looks more like it's dented to one side than turned. I tried to fix it with no results. Any suggestions for the sides of the brim? Should I curl it up, or does it need a trim to fit my narrow head better?







As you can see in that third picture, the hat has an awesome looking reverse taper when viewed from the side. That's my favorite part so far. Also, I was amazed how nice the hat felt (haha) compared to the wool one I own.

[coronado3]

your top photo looks like the bridge scene from Temple.... I happen to really dig indy's hat in that scene!

C3

[Risu]

That scene has always been the iconic Indy shot in my mind. That's why I'm torn on what color shirt I want. Magnoli's stone like the bridge scene, or a more light khaki color like Cairo.

Anyways, I've been tweaking it a bit and the whole thing looks pretty good with the exception of the wide brim to skinny head difference. After wearing that wool hat with the 3.5 inch crown and the itchy polyester sweat, this thing feels like it's not even there. I wondered what a leather sweat feels like. The answer: Happiness. Also, I was torn between the turn and symmetry, I think this is a fair compromise. My OCD doesn't act up when I look at it, but the brim does dip down lower on one side.

[ANZAC_1915]

I think you're well on the way!

The brim is starting to look good, I would use more cold water spray (if you don't have steam) and keep working the front and then it will then move the sides down a bit too. (I used colod water and steam on mine, and then Noel Howard steamed it for me too and did some minor tweaks).

The bash could be a little deeper at the sides and sharper on top if you're going for the Raiders look.

Wearing the hat really helps with the shape too.

[191145]

You guys are to be commended for one thing - bringing all those hat terms back into being. Before Indy, hats had been out of style for nearly fifty years. Being old, I remembered cleaners advertising 'hats cleaned and blocked' but that was way back when every man wore one. My only problem is I need a 'hat term dictionary'. I can't follow these discussions because I just don't know things like 'turned'. For ex. I figured 'bash' is to shape the crown assuming you start with an 'unbashed' crown (like a ten-gallon hat). I now get 'dimensional cut', and I already knew 'brim', band, ribbon, etc., but 'swoop' and 'turn' still elude me. Are you possibly 'turning' the hat on the head to tighten the fit? Is the 'swoop' the shape of the downturned brim?

[prairiejones]

I think it looks great as is. Just let the bash settle in.