Akubra Campdraft

[jimjr]

Gents, I'm applying for acceptance into your club. I ordered my first CD last night, a BG one , and now the waiting begins.

 

[Rogera]

Gents, I'm applying for acceptance into your club. I ordered my first CD last night, a BG one , and now the waiting begins.

Oh but the reward is great!

 

[jhe888]

I started out with center dent and soft dents at the front pinch. I am very pleased with the quality of the felt and the sweat band.

I ordered one just like it. Now I am more impatient than before.

 

[ProfCharles]

I've been giving serious thought into getting the Glen Gray version of this hat and modifying it to have more of a fedora look (adding a black med width ribbon and cutting down the brim to about 70mm)

I've seen some photos side by side with the Federation (which is the style I'm trying to emulate) can someone tell me how the crown's of the Fed and Campdraft compare. Are they the same? Is one taller or more tapered? I don't want taper and I used a center dent crease with a sharp (not indiana jones though) front crease.

A Carbon Fed IV is OTW to my door soon and I'm looking for something a few shades lighter. Moonstone just seems too light for me.

Thanks

 

[gtdean48]

Fed4 open crown is 5 1/2" & a Campdraft is larger, more like 5 3/4".

 

[jlee562]

http://hatsdirect.com/federation/specifications.html

Fed is actually 5 5/8ths according to hatsdirect.

 

[Zombie_61]

Fellow Loungers, I need your help. After 14 weeks and four days I finally received my Campdraft from Everything Australian, and I'm not sure they sent me the right color. Here's a photo of the hat I received:

And for comparison, here's a photo BobC posted in post #393:

Comparing the two photos, in the photo I took my hat looks more like BobC's Silverbelly on the left. But in person it looks far more like his Tawny Fawn on the right. Now, I know Silverbelly is a difficult color to photograph accurately, but I was really expecting a very light colored hat like an off-white, and the hat I received is definitely more "mocha". And, yes, I know it's difficult to determine from a photo posted in a forum, but I would truly appreciate your opinions--is this hat Silverbelly or Tawny Fawn?

Also, this hat fits almost perfectly right out of the box. Should I be concerned that it might be too tight once the sweatband shrinks as expected? When my Fed IV arrived it was oversized, but shrunk to what I consider to be a perfect fit after a couple of days.

This is only the second "real" hat I've ever purchased and I'm not sure what to expect, so any and all opinions, advice, and suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

[Blackthorn]

I can't help you with the color, but don't worry about the size. If it shrinks, get a hat band block in your size from Art Fawcett. Put your hat on it and it'll keep the size you need.

 

[ManofKent]

Zombie_61 - difficult to tell from photos, but the first one doesn't look like my Akubra in Tawny Fawn. The Tawny Fawn is a very warm toned colour. From memory other people have commented that the Akubra Silverbelly is more of a sand colour than typical US silverbellys.

 

[Landman]

That sure looks like Akubra's Silverbelly in the photo but photos can be deceiving. Maybe take a shot of it outside. Like Richard mentioned, the Akubra Silverbelly is more of a very light tan than say a traditional Stetson Silverbelly which is a more light silver color. Personally, I like it better than the Tawny. Does the paperwork that came with the hat say Tawny? I would think EA would notice the mistake when packaging the hat. The colors are noticeably different in person.

I wouldn't worry about the fit. If it fits perfectly now then that is great. I'm in between sizes and every hat seems to be a little different. I have Akubra's in 59 and 60 and they all seem to eventually conform to a nice fit. It wouldn't hurt to put it in a hat jack or band block if the sweatband is very wet when you put it away though.

 

[gtdean48]

That is Silverbelly...

 

[carranty]

I know it's difficult to determine from a photo posted in a forum, but I would truly appreciate your opinions--is this hat Silverbelly or Tawny Fawn?

Post #359 in the below thread gives (in my opinion) the best photo of the silverbelly colour. It matches mine pretty much exactly

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/show...bra-Campdraft-in-Silver-Belly-Campaign/page36

People who buy silverbelly campdrafts frequently complain (justifiably) that the colour is not what they expected. It does look off-white in a great many photos. Just look at the photo you took, yours looks just like BobC's silverbelly if you compare photos, even though in person it looks more tan.

I was disappointed at first with mine, but the colour has grown on me and its now one of my favourites

 

[Zombie_61]

I can't help you with the color, but don't worry about the size. If it shrinks, get a hat band block in your size from Art Fawcett. Put your hat on it and it'll keep the size you need.

...I wouldn't worry about the fit. If it fits perfectly now then that is great. I'm in between sizes and every hat seems to be a little different. I have Akubra's in 59 and 60 and they all seem to eventually conform to a nice fit. It wouldn't hurt to put it in a hat jack or band block if the sweatband is very wet when you put it away though.

Thank you, I'll look into getting either a hat jack or hat band block.

Zombie_61 - difficult to tell from photos, but the first one doesn't look like my Akubra in Tawny Fawn. The Tawny Fawn is a very warm toned colour. From memory other people have commented that the Akubra Silverbelly is more of a sand colour than typical US silverbellys.

I'd say this is closer to the color of wet sand, but I wouldn't call it a warm tone.

Does the paperwork that came with the hat say Tawny? I would think EA would notice the mistake when packaging the hat. The colors are noticeably different in person...

The only paperwork in the box was a "thank you for your order" letter from the gent at EA who had responded to my e-mail request for status, and makes no mention of color whatsoever. However...

That sure looks like Akubra's Silverbelly in the photo...Like Richard mentioned, the Akubra Silverbelly is more of a very light tan than say a traditional Stetson Silverbelly which is a more light silver color. Personally, I like it better than the Tawny.

That is Silverbelly...

Post #359 in the below thread gives (in my opinion) the best photo of the silverbelly colour. It matches mine pretty much exactly...People who buy silverbelly campdrafts frequently complain (justifiably) that the colour is not what they expected. It does look off-white in a great many photos. Just look at the photo you took, yours looks just like BobC's silverbelly if you compare photos, even though in person it looks more tan...I was disappointed at first with mine, but the colour has grown on me and its now one of my favourites

...after I posted last night I started looking at the colors of the ribbons in the photos that I and others had posted, and concluded that it is indeed Silverbelly because the ribbon on the Tawny Fawn is considerably darker and more brown than on my hat. It's not that I dislike the color but, after looking at the photos in this and other threads, it's definitely not what I was expecting so I suppose I'm in good company.

Thank you all again for taking the time to help this rookie, I truly appreciate it! :yo: Now, can someone recommend a good hat brush that won't break the bank? :behindsofa:

 

[ManofKent]

Now, can someone recommend a good hat brush that won't break the bank? :behindsofa:

Some people recommend natural bristle paint brushes. Personally I use shoe brushes: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cherry-Blos...8&qid=1378309047&sr=8-1&keywords=shoe+brushes

 

[Landman]

I like paint brushes. I find the handle on a paint brush makes it easier for me to brush the brim around the base of the crown. In case you don't know, you want to brush the top side of the hat counter clockwise and the under side of the hat clockwise.

 

[gtdean48]

...Now, can someone recommend a good hat brush that won't break the bank? :behindsofa:

I go to Kroger to the shoe polish section. A good horsehair shoe brush is about $6. Works great.
http://www.amazon.com/Kiwi-100%-Hor...8316465&sr=8-1&keywords=kiwi+shoe+shine+brush

 

[Zombie_61]

Some people recommend natural bristle paint brushes. Personally I use shoe brushes: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cherry-Blos...8&qid=1378309047&sr=8-1&keywords=shoe+brushes

I go to Kroger to the shoe polish section. A good horsehair shoe brush is about $6. Works great.
http://www.amazon.com/Kiwi-100%-Hor...8316465&sr=8-1&keywords=kiwi+shoe+shine+brush

I've read that some people prefer shoe brushes (as opposed to brushes specifically for hats), so I'll look into that. And thanks for the links!

I like paint brushes. I find the handle on a paint brush makes it easier for me to brush the brim around the base of the crown. In case you don't know, you want to brush the top side of the hat counter clockwise and the under side of the hat clockwise.

Aaaauuugh, if only I'd gotten into hats ten years ago. My father-in-law, who passed away in 2003, had a huge selection of paint brushes (used, but immaculate and well cared for) and I could have had my pick. Sadly, they were relegated to a landfill...somewhere. :eusa_doh:

I do know the proper direction(s) to brush a hat, and that it's also recommended to use a brush with light-colored bristles for light-colored hats, and dark-colored bristles for dark-colored hats, so I'll get one of each (one for my Campdraft, one for my dark brown Fed IV).

Thank you for the suggestions gentlemen; again, I truly appreciate it! I'll post photos of my new Campdraft in the next day or two--I'm horrible at taking "selfies", so I'll need my wife's assistance...if I can pry her away from Farcebook, that is.

 

[jlee562]

The color of the bristles on the brush doesn't matter so much as it does as having one brush for light hats, one brush for dark hats. That way you don't end up depositing light color fibers on dark hats and vice versa.

 

[Zombie_61]

The color of the bristles on the brush doesn't matter so much as it does as having one brush for light hats, one brush for dark hats. That way you don't end up depositing light color fibers on dark hats and vice versa.

Ah, good to know. I'll probably do the light bristles/dark bristles thing anyway just so I'll know which brush is for which hat(s).

As threatened...err, promised...here are a few photos of my new most definitely Silverbelly chapeau. I apologize for the quality of the photographer (and the model), but my wife had a doctor's appointment today so I thought I'd give it a shot. Not the best, but suitable enough.

I thought I'd give it a quick drybash just to get an idea of how it wanted to be shaped, and it fell right into a reasonable approximation of a teardrop; not bad for my first attempt. It isn't perfect by any standards but I prefer the imperfect/hand-shaped look so, a little fussing and minor adjustments aside, I'm going to leave it as-is. I'm not sure the light color is "right" for me, but that's probably because the majority of hats I've owned over the years have been dark in color, so it's probably just something I have to get used to. Besides, I really like the color and the hat, so I'm going to wear it anyway. Comments and constructive criticisms are always welcome, so fire away!

 

[RBH]

Looks great!
Silverbelly is just a good color for a hat.
Nice crease on it also. I bet there will be many more Campdrafts for you!