Club Obi Wan

about 10 years ago I bought a used Federation fedora from a member here that had been reblocked by Steve. I never ended up wearing it much and it has sat upside down in the hat bock that it was shipped in and forgotten about.

Im an avid hunter and recently I have gotten pretty interested in vintage hunting gear. Especially bird hunting gear. Filson wax canvas coats, etc. Well I thought that a vintage style fedora would be perfect for a quail/pheasant hunt or a morning in the duck blind. When I got the hat out of the box the brim was flipped up all the way around. Even after popping it down the back stays up and seems to stay up more on the back right than on the left. I cant remember if it was this way before or not? Also there is a dent in the front brim that seems to make front brim want to flip up as well. With the exception of some darker coloration in the pinch, the hat seems to be in fine shape. Is there anything that I need to do about the brim or just wear it and see if it goes away?

And because everyone likes pictures

Im 5' 10" and weigh between 200 and 210 depending on the season. (its coming on winter time so closer to 210 ) Roundish face.

The crown seems a little tall to me but that may be because im not used to it.






And a selfie in front of my 48 Willys.



Please excuse the mess. This is the bathroom in my shop

I had a Fed III regular, and I always felt that the crown was too tall. Mine even started warping around the brim like yours when I wasn't wearing it. I always assumed it needed to be re-flanged because the felt was so... floppy.

But yours looks good on your noggin'. Someone else can come along and give good advice, but I'm thinking maybe some stiffener could keep the brim in the shape and way you want it?

I am afraid we will need more detailed pics of the willy for a more accurate assessment.

I only have one more pic that I can post according to the rules. Off topic for sure but I am easily distracted 1948 Willys CJ2A that I took all the way down to the frame sitting on the floor of my shop and went back together with it.



Now back to topic

The fed looks great to me. Keep wearing it and adjust the brim as you go. The character of the hat is going to change the more you wear it anyway.


Regards,

Indiana Jeff

I betcha there are more Indy hat-wearing Jeep aficionados here than we realize. Gorgeous Jeep. I'm on my 6th Jeep and 3rd fedora in the last 19 years myself.

If it bugs you, a light misting with cold water or light steam will make it shapeable. You can then smooth the brim to take out any odd curls and either wear it until it dries or just set it somewhere, or hang it on a hook or stand. Otherwise if you just wear it, eventually it will take on the shape that suits the way you wear it.


It's only felt. As long as you don't tear it, burn it, scrape it with sand paper, cut it, really over heat it, run over it with a truck or a steamroller or do some other really horrible thing, it will be okay.

That always happens to my fedoras; the brim always gets misshapen from long-term storage in the hat box, and I've had a couple hats get their brims bent like that when shipped straight from the hatter. FedEx and USPS must deliver via roller coaster.

I don't know if wearing it would do any good unless you fiddle with it consistently, but the act of just wearing it doesn't do much for me. I usually have to resort to misting, or in extreme cases, sending it off to get reblocked, and hope that it doesn't get banged up again in transit.