AlterEgo
A-List Customer
- Messages
- 320
- Location
- Southern USA
Neophyte,
I also have an Akubra Fedora (aka Sydney), in charcoal, a darker shade approaching black than yours appears. It's the most comfortable fur felt hat I've ever tried on, much less owned.
I hope you don't mind me saying so, but I think it looks too short on your head, with too much taper. I'd suggest taking out the telescoped C-crown and just put in a not-too-deep center crease with shallow side dents. That will elevate the crown and reduce the over-tapered appearance.
When I was waiting on my Fed IV Deluxe to arrive, I began practicing the bash I planned to put in the new hat on my Sydney--just like the top of yours, only with a razor-sharp crease between the side dents.
The felt is so pliable that it's hard to even put the hat on and off without messing up the bash, so I finally got it soaking wet in the rain, vigorously hand-pressed my bash into it, and let it dry. That stabilized the bash good.
But it was a BIG mistake, for when the Fed arrived, and I wanted to convert the Sydney back to the simple center-crease with gentle side dents I put in it originally, the hat said, "Uh-uh!"
As if removing the vestiges of the C-crown were not difficult enough, it was nearly impossible to get the remants of the sharp front crease out. The super-soft felt unique to the Sydney/Fedora is actually quite delicate, and it had a shiny appearance where it was crushed all along that axis and, to a lesser extent, along the ridge of the former dome.
I finally performed numerous iterations of 1) water-sponge, 2) let almost dry, then 3) vacuum on high with an upholstery head until most of the fibers were sucked up erect again.
In just the right light at just the right angle, you can still barely see where the old bash was, but you have to look really hard to find it, so the hat's just fine now. Though the creases in your Fedora are not particularly sharp, you might need to utilize this technique to remove the bash if you decide to re-do it into a center crease, which I think would be more becoming on you.
I also have an Akubra Fedora (aka Sydney), in charcoal, a darker shade approaching black than yours appears. It's the most comfortable fur felt hat I've ever tried on, much less owned.
I hope you don't mind me saying so, but I think it looks too short on your head, with too much taper. I'd suggest taking out the telescoped C-crown and just put in a not-too-deep center crease with shallow side dents. That will elevate the crown and reduce the over-tapered appearance.
When I was waiting on my Fed IV Deluxe to arrive, I began practicing the bash I planned to put in the new hat on my Sydney--just like the top of yours, only with a razor-sharp crease between the side dents.
The felt is so pliable that it's hard to even put the hat on and off without messing up the bash, so I finally got it soaking wet in the rain, vigorously hand-pressed my bash into it, and let it dry. That stabilized the bash good.
But it was a BIG mistake, for when the Fed arrived, and I wanted to convert the Sydney back to the simple center-crease with gentle side dents I put in it originally, the hat said, "Uh-uh!"
As if removing the vestiges of the C-crown were not difficult enough, it was nearly impossible to get the remants of the sharp front crease out. The super-soft felt unique to the Sydney/Fedora is actually quite delicate, and it had a shiny appearance where it was crushed all along that axis and, to a lesser extent, along the ridge of the former dome.
I finally performed numerous iterations of 1) water-sponge, 2) let almost dry, then 3) vacuum on high with an upholstery head until most of the fibers were sucked up erect again.
In just the right light at just the right angle, you can still barely see where the old bash was, but you have to look really hard to find it, so the hat's just fine now. Though the creases in your Fedora are not particularly sharp, you might need to utilize this technique to remove the bash if you decide to re-do it into a center crease, which I think would be more becoming on you.
