Bashing an Open Crown

[Colorado Joe]

I have been reading this forum for a while now and decided to join.

I have been thinking about buying an open crown Akubra and have a couple of questions.

a.) How difficult is it to "bash" a hat? and

b.) Is the felt less stiff, on the crown, than a pre-creased hat?

I am wondering if it's worth the extra money to buy one with a specific bash from David Morgan or try to bash it myself.

Any help is greatly appreciated..

Colorado Joe

 

[indycop]

I have a regular federation and the crown was softer than the brim and very easy to crease. You can spritz it with some distilled water if you need to. Hats are not as fragile as you might think, if you don't like the style you give it you can just recrease it!

 

[RPeers]

Check out this section of the forum it is very helpful and as he does most of the bashes on the same hat it shows how relatively easily you can shape them.
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=10272

 

[RBH]

Welcome... I like your avatar!

A.... not hard at all.. just give it a try!

B... most times it is.... there is always an exception.

I would suggest an Akubra. A great hat for the money. You can make a Indy to a Bogey type fedora from a Federation. I have to tell ya most of the fun is in doing a crease yourself. Thats what I like about the Akubras... they are tough, you will not hurt it by creasing it yourself.
IF YOU decided to try it I hope you let us know what you come up with.

 

[Colorado Joe]

I was hoping to hear the open crowns are not as stiff as the pre-creased hats. I have a few Akubra's that I bought pre-creased and I assumed they used stiffiner.

I bought the Riverina after I read on this forum that they were being closed out at an outlet store. I have also bought from DM who has excellent service and speedy shipping!

I am thinking about buying the Adventurer because of the lower crown height and a tad wider brim than the Federation.

Oh, and I do plan on bashing it myself.

Colorado Joe

 

[indycop]

I am thinking about buying the Adventurer because of the lower crown height and a tad wider brim than the Federation.

Oh, and I do plan on bashing it myself.

Colorado Joe

Just so you know the new federation will have a little lower crown height.

 

[johnnyphi]

Before you buy a "new" hat...

You asked if it's difficult to bash an open crown hat... but you didn't really leave open the possibility of finding a vintage hat with an open crown.

Before you buy a new hat... check out this thread: http://www.thefedoralounge.com/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=552118

I am in the final stages of planning for the sale. It will include 150 of my best hats.

More to come...

 

[KY Gentleman]

I have a regular federation and the crown was softer than the brim and very easy to crease. You can spritz it with some distilled water if you need to. Hats are not as fragile as you might think, if you don't like the style you give it you can just recrease it!

I did this today with a hat I had stopped wearing (a Federation, in fact).
A spray bottle and messing with the crown some made a hat I didn't wear much to a new favorite! Don't be afraid if you are just using water, steaming is a little different as you can shrink your hats sweatband or taper your hat.
Good luck and post pics!

 

[Roadrunner]

I bashed my Sydney, so far it's the only one I've got. It turned out very well. They Sydney is a softer felt than the average Akubra (or so I hear).

 

[Colorado Joe]

Just so you know the new federation will have a little lower crown height.

I just read about the Federation IV and the changes that were made. How long does shipping take? I didn't calc the exchange rate but the price seems to be a wash.

 

[indycop]

I just read about the Federation IV and the changes that were made. How long does shipping take? I didn't calc the exchange rate but the price seems to be a wash.

It took about 5 days to get mine (Florida) last year but that was the old federation. I don't think it would be any longer since they seem to be rolling out with the new ones.

 

[Woodfluter]

Fear Not!

Bashing is really easy. I went the spray bottle route several times, but from more recent experience let me attest that steam works great, and is faster, easier. The water droplets are finer and, coupled with heat, seem to penetrate the felt very rapidly.

Within the past week, I have reshaped five hats: two vintage from eBay, one old cowboy, one newer Akubra, and my new Federation IV (arrived yesterday). In every case, even brief exposure to steam on either crown or brim softened the felt and allowed it to be re-shaped quickly and effortlessly, and it then it re-hardened sufficiently to hold the re-shaping. Don't be overly concerned about shrinking. It really takes just a short exposure to soften the part you want to work on, and not that much heat. It won't do a bit of damage to good felt. You'd have to give it a real hard steaming to produce shrinkage. I was concerned too, before. Now I'm not.

My personal tips:

1. Work on one area at a time. If open crown, do the bash down the center first, and steam only the top, briefly and just until it softens.

2. If you want a pinch, steam the front top only and put that in as a preliminary step. Then check it in the mirror - wiggle the hat left and right to be sure it's centered. Is the pinch centered with your face? Is everything symmetrical? Remember all faces aren't symmetrical. If it is a little off, re-steam the top and adjust the center dent accordingly. Then steam the front top corner and re-do the pinch. You get the idea. It's iterative.

3. Do the brim last. You only need a very little steam for this - it softens quickly and re-stiffens quickly. So get it soft in the portion you want to adjust, shape that to your liking, check it on your head, and move to the next area you want to fix.

4. Wear the hat several days before you think you need to do more adjustments. You might be surprised how things kind of work themselves out.

This seems, from my limited experiece, to apply to either newer hats or vintage models. I would suggest that if the latter have any soiling, and especially if light-colored, you work on cleaning them before steaming. The steam might cause migration of stains and re-precipitation, per my Open Road hat.

The main point is, don't be afraid to work on these suckers! They are tough. And flexible.

- Bill

 

[Colorado Joe]

Thanks for the tips Woodfluter! I am definitely going to buy one soon, if I can ever make up my mind.

I am looking at the Adventurer, Federation, Bushman and the Squatter.

I should buy one of each, huh? Eventually I will probably buy each one separately but right now I am deciding whether I want a snap brim with a narrow ribbon or a turned down brim with a wide ribbon..

Such decisions to make....