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I love the Fed IV!!

Goose.

Practically Family
Messages
898
Location
A Town Without Pity
Maguire...like the gents have posted and as I mentioned about my Moonie...SPRAY it. You can't hurt a Fed doing that...or much else.

If ya don't like it one way, change it. My Sydney has as many bash lives as Shirley MacLaine and looks better. No worries.

I was doing the distilled gig but now I just use tap water...no worse for wear.
If you have hard water that may stain it, well, that may be a diff story.

No need to coddle that lid. Trust us, we're from the IRS and we are here to help ;)
 

G MAN

One of the Regulars
Messages
208
Location
Nobleton Ontario
Got my Fed IV three day's ago and it's now my favorite hat. I went with the regular because I wanted the Tawny Fawn color.
Thanks to all the guy's who posted pictures, It helped me decide on this one.

DSC06322.jpg
 

Woodfluter

Practically Family
Messages
784
Location
Georgia
scottyrocks said:
Well, it's my impression that the hat looks this way because it is modeled after the IJ hats, which were chosen for their exaggerated, adventurer, 'hero' look. The brim also is dimensional - longer in the front and back than on the sides to avoid, somewhat, the cowboy hat look, especially from the front. The sides dont stick out as much while the front offers more weather/sun protection.

Yep, have heard all that. And way before the Indy flicks I made dimensional brims on my hats for practical reasons such as you've cited.

Also have looked at old movies and photos. And rather interesting are hat ads - here's a few that have been posted before (all Crofut & Knapp interestingly) which I like and admire:







Notice the dimensions on these - admittedly an advertising artist's take, not the reality of a photograph, but an ideal...partially realized in the hats of that era. Straight tall crown, and to my eyes, just a hint of narrower brim sides relative to the front and back.

Now the actual brims were mostly equal all around from what I've seen and the testimony of others. But still rather interesting that the ad artist thought that it looked better with these proportions.

I suspect that maybe Deborah Nadoolman, the costume director for the first of the I.J. movies, was thinking about ads like these or movies from that era, and there's a way the mind conflates reality with perceptions. Not sure I'm explaining this clearly, but in any case, I personally think they look great whether historically accurate or not.

- Bill
 

Maguire

Practically Family
Messages
619
Location
New York
well i just sprayed it up and pinched the brim etc, lets hope it keeps this shape. I'll take a few more shots of it once its dry.
 

Maguire

Practically Family
Messages
619
Location
New York
as promised, my FINAL bash for awhile. I've rebashed this hat almost everyday for the past few, this is my last time. I sprayed it up and i'm pleased. It isn't exactly even but as you say, it gives it a uniqueness.

DSCF1489.jpg
 

scottyrocks

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,178
Location
Isle of Langerhan, NY
Yesterday, I tightened the pinch on this hat. If you look at the top, you might be able to make out that the 'Y' is tighter. I dont know if its noticeable in the pictures, but I can tell, and I like it.

Before:

0323092223.jpg


After:

0413091935.jpg
 
Messages
10,524
Location
DnD Ranch, Cherokee County, GA
ScottyRocks,
I can definitely see the difference & the second photo is at a better angle so the hat doesn't look out of proporton with your face. That first one made the brim to hat top look longer than brim to chin length...Good work. :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap
 

Maguire

Practically Family
Messages
619
Location
New York
Thank you all once again. It will certainly be receiving alot of wear, as i'm going to be going hatless over the summer again and want to enjoy it while i can.


I can tell the difference between those two shots as well, scottyrocks.
 

jpbales

Practically Family
Messages
507
Location
Georga, USA
Maguire

I think you did a great job bashing the hat and putting the pinches in. It's nice when you finally get to the point that you feel the hat is shaped just right.
Although, I would recommend trying to put a little curl into that brim. It just looks a little too flat in my opinion. All I would do is play with the front snap until it curls down a tad more and play around the outside edge of the brim until it rolls up a bit. You can do it over a little time or you can steam it right away.
 

jazzncocktails

A-List Customer
Messages
484
Location
Long Beach, California
Maguire said:
Thank you all once again. It will certainly be receiving alot of wear, as i'm going to be going hatless over the summer again and want to enjoy it while i can.


I can tell the difference between those two shots as well, scottyrocks.
Nice job, Maguire...looks great. But hatless over the summer? Isn't that one of the best times to wear a hat, to protect from sun exposure? Maybe you just need a summer hat...:D
 

Maguire

Practically Family
Messages
619
Location
New York
jazzncocktails said:
Nice job, Maguire...looks great. But hatless over the summer? Isn't that one of the best times to wear a hat, to protect from sun exposure? Maybe you just need a summer hat...:D
indeed but i just spent quite a bit on that one. and as for protection from the sun.. i assure you i get less sun exposure than deep sea fish. I recall my trip to florida a year ago. When i returned to work everyone joked that i hadn't really gone, since i came back paler than i left. Naturally at some point in the future i intend to acquire a fine summer hat. But Panama's are pretty darn expensive for any decent quality. Any equivalents to the fed IV type great buys out there in panamas?


as for the brim, i figure i'll let nature take its course and give it a droop and i regularly am rolling it up on the back and sides to not much avail. I figure itwill shape itself eventually.
 

Chuck Bobuck

Practically Family
Messages
715
Location
Rolling Prairie
Maguire said:
indeed but i just spent quite a bit on that one. and as for protection from the sun.. i assure you i get less sun exposure than deep sea fish. I recall my trip to florida a year ago. When i returned to work everyone joked that i hadn't really gone, since i came back paler than i left. Naturally at some point in the future i intend to acquire a fine summer hat. But Panama's are pretty darn expensive for any decent quality. Any equivalents to the fed IV type great buys out there in panamas?


as for the brim, i figure i'll let nature take its course and give it a droop and i regularly am rolling it up on the back and sides to not much avail. I figure itwill shape itself eventually.

Not a Panama, but Akubra has a nice propylene straw called the Capricorn. There are a number of reviews and pics. Hats Direct now has them on their site. Pretty reasonably priced if you don't mind the material.
 

jazzncocktails

A-List Customer
Messages
484
Location
Long Beach, California
Maguire said:
indeed but i just spent quite a bit on that one. and as for protection from the sun.. i assure you i get less sun exposure than deep sea fish. I recall my trip to florida a year ago. When i returned to work everyone joked that i hadn't really gone, since i came back paler than i left. Naturally at some point in the future i intend to acquire a fine summer hat. But Panama's are pretty darn expensive for any decent quality. Any equivalents to the fed IV type great buys out there in panamas?


as for the brim, i figure i'll let nature take its course and give it a droop and i regularly am rolling it up on the back and sides to not much avail. I figure itwill shape itself eventually.

Maguire, here's a bad, at-the-computer photo of me and my buddy Sam Adams, trying to look summery for you.
Photo25.jpg

A lot of Loungers swear by Miller Hats for their summer lids, which is where I recently purchased this one. They have a number of Milan weave straw hats, and the quality seems quite good for a relatively low price (relative to some of the fine Panamas, that is). I've been working on the front brim to swoop a bit, and now that it does that, I'm pretty happy with it. You can find Miller Milans at:

http://www.millerhats.com/milantd_index/index.html

Here's what I did to help the brim of my Fed IV droop a bit more:

1. Steam the front brim--the full area that you want to droop. I steamed all the way up to the sweatband on the underside and all the way up to the ribbon on the top.

2. On a kitchen counter or table that can get damp, hang the hat so that the front brim that you want to droop downward is on the countertop, and the rest of the hat dangles down the side of the counter. Secure the front brim with something heavy and flat. I used a rectangular glass casserole pan. This holds the front brim on the counter and lets the rest of the hat hang. Be sure you've centered the brim first so your pinch points straight up at the ceiling.

3. Let it sit for a little while--I let mine sit 15 or 20 minutes. When you remove the pan, you'll have a great swoop...and if it dips down too much, you can easily work it back up to your liking. Let it dry. My front swoop drove me crazy for the longest time until I did that...and since then it has retained its shape nicely.
 

jazzncocktails

A-List Customer
Messages
484
Location
Long Beach, California
Viper Man said:
My 4 month old Moonstone Deluxe is for sale in the classifieds. It's a size 58 ( 7 1/4) and is in like new condition. It's been worn maybe 5-6 times. [huh]
Viper Man, your Fed IV in Moonstone is very tempting...if it were a 59, I'd jump on it. But I'm afraid it would be a bit too small for me...my 59 started slightly big but with wear now fits perfectly. Were you expecting the 58 to be a bit bigger?
 

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