I love the Fed IV!!

[dannyboy_883]

G'day guys,

perhaps a stupid question, but if I don't ask...
Is there a way to put a small amount of taper into the Fed? I have been experimenting with the bash lately, and I think it would look quite good with a bit of taper, while keeping the tall crown.
Has anybody achieved anything similar to this? I have seen The Good's Fed after a year of hard rain, not willing to go to that effort!
I love the Fed, just curious as to modifications to personalize it a bit more.
Failing that, I must start searching for a hat that better fits what I am trying to achieve!

Cheers,
Danny

 

[Wolfwood]

You might try making the side dents deeper (extend beyond the middle of the crown). That should make it appear as if the hat had some taper. Another method might be to make the centre dent deep by pushing the sides towards the centre...

However, it was intended as a no-taper hat, so looking for another model with taper might be the best option...

 

[cybergentleman]

Based on some photos of recently purchased feds on here and elsewhere online, i think the fed may have more taper in the block these days- i hope i am wrong

 

[dannyboy_883]

Cybergentleman,

Mine was bought only recently and it has almost no taper, infact with the bash it almost mushroom's out toward the top! So rest assured it is still a straight sided block.

Wolfwood,

I played with the bash some more last night, just dry, I am starting to get some good idea's. What affect would a wider ribbon have on it? perhaps a 2 inch.

Cheers for your reply's,
Dan.

 

[fenris]

I'm sure it dried just fine no worse for wear. According to people who wear them on this site those Feds are as tough as nails.

Yep! It came out just fine. I once wore this for 5 blocks in heavy (really heavy) rain before. The hat was soaked on top, but the water didn't even penetrate the underside of the hat.

 

[dannyboy_883]

Modified Fed

Well, here it is!
I opted for a deeper centre dent and evened out the height front to back, with not quite front, not quite side pinch? Not sure of the name.

I also trimmed the brim to a uniform 55mm all around.

The result is great in my opinion, I love it!

I am really happy with the way it turned out, together with the re done ribbon, it definitely makes it 'my hat'

Cheers,
Danny

 

[Neophyte]

Fantastic! Well done.

 

[thespoiler]

Danny,

I really like that bash!......I'm going to try it om one of my feds....

 

[El Sid]

The Fed looks great, but what are you doing with that dog?

 

[mercuryfelt76]

The Fed looks great, but what are you doing with that dog?

Ha ha ha.

Nice bash and to be honest I'm thinking of trimming my brim down as well. The dimensional cut doesn't work well with a turn. The reason I turned it is because I love the way it makes the brim curl upwards. But the dimensional cut makes the brim appear wider if I turn my head to the left and narrower if I turn my head to the right. But I don't wanna lose the snap, which it will if you cut too much off. I love the Fed but I would advise anyone thinking of buying one to get a size too big because although Akubras are excellet hats, the sweat bands do shrink a lot. Good for getting a snug fit.

 

[dannyboy_883]

Thanks heaps everybody!

The Fed looks great, but what are you doing with that dog?

He wanted a hug just as the picture was being taken, he is the most attention hungry dog I have ever met, just needs to be touching people every second of the day!

I agree about the turn of the hat, though I didn't lose too much snap and it didn't seem to snap much from the start. In my opinion it has become a hat suits my face alot better, so it should get alot more wear.

Thanks for the feedback guys!
Danny

 

[James71]

The Fed IV. The hat for the road less travelled.

 

[Chuck Bobuck]

Well, here it is!
I opted for a deeper centre dent and evened out the height front to back, with not quite front, not quite side pinch? Not sure of the name.

I also trimmed the brim to a uniform 55mm all around.

The result is great in my opinion, I love it!

I am really happy with the way it turned out, together with the re done ribbon, it definitely makes it 'my hat'

Cheers,
Danny

Looks good! What method did you use to trim uniformly?

 

[Chuck Bobuck]

The Fed IV. The hat for the road less travelled.

Interesting path you've chosen James. Nice looking Fed!

 

[dannyboy_883]

Looks good! What method did you use to trim uniformly?

I used the cheap 'measure outward, close eyes, hack at it with scissors and hope you still have a hat afterwards' method...
finishing of with my sister's nail file.

I have practiced on an old cattleman previously so I was fairly confident, marking with a sharp pencil.
Also have plans for an adjustable brim cutter, though it works from the outside so if you wanted to remove a dimensional brim it wouldn't work.

Thanks Chuck
Danny

 

[davidraphael]

Ok...I did it....

I ordered my first Fed IV in dark brown.

I'm normally 58-ish. Today I measured at 58.5-ish. According to the advice found on this site about potential shrinkage and ordering slightly larger, I went for a size 59 (I will have the foam inserts if it's slightly too large)

It was a really hard decision between dark brown and carbon grey. I like the tawny fawn, but it seems just little too close to Indiana Jones for me - the last thing I want is people thinking I'm on the way to a fancy dress party.

I bet I end up buying a carbon grey one, too!

The site says 5-10 days shipping. Is that about right according to your delivery time?

looking forward to it!

 

[Gromulus]

Ok...I did it....

IIt was a really hard decision between dark brown and carbon grey. I like the tawny fawn, but it seems just little too close to Indiana Jones for me - the last thing I want is people thinking I'm on the way to a fancy dress party.

The site says 5-10 days shipping. Is that about right according to your delivery time?

looking forward to it!

Great choice! The FED IV does run smaller than other Akubras so it is good to go up in size. Both the dark and tawny brown are great choices, can't say the carbon gray does much for me with this style.

BTW, the dark brown color IS the closest color to the movie hat. It is a very versatile color.

I received my FED in approximately 2 1/2 weeks here in the states.

Enjoy!

 

[gtdean48]

My modified Moonstone Fed4....The Akubra Wanderer....

 

[davidraphael]

BTW, the dark brown color IS the closest color to the movie hat. It is a very versatile color.

oops...

I'm sure I'm gonna love it anyway...

 

[Gromulus]

oops...

I'm sure I'm gonna love it anyway...

Of all my wider ribbon fedoras this is the one I feel most comfortable wearing with casual clothes as well as when dressed up a bit more. The combination of un-bound wider dimensional brim and dark brown color make it very versatile. And while very "stereotypical", it does go well with a leather jacket!

That being said, my next Akubra will be the FED IV in moonstone.