My New Hat...

[RBH]

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Thank, Chanop

Chanop, looks great with the lower bash, brim width fits you very well I think. Good job!

 

[fatwoul]

Schanop - With my incredibly limited credentials, I agree with these guys. You have a rounder face, and that seems to allow for a bigger brim.

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

My only advice is to take your time. I bashed my Fed Deluxe over several evenings while watching TV. I did it dry at first, and then used some cold water.

Oh, and fellow Fed owners, when you tried yours on for the first time unbashed to check the fit and saw yourself in the mirror, did you think "Hoss Cartwright" too? lol

 

[Shaul-Ike Cohen]

Oh, and fellow Fed owners, when you tried yours on for the first time unbashed to check the fit and saw yourself in the mirror, did you think "Hoss Cartwright" too? lol

Or Charlie Chan, or hasidic rabbi, depending on facial hair and colour of the hat?

(I s'pose you heard my wife's gulp over the ocean, before I told her this isn't necessarily the final shape….)

 

[fatwoul]

My only advice is to take your time. I bashed my Fed Deluxe over several evenings while watching TV. I did it dry at first, and then used some cold water.

Yes, that's good advice - Thanks Tony. My first bash really wasn't making me happy, so I did it again, and now I'm much happier. It's not all that different, to be honest, but I prefer the pinches, and the crown humps aren't so...cartoonish? Anyway, I'm pretty happy now, just kinda working it in my hands now and then, to make the shapes look more natural. The brim needs rolling in my hands a little here and there, too.

I'm only using water to lock in the shapes, or in places where the felt really needs that little extra convincing. I use a tiny mister bottle I normally use for macro photography (to spray leaves and make them look all wet and pretty). It's ideal, because it lets me control how much water goes on the hat.

...Oh, and fellow Fed owners, when you tried yours on for the first time unbashed to check the fit and saw yourself in the mirror, did you think "Hoss Cartwright" too? lol

I don't know who that is, but I did think I looked like a Mennonite or something. I went to see my sister, and I walked in wearing my unbashed hat, and found her making a simple-looking dress out of an old sheet. We both looked very plain. The elders would have been so proud.

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

Dan Blocker as "Hoss Cartwright."

 

[fatwoul]

Rebashed it:

 

[halpap]

bash

Very nicely bashed. You might want to experiment with pinches that go a bit deeper and see how it looks.

 

[halpap]

Chanop

Hat looks very good on you. Brim definitely not too big.

 

[fatwoul]

I may try a deeper pinch at the front. Top crease I'm happy with. Although I'd be grateful if anybody could give me advice about how I remove marks left by previous creases.

My first bash involved a tight centre crease along the crown, and the new bash has a much softer dent in the top. However, the original crease has left a mark, and I can't seem to get rid of it.

Anybody got any suggestions how I might deal with it? A brush? sandpaper? big belt sander?

Oh, and thanks hal for your reassurance about the brim.

 

[surely]

the brim

looks great:eusa_clap

 

[deanglen]

Nice re-bash and the brim is fine. The ghost crease can be cast out by steam application, then brushing, (or a hat sponge, something I don't own and have never used.) Steam and brushing is all I've ever tried. Seems to work well with patience.

dean

 

[RBH]

I think it looks great now! :eusa_clap
Most people now days are used to such low crowns and narrow brims that a hat like the Federation kind of scares them.
I have been wearing my Fed for days, dont know if I can go back to the tiny hats anymore.

 

[fatwoul]

looks great:eusa_clap

It surely does. Thanks. To be sure.

Nice re-bash and the brim is fine. The ghost crease can be cast out by steam application, then brushing, (or a hat sponge, something I don't own and have never used.) Steam and brushing is all I've ever tried. Seems to work well with patience.

Thanks dean. I'll need to be REALLY careful with steam, as I promised myself not to use it on this hat, because I know it can taper the crown fast. I might try a little mist from my little bottle first, and resort to steam later if I have to.

Does anybody have any recommendations as to where's good to get a hat sponge?

I think it looks great now! :eusa_clap
Most people now days are used to such low crowns and narrow brims that a hat like the Federation kind of scares them...

I think you've hit the nail on the...oh nevermind. You know what I mean.

You're right. I think it's just what people - including me - are used to. Right now, I still double-take when I see myself in a mirror, and wonder if the crown is too high, but I know that after another few days or wearing it, that will pass. Afterall, it's only me who needs to like how it looks. If it scares other people, well, thats too bad.

I have been wearing my Fed for days, dont know if I can go back to the tiny hats anymore.

I hear you. I'm waiting to receive a hat stretcher, which was supposed to be to stretch our my other fedora so it will fit again, but I think when I put that one on again now, it will just feel too short. lol

 

[deanglen]

It surely does. Thanks. To be sure.



Thanks dean. I'll need to be REALLY careful with steam, as I promised myself not to use it on this hat, because I know it can taper the crown fast. I might try a little mist from my little bottle first, and resort to steam later if I have to.

Fatwoul, I should have indicated that applying steam to the hat should be done sparingly, if you are working parts of it, not just re-bashing. You're wise to be careful with it. Spot steam it, if you can.

dean

 

[fatwoul]

Spot steam it, if you can.

How does one spot steam? I'm thinking I could do that by placing an inverted funnel over a pot of boiling water, so the steam only leaves by the open tube of the funnel? Or is there a specific way to do it?

Thanks dean

 

[RBH]

How does one spot steam? I'm thinking I could do that by placing an inverted funnel over a pot of boiling water, so the steam only leaves by the open tube of the funnel? Or is there a specific way to do it?

Thanks dean

Hey Fats, I think that would work fine.
I think what Dean was talking about was using a tea kettle.
Dean can chime back in on that.

 

[Ian Dundrillon]

fatwoul's latest rebash

I really like your latest effort. I followed a similar path to the same result with my twenty-year old Borsalino Roma. I like the simplicity of the center bash combined with the front pinch.

 

[schanop]

That new bash looks very interesting, fatwoul. I'll keep the idea in my mind if I happen to have another Fed to try on.

 

[deanglen]

Hey Fats, I think that would work fine.
I think what Dean was talking about was using a tea kettle.
Dean can chime back in on that.

Exactly. A kettle with a good narrow spout. There is a handle, there should be a spout. heat up the water and the steam comes out! There is a device, called, logically, a steamer, that directs the steam pretty well, and gets a steam hotter than a tea kettle. Ideaguy told me about it, and he has one. I'm not sure what they look like. I should also have mentioned that when I was trying to remove the ghost crease, pressing it with my fingers while soft from a shot of steam, and then brushing worked best for me. You try to flatten it out, pressing it from inside and out at the same time. Takes patience and persistence.

dean