Akubra Campdraft

[BobC]

The first Campdraft I bought was a silverbelly, and I asked Ron at Hatsdirect to crease it for me. The next two were the tawny fawn and the mid gray. I creased both of those by running a sink full of cold water and dunking the hats first then creasing them wet. Both of the last two hats are much softer than the silverbelly. I agree, wet is a good thing for breaking in a Campdraft.

 

[St.Ignatz]

Did almost the same routine on my CD. Played with steam but wasn't satisfied so I got out my trusty spray bottle and soaked it pretty good. It feels great now.

fftopic: I visited a little shop in downtown Philadelphia that sell's razors, blades, nose mowers and the like and came across a $4.99 bristle shaving brush that's way to coarse for the intended purpose but gently raises a beautiful nap and It's an ideal size for a coat pocket. Anyone interested in more info PM me. A case shipped to someone in time for a hat crawl would make the postage rate worthwhile and It would not be much of a chore as the shop and post office are two blocks from my place of work.

Tom D.

 

[gtdean48]

I shaped my CD with a spray bottle & distilled water, really soaking it then letting it dry on my head after creasing.
BUT letting it get soaked by RAIN seems to have helped it even more. I guess it is starting to get its patina started...[huh]

 

[Mr. Paladin]

gtd, any idea how many requests have gone in for the moonstone Camp Draft you tried to get going? I'm still hopeful....

 

[gtdean48]

gtd, any idea how many requests have gone in for the moonstone Camp Draft you tried to get going? I'm still hopeful....

Seems like only a handful Mr. P. I'll send Hats Direct an email to see if they have a tally on their end....

 

[cookie]

I will put the hands up for one.

 

[Doublegun]

No hats got wet during the taking of this photo! This was taken last week whild floating the AuSable river near Grayling, Michigan. I love the hat but feel that it has a lot of crown. Thoughts? (I know, the photo is not that great)

 

[Chuck Bobuck]

No hats got wet during the taking of this photo! This was taken last week whild floating the AuSable river near Grayling, Michigan. I love the hat but feel that it has a lot of crown. Thoughts? (I know, the photo is not that great)

Doublegun, you could spray the top of the crown with water and deepen the crease slightly. Lower the crown until you think it's about right.

 

[univibe88]

The campdraft in general has a lot of crown, but you wear it well. I don't see any need for you to tinker with yours. Wear it and enjoy it!

 

[BobC]

That Campdraft looks good on you to me, DG. I'd wear it like it is. High, straight crowns are a good thing.

 

[Jauntyone]

Doublegun, that crown looks good on you in my opinion; it's well suited proportionally to your head/face shape.

 

[St.Ignatz]

DoubleGun, I don't know if you you are as bald as I under the CD but I came to appreciate the crown height as it allows me to keep that darn plastic off my naked pate. I wear lower crowns if they don't have the shield on them. The higher crown also gives you some air space to keep the heat down (a bit). The style and proportions fit you very well IMHO, so give yourself a chance to adjust. Looking at the photo and not the mirror may help.
Tom D.

 

[RBH]

I think it looks great DG, what type crease do you have in it?
You can put a diamond crease that will change the whole looks of it.
Good Luck!!

 

[Doublegun]

I'd like to try a diamond crease. Will you please show me how to do it? What i REALLY like is that "tug boat" look.

Thanks

 

[Chuck Bobuck]

This might be neither a real diamond, nor a real tugboat, but this is how my fedoras all seem to end up. So please just consider this one mans view.

I start with a center dent. One karate chop down the middle, sloping down towards the back, so the front of the crown is a little higher than the back. Make sure the back crease lines up with the back of the hat. Use the bow at the back of the sweatband as a guide. Then I line up the front pinch about where I think it should be. Next I push my hand, with fingers out stretched, towards the back of the crown. I make a well defined crease on each side of the top of the crown, a little behind the bow or trolley button. This helps make the back of the crown slope down. I like a couple of finger chop creases at the back to give it a wrinkled, like I didn't give this crease too much thought, look because I'm a man who doesn't fuss over creases much. Ha! At least that's the look I'm going for. I do try to avoid that perfect, fresh off the ACME Bashing Machine look. I fiddle around and manipulate this with my fingers until I get it about the way I like it. If you push the front crease down a little bit, I think you'll achieve the tugboat effect. Also, I push up, with my fingers, under the crown, just a little to get a bit of a hump. Later, I'll spray some water on it and fiddle around with it until it's where I think it should be. The water helps the felt stay put. Then I'll wear it for awhile and maybe fine tune it more later. That's just me, I'm a little on the conservative side still with my bashing. YMMV.

I'm more of a noob practitioner with fedoras. There are some real gurus here, hopefully they will post here and give us all a refresher lesson.

 

[RBH]

Here are a few past shots of my CampDraft.
Hope this helps!
You can also check out this great thread...

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=23456

a few shots of my diamond creased Campdraft.

Here is my TVA...

 

[St.Ignatz]

Nice creases RBH and Chuck

Here's a repost of my CD (NW), Clone (NE), and OR (S) with a high dome in my crease to keep it off the pate. The profile is my CD showing an overall lower crown because of the big bump.

TomD.

 

[indycop]

Chuck I went for a teardrop on my gray campdraft and ended up with exactly like your when I got it. It has grown on me enough that I won't change it!

Doublegun looks good to me!

 

[indycop]

DoubleGun, I don't know if you you are as bald as I under the CD but I came to appreciate the crown height as it allows me to keep that darn plastic off my naked pate. I wear lower crowns if they don't have the shield on them. The higher crown also gives you some air space to keep the heat down (a bit). The style and proportions fit you very well IMHO, so give yourself a chance to adjust. Looking at the photo and not the mirror may help.
Tom D.

I cut the plastic off one of my campdrafts, much better!

 

[Chuck Bobuck]

Chuck I went for a teardrop on my gray campdraft and ended up with exactly like your when I got it. It has grown on me enough that I won't change it!

Doublegun looks good to me!

Yes, it's not really a diamond or a teardrop is it? Whatever it is, my hands just do it that way on their own now.