I love the Fed IV!!

[DRB]

I like how the back of the brim has only a very slight up curl and the sides flat. The Fed IV has brim style IMHO.

 

[MattJH]

Folks, whenever you hear the Hat-Etiquette-From-1935-Should-Still-Be-Relevant-Today crowd(*) talk about fedoras only being appropriate with specific types of dress, remember this picture. Want to wear your fedora with a t-shirt? A hoodie? With denim jeans and Nike dunks? Good news! It's 2010, and you can, and unless you're clashing your colors or you lack self-confidence, it's going to look good. This is a great picture, djgo-cat-go, thanks for sharing.

(*) Oh relax, I'm poking fun!

If I could get the Fed IV in a range of felt colors (e.g., imagine a very very dark purple :eusa_clap) and in straw for the summer, I don't think I would ever buy anything other than Akubra.

Agreed! I'm pretty much there already. With the exception of my lightweight Vintage Silhouettes from Art Fawcett, my brown and grey standard Federation IVs are the only fedoras I've worn this past full year. I love not having to worry about them at all. I can toss them on the couch, store them under my bar stool, whatever, it doesn't matter. They're built to easily withstand daily wear-and-tear. If you're used to babying your irreplaceable vintage felts, you'll have a few (good) habits to break if you own a Federation. Treating one like you'd treat a Stetson Three-Way is akin to dabbing the grease off of your pizza at a South Philadelphia corner shop.

My Adam, Herbert Johnson, MacLachlan, and others have been sitting in their boxes, untouched. I really think it's about time they end up in the Classifieds or on eBay. I just need to make the time to take the pictures, fix them up, resize them, write up the descriptions, take the measurements, etc. It's going to take hours, so I've been dragging my feet.

Speaking of my Art Fawcett (this is going to be Fed IV relevant!), I'm sure everyone knows by now that you are sent a conformer during the sale process so that Art can ensure absolute perfect sizing. Sure enough, when I received my Art Fawcett, it fit me more perfectly than any article of clothing I've ever owned in my entire life fit me. I think it's worth it to say that after regular wear, including exposure to snow, sleet, rain, hail, and most other weather, both of my Federation IVs now fit exactly as perfectly as my Art Fawcett. They may seem a bit round and stiff out of the box, but luckily, there is an extremely simple and effective solution; wear the hell out of it and, like a fresh pair of sneakers, it will mold itself to you and, in doing so, look much better.

This is a gigantic thread, and I admit I can't remember if I've contributed photographs of my own standard Akubra Federation IVs before. Here they are, in the Dark Brown and the Carbon Grey (the crease for both is identical; done by hand after a torrential downpour - kind of a teardrop/diamond/four-point hybrid, which Dinerman once called a "shield" crease, so I've adopted the name for this crease that I always tend to default to, because it works perfectly for my head):

​

 

[elvisroe]

well said.:eusa_clap

 

[KY_RudeBoy]

:arated:
Well said... and nice Feds.

 

[DRB]

Thank you Matt. I love the Fed IV and enjoy reading about it. Your pictures look great. Some day I would like to see the carbon grey in person. They are not as light colored as your picture suggests are they?
Again...Thanks

 

[MattJH]

Thank you Matt. I love the Fed IV and enjoy reading about it. Your pictures look great. Some day I would like to see the carbon grey in person. They are not as light colored as your picture suggests are they?
Again...Thanks

You're very welcome! The picture is fairly spot-on. The Akubra "Carbon Grey" is basically a charcoal color, whereas the Moonstone is on the lighter end of the same grey-scale spectrum. Dark grey and light grey, really.

 

[DRB]

Can anyone tell me what Akubra says is the open crown height of the Fed IV?
When I measure it I get 5 3/4 to 6 inches.

 

[elvisroe]

I recall reading somewhere that the crown is 5 1/2 to 6 inches, slightly lower than previous incarnations.

 

[CRH]

I recall reading somewhere that the crown is 5 1/2 to 6 inches, slightly lower than previous incarnations.

That's a whole half inch of tolerance.

I suspect that Akubra may be using live fish and bunny ears to measure things.

 

[MattJH]

Can anyone tell me what Akubra says is the open crown height of the Fed IV?

The information is here. The open crown height of the Federation IV is 5 5/8". The previous version of the Federation (now referred to as the Federation III) had a crown height of 6", which looked absolutely horrid on me. I tried one on two separate occasions and sold both within 24 hours.

 

[kaosharper1]

The information is here. The open crown height of the Federation IV is 5 5/8". The previous version of the Federation (now referred to as the Federation III) had a crown height of 6", which looked absolutely horrid on me. I tried one on two separate occasions and sold both within 24 hours.

But it was great if you wanted that deep bashed, Maltese Falcon, 1930s look:

 

[DRB]

Thank you! That is what I was looking for.

kaosharper1, you really have a talent for making a great bash. Looks very nice.

May the Fed IV live long and prosper.

 

[kaosharper1]

Thank you! That is what I was looking for.

kaosharper1, you really have a talent for making a great bash. Looks very nice.

May the Fed IV live long and prosper.

Thanks! Actually, mine is a Fed III, but I'm sure you can do something similar with a IV which I remember has a 5 3/4" crown as opposed to the 6" of the III. It just won't look quite as deep.

 

[The Good]

You know, I thought I'd show some comparison, then-and-now photos of my Akubra Federation IV.

When I first got it for Christmas, I creased it like this, Raiders of the Lost Ark style, more or less. Chronologically of course, this is my oldest photo of it. Not very bright quality, sorry.

The next chronological picture is this one right here, a subtle difference. An even darker photo, sorry to say I didn't use a bright flash on my cell phone, but it is natural lighting.

At some point in February, after having it rained on for the first time, I decided to experiment with the shape, so it looks completely different.

Here you can see... well, remnants of the tight Raiders front pinch. I personally don't think this crease suited my fedora, especially with that unflattering line in the front. It's not my preference, but I had to try it to see how it'd suit the hat. At this point, it seems those old 80s Communist Soviet reversal jokes came alive: the hat wore me, I didn't wear the hat.

Here's another taken on the same day. It looks very, erm... tapered.

This is how it looks now though, at some point in March, I decided to reshape it, and this is what I had going on to this day.

A view from the top. It used to be a center dent, but it's acquired an unusual pinch in the back. I like it though, as it lends it something unique. It does look a bit like a teardrop if I actually wear the hat though, as the top of the crown comes up a bit.

Here it is at an angle, this is one of my more flattering pictures of it, in my opinion. It looks great the way it is now, if I say so myself!

Just curious, does anyone have a preference as to which photograph portrays the crease job I did best on my fedora? I have to admit, the very first bash I did was really good looking for a beginner like myself to open-crown hats.

 

[Chinaski]

I would call your latest Fed IV incarnation a diamond crease, and I think it looks great. Go with it, and when the mood strikes, go ahead and re-crease!

 

[The Good]

I would call your latest Fed IV incarnation a diamond crease, and I think it looks great. Go with it, and when the mood strikes, go ahead and re-crease!

Ah, a diamond crease! Actually, after looking at several photos of other's fedoras shaped that way, I think you're right, although it's a bit different than some of the ones I've seen. I think I'll keep it this way for quite a while, and as for the taper, it's subtle and I like it how it is at this point. I personally prefer a little taper as opposed to reverse-taper, although that can look good too, but I never really had that effect working after the raining-on it anyway.

 

[elvisroe]

I find no matter what I do short of a centre dent my fed iv reverts to a diamond. [huh]

 

[scottyrocks]

Just curious, does anyone have a preference as to which photograph portrays the crease job I did best on my fedora? I have to admit, the very first bash I did was really good looking for a beginner like myself to open-crown hats.

I prefer the first two photos, but the version in your avatar looks good on you. So, without seeing the first version on your noggin, its tough for me to say which crease looks best on your head, which is where it really counts.

My Fed IV went through some minor mods that all looked good when the hat was not on my head, but once on my head was a different story. Obviously, I like the current version best (not my avatar, btw).

 

[Mahagonny Bill]

I find no matter what I do short of a centre dent my fed iv reverts to a diamond. [huh]

That's weird. No matter what I do to mine it reverts to a teardrop [huh].
Do you have the standard or the Deluxe? I have the standard.

 

[scottyrocks]

That's weird. No matter what I do to mine it reverts to a teardrop [huh].
Do you have the standard or the Deluxe? I have the standard.

Were the first creases in your respective hats happen to the ones that other creases revert back to?