I love the Fed IV!!

[B.J. Hedberg]

Sitting on the shelf next to my modified Campdraft and the new Beaver Brand, the dimensional brim on my Fed just didn’t fit in, so although I found it quite functional, on impulse I took out the tape measure and the scissors and cut the brim down to (about) an even 2 3/8” all around. Need to get out and sand it smooth tomorrow, but it should be acceptable. Here’s a bad pic from the webcam. Does look a little more formal, which better suits the public persona. With a finer ribbon treatment and perhaps a bound brim it would be perfect. The Fed is once again atop the hat rotation list.

 

[m0nk]

I went that extra mile last night and trimmed my brim down to 2 3/8" and I'm very happy that I did; it looks perfect now! Will try to post some pics today or tomorrow.

 

[Benzadmiral]

My tastes have been changing or evolving over the last two years. The wide brim of the Fed didn't bother me, and in fact I want to keep my carbon grey as it is, to deal with bad weather. But I'm really starting to like the look of 2 1/2", even down to 2 1/8", brims on me. The 2 3/8" is a good compromise.

 

[m0nk]

My tastes have been changing or evolving over the last two years. The wide brim of the Fed didn't bother me, and in fact I want to keep my carbon grey as it is, to deal with bad weather. But I'm really starting to like the look of 2 1/2", even down to 2 1/8", brims on me. The 2 3/8" is a good compromise.

Yeah, I'm with you there. Initially I didn't like shorter brims, and I still have the factory width on my brown Fed IV... though with the higher crown style it works with that hat. With my moonstone though, I wanted more of the classic style, and the 2 3/8" seems to fit the lower diamond crease perfectly. I'm getting more and more excited about the Penman Casablanca I have on order, which I should see in April, and am putting together specs for a Knox 40 reproduction with Falcon Park, both of which will have that brim width but have a welted edge.

 

[Florida_Marlin]

First Fed IV

Just got my Christmas hat, a heritage Fed IV in Fawn. First Dimensional brim. I'm liking it!

 

[Kirk H.]

Just got my Christmas hat, a heritage Fed IV in Fawn. First Dimensional brim. I'm liking it!

Looks good. You did a great job on the front pinch. Did you put in a center crease or a C-crown?

Kirk H.

 

[Florida_Marlin]

Looks good. You did a great job on the front pinch. Did you put in a center crease or a C-crown?

Kirk H.

Thanks, Kirk.
It's a center crease with a front pinch. Easy to do and keeps my crown height, which I like. regards

 

[mikieson]

New guy here HEY..

Been searching and searching for some good quality pics and views of the Akubra Fed IV. Ive found some, but not many..I just ordered it and im excited for my 1st real hat.

Would like to see some pics with the INDY bash.."any movie"...and as many videos as you have bashing your hat or showing it off. Ive searched and have only found a couple..

Thanks for any help...

 

[jlee562]

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?37835-I-love-the-Fed-IV!!

 

[Benzadmiral]

Been searching and searching for some good quality pics and views of the Akubra Fed IV. Ive found some, but not many..I just ordered it and im excited for my 1st real hat.

Would like to see some pics with the INDY bash.."any movie"...and as many videos as you have bashing your hat or showing it off. Ive searched and have only found a couple..

Thanks for any help...

You'll enjoy the Fed for sure. Here's one of me in my Moonstone model, taken before I had the brim trimmed and a matching gray ribbon put on. It's sort of Indy style:

 

[mikieson]

Hey, thanks..nice to meet you..and you look great in your hat..well, i ordered it last night..Im not a hat guy..Never have been, but always wanted to be. I bought my 1st fedora last summer in Las Vegas Nv. Its one of those "official Indy" hats that look nothing like an Indy hat..lol..I rebashed it and everything to get it closer but there just wasnt enough crown material to get hieghth and look right..BUT it makes a good hat to mow the yard in..lol..

I see some people saying the crown is TOO high?..BUT from their measurements its way off from being screen accurate? Indys hat was 5 or so inches in front and like 4 in the back..Something like that...I kind of wish I had seen that before ordering as I was really trying to get closer to his actual hat..

What do you think of it? ALSO im a bigger guy..6'2" 250lbs...think it will look "right" on me? I dont want to make the hat look small as it looks so "perfect" on Harrison Ford..lol..

Thanks for your reply and help...

 

[mikieson]

thanks much..I swear ive searched for hours and even months for more pics and such..LOL..sometimes you just look right past the very thing youre hunting..

 

[scottyrocks]

I see some people saying the crown is TOO high?..BUT from their measurements its way off from being screen accurate? Indys hat was 5 or so inches in front and like 4 in the back..Something like that...I kind of wish I had seen that before ordering as I was really trying to get closer to his actual hat..

The nice thing about these hats is that you can adjust them ad nauseum. A difference of 1/8" in any part of the crown can make or break the look you are going for. A diamond or C-crown will give you a wider crown than a center dent. Raising the pinch at the back will also widen the crown. The depth and length of the front pinches will also affect the crown shape. Playing with these dimensions will yield a number of subtly different looks.

What do you think of it? ALSO im a bigger guy..6'2" 250lbs...think it will look "right" on me? I dont want to make the hat look small as it looks so "perfect" on Harrison Ford..lol..

Thanks for your reply and help...

Play with the dimensions of the hat. You'll probably find a look that works best for you even if you don't end up looking like Harrsion Ford.

 

[Benzadmiral]

Hey, Mikieson,

The Fed's proportions will probably look even better on you than on me. I'm 5'9" and 158 lbs., and have recently come to appreciate the shorter brims, 2 1/4" to 2 1/2". But I still like the higher straighter crown. It's the hallmark of an Indy hat, and of many of the fedoras worn by everyday men as well as movie actors back in the Thirties and Forties.

I have yet to order a dark brown Fed, possibly because I now have quite a few vintage hats in that color. My first "real hat" after I began to peruse the posts here was the dark dark Carbon Grey model, which reminded me a lot of the one William Hurt wore in the 1991 film "Until the End of the World."

 

[mikieson]

Thanks all...I found a site that lists several hats and their websites and lists some of the details about each hat..In their description they list the crown as 5.5" which is great if it is..http://www.kolumbus.fi/uisgenet/fedora/fedora
Hope the LINK works..I wanted to go a little more expensive,250$-350$ but just couldnt swing it. SO I figured the Fed IV would do..Thanks for the help,and quick replies..AND if anyone has more input..PICS,videos,ect...please share..

 

[scottyrocks]

Thanks all...I found a site that lists several hats and their websites and lists some of the details about each hat..In their description they list the crown as 5.5" which is great if it is..http://www.kolumbus.fi/uisgenet/fedora/fedora
Hope the LINK works..I wanted to go a little more expensive,250$-350$ but just couldnt swing it. SO I figured the Fed IV would do..Thanks for the help,and quick replies..AND if anyone has more input..PICS,videos,ect...please share..

Judging by the picture on that page, I'd say that it is pretty much a given that the pictured hat has a 5.5" (open) crown, if not slightly more. It's tough to get a hat to look like that with less.

 

[mikieson]

Yea..thanks scottyrocks..that is what I was thinking..I just want this experience to go well..lol..Im really excited to see it..and a tad nervous about bashing it. Its not like the el'cheapO indy hat I rebashed..THIS is a nice hat and i want to make sure its jusssssst right...

 

[Neophyte]

Don't worry about it. Just dry bash (with maybe a tad bit of steam) until you've got it just the way you want and then spritz the creases with water. As long as you don't pinch the felt really sharply, you can easily alter it at any time.

 

[mikieson]

this is what i did to my cheap "official 100% Indy hat"..I boiled some water,held it over it..got it nice and steamed..and just started reshaping it. I even weighted down the crown "upside down" with some wadded up towels and heavy bowls to try and give it an open crown.LET it dry...Then I just went at it..Of course its a cheap hat with not much to lose. I used a hair dryer on it...starch,ect time and time again..repeated several times to get it where it is now..I even beat the heck out of it and stomped on it in the dirt,hitting it against trees,phone pole..ect..lol..and even gravel..IM sure if you "real hat people" seen me do this you would have either passed out OR died laughing..

Im sure I can handle it with this new hat..Just a tad bit more nervous as its "to me" expensive..and I dont want to kill it..lol..

 

[m0nk]

People do that to their expensive Indy hats as well. I've beat my not-so-expensive brown Fed IV up pretty good, and it looks fairly authentic as a Raiders hat now. Of course, I wear my moonstone Fed IV more than the brown one, and I've altered the moonstone hat to an even 2 3/8" inch brim all around. It's a good "Bogey" style hat now, similar to a Maltese Falcon or Big Sleep style, but with a diamond crease instead of a tight c-crown.