Club Obi Wan

I have had my Fed Deluxe for 2 months now so I figured it was time to post some pictures. I went for a general Indy look, no specific scene. I did the turn, but I don't think I turned it enough. Next time I do this I will turn it more. One thing I don’t like about it is the brim in the back. It curls up too much. I have not tried water or steam yet, but I think that is the next thing I will do. Let me know what you think.

For your first bash job, it's real good. I think the fronts a little low. Did you turn the hat when it's was on your head?

Nice bash, I just have to admit what BendingOak said, the front is maybe a bit to low and as you already mentioned, the back of the brim curls over a bit too much. I think you should be able to fix this easily

Thanks for the advice. I turned it on my head and then bashed it. I followed a tutorial I found on this forum. I am ordering an AB soon so this will be my experimental hat. This way I will have some idea what I am doing when the AB shows up.

I am only sharing my experience - what you decide to do is up to you. I'm sure some will shudder at what I am about to say...

I have owned fine felt hats for many years and have always reworked them myself. For brim corrections I use a HOT iron with steam set to highest setting. There is a slight chance that there will be some "shrinking" or apparent shrinking from "refelting" as you do it, but it's NEVER been an issue for me and I know that the possibility exists going into it.

If I were to want to "flatten" the snap brim on a Federation, I would heat the iron up and pull the brim up all around. I would then start ironing the brim, keeping the edge of the iron as close to the crown as I could, even to the point of creating the slightest indent at the base of the crown (that will come out later in wearing). While the brim is hot (about a second) I work it with my hands while it cools. You MAY have to actually do this a few times and if it still isn't flat enough do a version where the brim is turned DOWN all the way around and leave it that way for a day. Then try again. You WILL get the brim to flatten - in my opinion you are looking for the slightest snap brim. That will create the slight upturn in the brim at the back that you see in screen captures. The rest of it comes in wearing.

Personally, I don't pull the brim down in front hardly at all. It will drop on its own in time and in wearing. In my humble opinion (OK, not so humble) pulled down brims look terrible, like someone is wearing a hat that is too small. If you are recreating Indy's hat, that's not a bad thing - alot of what is happening with his hat is the result of a hat that is too small, or was blocked as a round and is worn on an oval hat.

Again, I can't even count how many hats I have done this to over the decades and I have never had ANY problems. This includes nearly all versions of Akubra felt, both bound and unbound. However, it will crease shiny areas where the edge of the iron was and in some areas of the brim. You will need to brush the felt at the areas to restore the nap.

Also, I wouldn't try this on a silky beaver (does anyone even still make one?). I never have and I would guess this would ruin the long nap. And I've never owned a wool felt hat and so can't speak to what it would do on one of those.

Tnitz, thats pretty much how i handle the rear end of the brim, though with the use of a clean chopping board and a dampened cloth between the iron and the felt. Mar, i reckon it's an excellent bash irrespective of which way the rear is sitting, just gives you more scope to experiment with, cheers chauvel.