I love the Fed IV!!

[David Ward]

So I just took the plunge and ordered my first fed IV - for the Indy factor, I must admit.
What's the concensus on this board about the brim on this hat? Does anyone have any advice for me (it'll be my first bash) to get the brim shape 'just so'?
Many thanks!

 

[djgo-cat-go]

Always a dome

I was wondering, since I creased my Dark Brown Fed IV to a teardrop with a prominent dome, if that's the only way to bring the high crown a little bit down to a size that suits a long-shaped face.. (I think I allready answered my own question..) Any opinions? cause I really would like to bash a future purchase to a diamond-shape with a less prominent dome but still complimenting the face-shape... or am I wishing the impossible and do I have to look for a little less taller crowned hat?

Thank you FL-Fed-Lovers!

 

[FurFeltFedora]

David - congrats on the Fed IV, you won't be disappointed There are a number tutorials on doing an Indy bash I even did a mini one here

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showpost.php?p=812778&postcount=344

There's also this one that's been around for ages,

http://adventure-realm.com/raidersbash.html

The secret is the side dents, long and triangular...

djgo-cat-go a C-crown will pull it down the most, but a diamond will take it down somewhat too, all depends on how low you can go before it hits your head and you have to start doming it. Best advice is it try it out and see what you get - a bit of steam and you can re-bash those Fed IVs all day long

 

[ScottF]

Good to see this comparison. I have a Fed IV Deluxe arriving any day, and my only other 'new' felt is a Stetson Chatham. The Chatham feels fine, but did NOT hold up to rain well...of course, subjecting anything to a Seattle Winter isn't hardly fair. The Chatham is a slightly darker fawn than the Fed IV [will be].

Hard to say. I prefer the color and feel of the Stetson's felt, and also its ribbon and its uniform brim width. On the other hand I prefer the flatter (less curled) brim of the Akubra, and it seems to hold its shape a little better. I've worn the Akubra a lot more than the Stetson, but neither has seen any serious weather so far, so I can't comment on durability yet. So far, I am happy with both.

In comparison to the Stetson, the Akubra looks to have been made with little regard to "shelf appeal". Perhaps it will wear better as a result. Time will tell.

 

[Chuck Bobuck]

Posted in another thread that I tried a higher look for my Heritage Fawn Fed IV. Was asked if I had pics of that. So, I took a few. Think it's more appropriate to post here instead of the Indy themed thread.

At first, I tried the tall look. Didn't take a pic before I lowererd it. So today for this post, I popped it up and then back down.

Decided I'll stick with the Tug.

5" at the front center dent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4" telescope tugboat​

.

. .

.

Yes sir, I agree with you. Maybe I'm used to seeing the lower, tugboat crown, but it seems so much better. Great look!

 

[avedwards]

Good to see this comparison. I have a Fed IV Deluxe arriving any day, and my only other 'new' felt is a Stetson Chatham. The Chatham feels fine, but did NOT hold up to rain well...of course, subjecting anything to a Seattle Winter isn't hardly fair. The Chatham is a slightly darker fawn than the Fed IV [will be].

I'm surprised as my Chatham does on a fairly regular basis, requiring no more than an occaisional resteam. What exactly happened to yours?

 

[David Ward]

Thank you for all the advice - I'm excited for my first bash!

 

[Doublegun]

How about step-by-step instructions for doing a tug boat bash.

 

[ScottF]

I'm possibly spoiled by all the high-quality vintage felt hats, but after it's first exposure to a decent rain, it lost its shape in several places - more than I thought it should have - I re-steamed, but because it came with a factory crease, it wasn't working well either reshaping or getting the original shape back. The brim was a mess. Not a terrible result, just disappointing compared to my vintage hats. I ended up taking it back in for re-shaping and it looks good now - but no more wearing it on rainy days.

I'm surprised as my Chatham does on a fairly regular basis, requiring no more than an occaisional resteam. What exactly happened to yours?

 

[ScottF]

Just got my Fed IV Deluxe today, so reading up on old posts and found yours, which I agree with in most respects.

I own a Moonstone Deluxe. I hate to be the devil's advocate but let me tell you what I don't like about it. The brim is flat and has zero curl. Especially in the back. It's like it was never flanged or something. Maybe it's because of the dimensional brim? I dunno, it's an OK hat (especially for the money) but it doesn't hold a candle to any of my vintage lids. I guess I can't compare it to modern production hats because I don't own any. I will say this, if I knew that I would be spending time in a rain or snow storm, I would grab the Federation first. It is very tough but in my opinion, not very stylish other than the tall crown. I did enjoy personalizing the open crown, though.

Regarding brim curl, I have had vintage hats with brims like this also; in fact, my oldest hat, a 1920's Borsalino, also is almost flat-brimmed. There are advantages to it - you can really get a great look through steaming, that you can't get with the more snappable brims. The disadvantage is that I HAD to use steam, and I prefer not to. I only own one modern production hat other than this one - a Stetson Sovereign Chatham - and I found the felt to be of similar quality. When you bash, you see wrinkles in some places - very unlike nice vintage felt. I'm not used to a crown this big and I prefer diamond bashes - I had to steam in a teardrop to get it feeling/looking the way I wanted. The result was great, so no complaints.

Well, I have creased plenty of vintage hats but the brim of this one just doesn't cut it for me. Believe me, I have tried. I'm just trying to provide another perspective. I'm not trying to dog the Fed at all, it's a good hat for the $ but as I stated, it's also the first one I'll wear if I am going to be spending long periods in precipitation. If I lived in Seattle, I'd live in this hat! lol

I DO live in Seattle, and I'm hoping this hat can provide the rugged Winter endurance that my production Stetson could not. I'm really looking forward to exposing it to the elements!

 

[Woodfluter]

Brim Shape

(Dropping in on the conversation between Scott and ViperMan)...

I understand about the "brim being flat in the back" issue with the Fed and that both of them know it's not a real snap-brim. However, it do like a bit more curl there than it comes with; more than what I see in photos posted by Scott and others - e.g. Goose's nice collection. Here's one of mine:



I set in some dishing in the back with steam, a flat hard counter and various curved glassware. If I had had something hard with a shallow curve to shape against, like a breadboard or something, I think I could do more than that. This is only a few minutes work. In lieu of a flange, which I don't have yet.

On the subject of the Fed wrinkling when you shape it, have to confess I haven't seen anything like that happen with any of my 5 Heritage felt Akubras. I've used steam on all of them and after shaping, beat them up severely by hand and they just got softer and more pliable with no wrinkles or anything. OTOH, I do see some tendency for wrinkling with my Imperial felt hats as they don't soften up as much. Great hats anyway - been wearing the cut-down Kiandra for the past couple of weeks in Utah and back here in Georgia - but they just don't soften up the same.

On the subject of steam, Scott - why don't you like to do that? Just curious. Have tried wetting but steaming seems harmless and a far faster way to go.

All the best,
- Bill

 

[FurFeltFedora]

Have to agree with Woodfluter here, 7 Fed IVs and I've steamed them all. Fast, easy, never had a wrinkle. I prefer it much more than trying to do it wet.

 

[cookie]

I came across a few Squatters recently some of which I sold to Loungers. I had a grey and a Tawny left. These are maybe 10 year old hats that were in storage. The felt seems to be better than some modern day Akubras even though it is Imperial quality. Maybe more wild rabbit than today.

I bought a Fed IV Heritage Moonstone recently from Hatsdirect (great service) that Nat at Strand Hatters bashed for me along the Matt Deckard/tugboat bash lines. Beautiful it is too!

So I took the Squatters down to my tailors as I don't like the 3 inch Squatter brim and I knew then that they would cut down to Fed IV dimensions. He popped the FEDIV over them ...made a template ...and cut them to the same dimensions.

Excellentissimo...

Funnily enough the Tawny felt (there was a dark grey as well) was nearly as thick as the Heritage felt.

 

[Doublegun]

Since receiving my Fed IV and Campdraft a couple of months ago I have been surprised at how stiff the Fed IV is compared to the CD. Last month I had a professional steam and bash my Fed and now I want to change it but am having a realy tough time getting the old bash out.

Are all of you using steam before you bash? I really want a tug-boat style bash but I am having a really tough time getting one.

Thanks

 

[FurFeltFedora]

Doublegun I sit the kettle on the stove, let it steam like mad and then start going at my Feds. The trick (IMO) is to figure out how long to steam it. For just curling the brim maybe 10 seconds is plenty. For taking out a bash I might keep the crown under the steam for half a minute or more - whatever it takes to get the felt feeling like I can mold it.

 

[ScottF]

(Dropping in on the conversation between Scott and ViperMan)...

I understand about the "brim being flat in the back" issue with the Fed and that both of them know it's not a real snap-brim. However, it do like a bit more curl there than it comes with; more than what I see in photos posted by Scott and others - e.g. Goose's nice collection. Here's one of mine:

I like more brim curl too, but I have many different styles of hats, and miniscule brim curl works well with this hat. I look at each hat as 'it is what it is' - for instance, while I prefer a dry-bashed diamond, this one doesn't dry-bash, and doesn't look right (on me) with a diamond...so it gets steam and a teardrop. And I'm happy with the results.

On the subject of the Fed wrinkling when you shape it, have to confess I haven't seen anything like that happen with any of my 5 Heritage felt Akubras. I've used steam on all of them and after shaping, beat them up severely by hand and they just got softer and more pliable with no wrinkles or anything. OTOH, I do see some tendency for wrinkling with my Imperial felt hats as they don't soften up as much. Great hats anyway - been wearing the cut-down Kiandra for the past couple of weeks in Utah and back here in Georgia - but they just don't soften up the same.

On the subject of steam, Scott - why don't you like to do that? Just curious. Have tried wetting but steaming seems harmless and a far faster way to go.

All the best,
- Bill

When I say 'wrinkles', I'm talking about very, very small wrinkles. They are definitely there, and they aren't in most of my vintage felts. Same for my modern Stetson Chatham - nice hat, but you still get some of those tiny wrinkles. It really is no big deal aestethically, and I understand that some people wouldn't even notice them, but when you're trying to compare modern to vintage felt, it's one of those details you notice - like quality of sweatband stitching, or glued-in liners (as in the Fed IV).

Regarding steam, I have no problem steaming a hat - it's very simple and takes me hardly any time at all; however, I prefer to be able to give a quick hand-bash without steam. I like the slightly sloppy look and the fact that it's easier to re-bash a different way if you want to.

All that said, I totally enjoyed wearing my steam-bashed Fed IV all day yesterday. It looks great, feels great, and it's very sturdy.

 

[cybergentleman]

brim curl

On the topic of brim curling. if one wants a good brim curl- steam will do it? I was under the impression that snap brims like the stetson nostalgia either come flanged like that or not. Meaning, that even if you steam it, it would be tough to get the brim to swoop in a classy fashion.

or does one need stiffener for this?

 

[ScottF]

Since receiving my Fed IV and Campdraft a couple of months ago I have been surprised at how stiff the Fed IV is compared to the CD. Last month I had a professional steam and bash my Fed and now I want to change it but am having a realy tough time getting the old bash out.

Are all of you using steam before you bash? I really want a tug-boat style bash but I am having a really tough time getting one.

Thanks

Like FFF, I use the stovetop and steam for the minimum required time to get the result, and it doesn't take long. Longest time is spent dry-bashing first to figure out what you want to steam in - I understand changing your mind about a bash, but if you are going to use steam, spend a lot of time up front deciding what you want.

BTW - I only ever steam-bashed until I watched Dinerman's video on diamond-bashing.

 

[Doublegun]

BTW - I only ever steam-bashed until I watched Dinerman's video on diamond-bashing.

Where might I find that video?

Thanks

 

[Woodfluter]

When I say 'wrinkles', I'm talking about very, very small wrinkles. They are definitely there, and they aren't in most of my vintage felts. Same for my modern Stetson Chatham - nice hat, but you still get some of those tiny wrinkles. It really is no big deal aestethically, and I understand that some people wouldn't even notice them, but when you're trying to compare modern to vintage felt, it's one of those details you notice - like quality of sweatband stitching, or glued-in liners (as in the Fed IV).

Regarding steam, I have no problem steaming a hat - it's very simple and takes me hardly any time at all; however, I prefer to be able to give a quick hand-bash without steam. I like the slightly sloppy look and the fact that it's easier to re-bash a different way if you want to.

Oh, OK, now I understand. I misunderstood. Yes, that fits with what I've seen too. If I try to dry-bash the Fed deluxe, tiny wrinkles are there. I can put in a diamond dry, but it wants to return to the steamed form and isn't near to the wonderful responsiveness of a vintage dress hat, or at least most of the better ones.

I guess what I'd ideally like is a hat that responds like traditional dress hats, is slightly thicker than most of those and as tough as the Akubras. I see intimations of beaver in the future...

- Bill