So Cal Re-bash assistance

[deanzat]

Hello! The more I wear my Akubra Stylemaster and Banjo Paterson, the more frustrated I become with my FedIV Deluxe. I just don't seem to have the eye and dexterity to get the open crown hat looking the way I want it to.

Is there someone here in Southern California who could reshape the hat and possibly mentor me in the process? I don't mind paying for the service, but I don't know how to find a lounge-vetted practitioner. Thanks, Z

 

[Wil Tam]

It's easy...

Is it still an open crown? .. if so then start with a center dent make sure that it is in the center or it'll look odd .. from there work it to the way that you want it trying it on with each step checking the look in a mirror ... It's really not that hard to get the bash you want... good luck and post pics.

oh yeah there are tons of threads on here to show you how ... just search them out

----------------
Now playing: Garbage - Tell Me Where It Hurts
via FoxyTunes

 

[jec]

Dean,


If I recall from the other thread where you showed us the step-by-step of your Fed being bashed, you've got it with a center crease - and you've left the crown pretty tall.

I know it's not the most popular stance here on the Lounge, but I don't think tall crowns are flattering for everyone. If you like the way your Stylemaster and BP look, maybe that's because their crowns are lower and better proportioned for your face and overall frame. I don't think a prefernce for tall hats with no taper is necessarily an acquired taste; on some of us, I just think hats that big look wrong.

I'd suggest you try a new bash in your Fed that brings the front of the crown down lower -- something like a deep c-crown or diamond bash. Of course, I'm all talk; I can't help you out from here on the East coast. Maybe some of the threads that Wil has sent will have useful tips.

 

[deanzat]

This is the current incarnation:

I want to start over, but after I bash it out, it returns to these creases.

I'll keep experimenting. Z

 

[gtdean48]

Doing the deep creases you did, it will have memory & want to return to them when you are trying something very close. You'll have to drop or raise the back & probably the point of the pinch to train it to another crease. Some hats try to tell you where they want to be, hear the hat, listen to the hat, be one with the hat, Ummmmmmmm...Good luck...

 

[MattJH]

I know it's not the most popular stance here on the Lounge, but I don't think tall crowns are flattering for everyone. If you like the way your Stylemaster and BP look, maybe that's because their crowns are lower and better proportioned for your face and overall frame. I don't think a prefernce for tall hats with no taper is necessarily an acquired taste; on some of us, I just think hats that big look wrong.

Absolutely, positively true. Just because the majority prefers tall crowns with straight, untapered sides doesn't mean that you'll look good in it, and about 7 out of 10 times, they don't either, honestly. I cannot tell you how many times I've looked at a posted picture and immediately thought of a top-heavy Pez dispenser. Some shapes and dimensions look much better in silhouettes and characters in old films than they do people wearing them in 2009.

That being said, the Akubra Federation IV is my favorite modern mass-production hat, and what does it have? Straight, untapered sides. So I mean what I say, but I'm saying it through the foot lodged firmly in my mouth.

 

[jec]

Absolutely, positively true. Just because the majority prefers tall crowns with straight, untapered sides doesn't mean that you'll look good in it, and about 7 out of 10 times, they don't either, honestly. I cannot tell you how many times I've looked at a posted picture and immediately thought of a top-heavy Pez dispenser. Some shapes and dimensions look much better in silhouettes and characters in old films than they do people wearing them in 2009.

That being said, the Akubra Federation IV is my favorite modern mass-production hat, and what does it have? Straight, untapered sides. So I mean what I say, but I'm saying it through the foot lodged firmly in my mouth.

DJ - thanks for the confirmation. Sometimes, I think it's just me. But I am intruigued that you are liking your Fed so much...

 

[seed]

Absolutely, positively true. Just because the majority prefers tall crowns with straight, untapered sides doesn't mean that you'll look good in it, and about 7 out of 10 times, they don't either, honestly. I cannot tell you how many times I've looked at a posted picture and immediately thought of a top-heavy Pez dispenser. Some shapes and dimensions look much better in silhouettes and characters in old films than they do people wearing them in 2009.

You know what? This is an excellent post in my opinion. Dead on the money. And it's the first time I've read anything like it on this forum. I couldn't agree more.

 

[zetwal]

I don't understand taperphobia either. Each head and face is unique. Nor do I understand the need for a perfectly symmetrical crease. I wore quality felt hats for more than 20 years before I even gave it much thought. But now that I've started to monkey around more with my hats I agree with following what a particular hat wants to do while worn. At least be open to compromise.

My current thinking: Experiment and design the crease using a mirror. Pay attention to what a particular hat actually wants to do and go with your gut. Not every hat will come out the same. In the end, an organically creased hat will probably look and feel better on your head.

 

[kaosharper1]

This is the current incarnation:

I want to start over, but after I bash it out, it returns to these creases.

I'll keep experimenting. Z

I've rebashed my Fed a couple of times by really wetting the top where the creases are. But just wet where the creases are. When its really soaked through then the felt is very pliable. And let it dry naturally. It may take a few hours.

I'd help you out but I'm all the way in Pasadena. It'll probably take you a couple of hours to get here.

 

[zetwal]

I agree. And a spray bottle works really well -

 

[Magus]

One thing tha we sometime fail to remember is that men on average were shorter and smaller in days gone by. A tall crown was a benfit if you were 5'8" not so much when you are 6'3".

 

[kaosharper1]

One thing tha we sometime fail to remember is that men on average were shorter and smaller in days gone by. A tall crown was a benfit if you were 5'8" not so much when you are 6'3".

Hey, I'm only 5'7". I love tall crowns.

 

[deanzat]

Here's the latest incarnation. I got mad last night, dunked the hat in a sink of hot water, and wrestled with it until it was closer to my liking. It looks weird from the side, but I don't look at myself from the side, and I've never looked too un-weird anyway. I really am happier with the taper, because it really is the shape of my pointy head. Just looks more natural to me. Thanks, Z

 

[CRH]

....Some hats try to tell you where they want to be, hear the hat, listen to the hat, be one with the hat, ....

Words to crease by, ObiWan!

 

[deanglen]

Yes, the hat will reveal itself. Really.



dean

 

[CRH]

...I got mad last night, dunked the hat in a sink of hot water, and wrestled with it until it was closer to my liking. ...

...

Good idea, however real men dunk their hat in a livestock trough. My guess is that all the horse and cow slobber act as a stiffener lol.

Creasing a hat while it is soaking wet really gives it the "broke in" look that you just can't get with a steam or a spritz.

That crease works well for you, deanzat.

 

[dschonn]

By the 1930s, fedoras had been very popular for long enough that people had a very good idea of what looked good and what didn't. Now, hats are more rare and we don't have nearly as broad a perspective of how a hat can look and what it can do for the shape of a person's face. That makes it harder for us to know the ideal shape of hat for our face and build, and so a lot of people who wear the tall, straight-crowned hats that emulate those from the Golden Era don't actually look good in them. They don't know how to tweak them or cock them or wear a smaller size or whatever would be necessary to complement rather than dwarf and distract from the face. That's my theory; I just made it up.

Edited to add: This is in reply to Dumbjaw's post, and not a reflection on the hat shown in this thread. You look great, deanzat.

 

[MattJH]

By the 1930s, fedoras had been very popular for long enough that people had a very good idea of what looked good and what didn't. Now, hats are more rare and we don't have nearly as broad a perspective of how a hat can look and what it can do for the shape of a person's face. That makes it harder for us to know the ideal shape of hat for our face and build, and so a lot of people who wear the tall, straight-crowned hats that emulate those from the Golden Era don't actually look good in them. They don't know how to tweak them or cock them or wear a smaller size or whatever would be necessary to complement rather than dwarf and distract from the face. That's my theory; I just made it up.

Even though you made it up, you make some very valid points.

deanzat: Your hat looks much better now than it did before. Without seeing a full photograph of you standing, it's hard to tell whether or not the hat works on you. Your creasing is definitely unique; I've actually never seen a photograph on here posted with a crease like that before, and most certainly not in a Federation. Know what? I like it. A lot. From the photograph(s) you did post, I think the hat works for you, and it's nice to see a smile. I also like the fact that there is no tight pinch in this one. It's not at all an Indiana Jones replica crease, it's your own.

I understand that your difficulties with this hat, initially, were directly related to your pointed cranium. I'll bet that you'd have a much easier time of a crease if you went with a shorter crown. There's much less room around the base of your skull's point to have to adjust the felt to, and you'd end up with a much shallower crease. This may be why you've had such an easy time with your Stylemaster; it has a shorter crown. The Akubra Fedora/Sydney would work pretty well for your next purchase, should you stick with an Akubra, as its open crown is shorter than the Federation.

But keep the Federation, and keep it just like that. It works. In comparison, my Federation IV crease is boring:

There. That was easy! I hope it's helpful in some way.

 

[deanzat]

Thanks all. I've been wearing it all day and have to admit that I've been sneaking glances in mirrors and windows. I'm especially glad to have reworked this into a shape I like, because the felt is beautiful to look at and a real pleasure to touch. The Stylemaster is too new to have revealed its true character yet, but my Banjo Paterson and FedIV are absolute sensual delights. I expect many more Akubras (and I've promised to buy a Stetson this year) in my future. Z