Problem with akubra fed arrival...

[waffle]

That hat looks great! I got a little worried when I read the the title of the thread since I have two feds coming (couldn't decide which one [huh] ).
Seeing your hat makes me really look forward to getting mine.

I'm not sure who it was, but I remember seeing a similar thread with similar photos (except the hat wasnt damaged, only the box), but I went ahead and ordered it anyway. Dispite the box/shipping problems they seem to always have, I was suprised at how nice the hat actually is. Seeing that I haven't taken mine off yet.. trust me.. you're gonna love 'em.

cheers!

 

[waffle]

btw guys.. here's another view of the crease.. this time way too visible:

<a href="http://s277.photobucket.com/albums/kk66/papo1683/?action=view&current=7.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk66/papo1683/7.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s277.photobucket.com/albums/kk66/papo1683/?action=view&current=6.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk66/papo1683/6.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

oh well.. I guess I'll try the distilled water idea. Let me know if ya'll have any other ideas.

cheers

 

[MDphoto]

MDphoto. MD must stand for mucho dinero[huh]

Ha ha I wish!

My wife says MD stand for mentally disabled.

Waffle, I think the hat looks really good. The hat has character!

 

[handlebar bart]

Ha ha I wish!

My wife says MD stand for mentally disabled.Waffle, I think the hat looks really good. The hat has character!

lol lol lol That sounds oddly familiar

 

[Mike in Seattle]

I think some steaming would take care of that crease.

 

[MAB1]

Just spritz it w/ water and smooth it out as it dries.

It's gonna be fine.

 

[indycop]

Distilled water should do it just fine.

 

[KY Gentleman]

I have an Akubra Squatter that I re-shaped and it had a crease like that in it. IndyCop is right, just spray it with water and as it dries it should pop out.

 

[Woodfluter]

Waffle, great job here.

I know how you feel - my Fed Deluxe arrived in a single box and it was stove in and mashed up, but missed the hat! They are nice folks but really need to rethink this business of just taping up a regular hat box and shipping it all the way from Oz.

If the slight remaining crease on the side above the ribbon bow (barely noticable in your pictures) bothers you, try steam. I don't know if you used that to shape it, but really, in mild doses there is absolutely no danger. Steam the dented area a little bit and press it with some rounded object, like a small bottle or glass, pressing your hand in from the inside. When I've done this, even with badly crushed vitage hats, I've been able to iron out all traces of distortion except for a little remnant, sometimes, in the very worst cases. Couple of minutes attention and its good as new.

 

[waffle]

Waffle, great job here.

I know how you feel - my Fed Deluxe arrived in a single box and it was stove in and mashed up, but missed the hat! They are nice folks but really need to rethink this business of just taping up a regular hat box and shipping it all the way from Oz.

If the slight remaining crease on the side above the ribbon bow (barely noticable in your pictures) bothers you, try steam. I don't know if you used that to shape it, but really, in mild doses there is absolutely no danger. Steam the dented area a little bit and press it with some rounded object, like a small bottle or glass, pressing your hand in from the inside. When I've done this, even with badly crushed vitage hats, I've been able to iron out all traces of distortion except for a little remnant, sometimes, in the very worst cases. Couple of minutes attention and its good as new.

woodfluter,

you know, i remember reading and seeing the thread that you posted about your hat arrival.. and thinking, well, whats the chance that will happen to mine? lol.. anyway, thanks a bunch for the advice.. this is the first hat i've ever bashed or much less had to fix.. so it's been a learning experience. I'll try the steam and bottle thing and let you know how that goes.. thanks again.

cheers

 

[DanielJones]

If you have a block of wood or a hat block to help support that portion of the crown I'd take a clothing steam iron to it. Just be sure to use a clean cloth like a t-shirt to protect the felt from the iron so as not to burn it and be sure to use the steam setting and iron it out. If it works for hatters it should work for us. The only problem is that the iron may not get hot enough. But for a simple crease it should do the trick.

Cheers!

Dan

 

[waffle]

If you have a block of wood or a hat block to help support that portion of the crown I'd take a clothing steam iron to it. Just be sure to use a clean cloth like a t-shirt to protect the felt from the iron so as not to burn it and be sure to use the steam setting and iron it out. If it works for hatters it should work for us. The only problem is that the iron may not get hot enough. But for a simple crease it should do the trick.

Cheers!

Dan

thanks so much for your input/advice DanielJones.. i'll definately try that if the steam and bottles trick doesn't work.

again, thanks!

 

[tonyb]

I'd steer you away from the iron, waffle, unless you also happen to have the proper block. My fear is that the heat will shrink the felt on the section where the iron is applied and you'd get a hat with an unevenly shaped crown -- straight-sided (more or less) on one side and somewhat more tapered on the other.

I did this once myself, in an attempt to neaten up a hat with a persistent crease along the side of its crown. That hat has since been taken apart and cleaned and reblocked and put back together, so it looks good now. But again, unless you also have the proper block, there's a good chance you could do more harm than good with the iron. I'd say try the cold water method first.

 

[waffle]

tonyb,

thanks for the heads up, I'll take that into consideration.. and try the steam and cold water methods first. I've lived in Miami for 25 years now and have never seen a hattery.. boy, i wish i had one around here now.

good thing i got you guys..

thanks again for the tip tonyb.. it's much appreciated.

 

[kaosharper1]

Definitely just use water. I wouldn't even use steam. I've reshaped my federation several time by just wetting it and shaping it by hand. The Akubra felt is very responsive.

 

[waffle]

no more crease!

just an update for you all that helped me out with this...

here's the hat after a little bit of steam and a couple of glass bottles.. it worked great in my opinion:

thanks for the help yall.. i'd give ya a high five if i could.

 

[handlebar bart]

Great job on that Waffle. That lid looks really nice.:eusa_clap

 

[Woodfluter]

Fantastic, Waffle! You done did it.

I agree with Tony, despite my relative inexperience - with an iron there's too much danger of applying a little too much heat in a few seconds of inattention. More of a high-wire act, or so it seems.

Wetting alone does work - I did that before I got comfortable with steam, and now use that as an adjunct to steam. I made a long, tapered cone of aluminum foil to slip over the spout of my teakettle, and that helps focus the steam and keeps the rest of the hat away from needless heat. Finely-disseminated molecules of hot H2O do wonders in most cases, and unless you leave the felt exposed for long periods, I haven't seen any tendency toward shrinkage. Just a minimal pass through to soften it is needed. But you probably know all that by now! Great fix you did.

- Bill

 

[waffle]

bill,

i created a little something like what you used out of aluminum foil to get the job done. I noticed that steam was heating up the enitre hat, and thought it better to concentrate it on the area needed. it was mostly trial and error, but I guess I got it right after a while. there's still a tiny bit of a line left from the crease, but not nearly as noticable..

either way, thanks bill for your input and time.. I really do appreciate it.

By the way, for those of you wondering, I did get an email back from hatsdirect. They were pretty kind about it and gave me some instructions (basically the same yall gave me about water and steam) on how to fix the hat. They did tell me however, that if i couldn't completely remove the crease and if i wasnt satisfied, i could return it for another hat.

-adolfo

 

[waffle]

another update from hatsdirect...

they sent me an email tellin me that i would have free shipping with any hat i order in the future with them. they were pretty nice and understanding about the situation. i thought i'd end it with that good word for those of you pondering about getting a hat through them.