Akubra Overload

johnnycanuck said:

Welcome to the lounge. I am glad to hear you are enjoying those hat. I know I love my Akubras and my oldest being from 2003 ish I know you will get years of use out of them.
I can’t recall a spidering when creasing mine but if you give it a hit of cold water I am sure you can work them out. I remember others mentioning the same issue but can’t remember what they said to fix it. Sooner than later someone will chime in.
As for them being discontinued. I think they are a vendor made to order item now. HatsDirect doesn’t seem to be liquidating yet. If they are I will be disappointed. It’s one of the hats I wish I had in my collection. Good working class style.
Welcome to the lounge again and wear your hats in good health.
Johnny

Click to expand...

Thanks! Nice to encounter a fellow Canadian here. I will give your method a shot and let you know how it goes. I wasn't sure if it was an issue of some thin spots in the felt as there are bound to be variations from batch to batch or maybe something related to the stiffener they use.

I reached out to the folks at Everything Australian where I ordered mine and they followed up with Akubra directly. Akubra offered to make a new one to see if it's a defect and if the new hat doesn't show signs of spidering they will replace mine for free. Gotta love that commitment to quality and customer service.

Definitely wouldn't mind having two of these kicking around! Ha

Boomerang said:

Welcome to the Lounge. I have 8 Campdrafts and 3 Bushman hats and I've experienced this effect on a couple of hats. If I remember correctly, both were Campdraft Deluxe (Heritage grade felt). I used johnnycanuck's method of water/massage successfully on one. The other l left alone and the spider-webbing just went away in a few weeks as the felt got used to its new shape.

Click to expand...

Thanks! I can easily see myself ending up in your position given enough time haha. I love that they feel robust but work in the city as well. Good to know the marks didn't persist. Looking forward to wearing these more when I have places to go and it isn't -15C outside!

How do you find them in warmer weather by the way? Is it humid in the summers where you're at?

Summers in my region are short and mild. We have our heat-waves and humidity occasionally, but I wear my Akubra felts year-round. I don't own a "straw" of any sort (yet).

The 8 CDs and a Moonstone Bushman with a cattleman crease (my first open-crown hat purchase) are my standard rotation for daily wear. The other 2 Bushman hats, a second in Moonstone and 1 in Nullarbor Tan are my knock-around work hats, worn off-property mostly when we have extremely heavy rain.

The Campdraft above found on the web looks to me that the front of brim (and maybe the back) has been subtlety "flattened"-- not flipped down, but just the brim upturn neutralized w/ the sides left as shipped. Perhaps sides have been creased up a bit? The classic Stetson/Akubra style brim left as is is a little too taken over by hipsters for me and I'm looking to make mine a little more like a Stetson Rancher as worn by John Connelly on a fateful day... but not quite as flipped up on the sides. Comments, suggestions, observations appreciated. Hope all are well. Gus

Back again with another question. Anyone else experience this much shedding when shaping their Akubra?

I have a Camp Draft that had some spidering issues as mentioned in a recent post. I tried to spritz it with cold water and massage the creases as Johnny Canuck and Boomerang suggested. It helped a bit but then there was so much shedding that I was worried about over working the spot and thinning it out (this is already the thinnest least dense hat I own). Also, after steaming it for the first time, there was some dis-coloration where I handled the felt and you can almost see finger marks. It's also very obvious where I creased it when I pop it open again. I've only seen this on hats I've worn for years. Since it's been -20C until recently I haven't actually worn this hat out yet. Just in the house to get the band to shrink down and break it in a bit. This is pretty disappointing considering how solid the Bushman is and I like the specs of this hat!

Any information/advice would be appreciated. Still waiting to hear back from Akubra/Everything Australian in the mean time...

Cheers,
Gene

I saw your earlier posts but did not comment as I've never experienced the shedding you described. I wasn't sure from written description, but the pics really tell the tale. I hear it can be a pain with Australian shipping, but I would consider having that hat replaced.

Genester said:

Back again with another question. Anyone else experience this much shedding when shaping their Akubra?

I have a Camp Draft that had some spidering issues as mentioned in a recent post. I tried to spritz it with cold water and massage the creases as Johnny Canuck and Boomerang suggested. It helped a bit but then there was so much shedding that I was worried about over working the spot and thinning it out (this is already the thinnest least dense hat I own). Also, after steaming it for the first time, there was some dis-coloration where I handled the felt and you can almost see finger marks. It's also very obvious where I creased it when I pop it open again. I've only seen this on hats I've worn for years. Since it's been -20C until recently I haven't actually worn this hat out yet. Just in the house to get the band to shrink down and break it in a bit. This is pretty disappointing considering how solid the Bushman is and I like the specs of this hat!

Any information/advice would be appreciated. Still waiting to hear back from Akubra/Everything Australian in the mean time...

Cheers,
Gene
View attachment 317143 View attachment 317144 View attachment 317145 View attachment 317146 View attachment 317147


View attachment 317143

Click to expand...

It’s been my experience that once creased, particularly if the crease had tight acute bends, the old crease lines remain in Akubra felts. This is true even if the crease was just hours old. I’ve been able to message the old crease lines out using lots of steam and the back side of a stainless steel spoon, but it takes lots of work and some remnants of the old crease still remains. It’s also helpful to have some sort of block to insert into the crown to act as an anvil to push against when using the spoon.

Akubra hats are great for the money, but we can’t expect a $120 hat to have the same re-shapable qualities as high quality vintage felt or even the better beaver and beaver blend felt found on found on some modern hats. I sold my first Fed IV because I was so disappointed in the felt. I’ve since come to accept Akubra’s felt limitations and they fill a niche in my rotation. If the creases I put in stay with soft gentle rolls I can pop it hack to open crown without the old crease showing, but if it’s steamed in and has sharp bends....

I’ve never experienced that kind of pilling/shedding unless I was pouncing the felt. I’m not sure what’s going on there.

Genester said:

Back again with another question. Anyone else experience this much shedding when shaping their Akubra?

I have a Camp Draft that had some spidering issues as mentioned in a recent post. I tried to spritz it with cold water and massage the creases as Johnny Canuck and Boomerang suggested. It helped a bit but then there was so much shedding that I was worried about over working the spot and thinning it out (this is already the thinnest least dense hat I own). Also, after steaming it for the first time, there was some dis-coloration where I handled the felt and you can almost see finger marks. It's also very obvious where I creased it when I pop it open again. I've only seen this on hats I've worn for years. Since it's been -20C until recently I haven't actually worn this hat out yet. Just in the house to get the band to shrink down and break it in a bit. This is pretty disappointing considering how solid the Bushman is and I like the specs of this hat!

Any information/advice would be appreciated. Still waiting to hear back from Akubra/Everything Australian in the mean time...

Cheers,
Gene
View attachment 317143 View attachment 317144 View attachment 317145 View attachment 317146 View attachment 317147


View attachment 317143

Click to expand...

I'm sorry I haven't been following your saga so I can only base my thoughts on this post above. I think I know what has happened so I'm going to be brutally honest, you've messed it up !
Firstly, as already mentioned, when you steam in a sharp crease it will remain if you then pop it open. The only way to remove such creases is to steam the top of the crown whilst it is pressed hard against either a block or something ball like on the inside. (BUT DON'T DO IT, YOUR HAT HAS HAD ENOUGH ) It's too late anyway, you've rubbed the creases so hard that even if you manage to remove them, the discoloration of the edges will still be visible.

Secondly, when you vigorously rub WET felt, i.e. use you thumb or finger like sandpaper, the felt fibres will flake off......it isn't the fault of the hat.

Thirdly, spidering on a relatively new hat is usally caused by over manipulation, creasing, uncreasing, wetting /steaming re-creasing etc....
Akubra felt isn't the most flexible & the stiffeners aren't the most accommodating & so they don't make good practice hats for trying out multiple creases uness one does it very delicately.

The discoloration after steaming could be the grease from you hands but it could also be that you have 'cooked' the surface felt.......
You can't repair the damage you've already done to this hat but if you settle on the crease you've given it & then leave it alone, it might still be wearable if you can come to terms that it will never look as you want it to.

Boomerang said:

I saw your earlier posts but did not comment as I've never experienced the shedding you described. I wasn't sure from written description, but the pics really tell the tale. I hear it can be a pain with Australian shipping, but I would consider having that hat replaced.

Click to expand...

Yeah definitely unusual. Akubra said they would make a new one and see if it had these issues as they're not sure if the spidering is a defect or just a feature of the felt being so thin so I'm waiting to hear back. Fingers crossed ha

deadlyhandsome said:

It’s been my experience that once creased, particularly if the crease had tight acute bends, the old crease lines remain in Akubra felts. This is true even if the crease was just hours old. I’ve been able to message the old crease lines out using lots of steam and the back side of a stainless steel spoon, but it takes lots of work and some remnants of the old crease still remains. It’s also helpful to have some sort of block to insert into the crown to act as an anvil to push against when using the spoon.

Akubra hats are great for the money, but we can’t expect a $120 hat to have the same re-shapable qualities as high quality vintage felt or even the better beaver and beaver blend felt found on found on some modern hats. I sold my first Fed IV because I was so disappointed in the felt. I’ve since come to accept Akubra’s felt limitations and they fill a niche in my rotation. If the creases I put in stay with soft gentle rolls I can pop it hack to open crown without the old crease showing, but if it’s steamed in and has sharp bends....

I’ve never experienced that kind of pilling/shedding unless I was pouncing the felt. I’m not sure what’s going on there.

Click to expand...

Hey Brent,

Thanks for the input! Always enjoy your posts hear on the thread. My concern was primarily about the discolouration, which shows up more prominently around the creases when I open it up but perhaps it read well in photographs. I don't usually change my bashes as I have several hats but I've never experienced the felt showing marks/issues like this in the process of settling on my first bash.

Perhaps I'm just experiencing the limitations of this felt as it's 20% lighter then my bushman (as Ron from Akubra shared).

Thanks for all your work with Agnoulita and Wolfbrae by the way, given that the duties and shipping to Canada from DM add up so much, I'll mostly be ordering customs from Mr.P and Rob in the future since they're a hair more expensive but a huge jump in quality!

Lean'n'mean said:

I'm sorry I haven't been following your saga so I can only base my thoughts on this post above. I think I know what has happened so I'm going to be brutally honest, you've messed it up !
Firstly, as already mentioned, when you steam in a sharp crease it will remain if you then pop it open. The only way to remove such creases is to steam the top of the crown whilst it is pressed hard against either a block or something ball like on the inside. (BUT DON'T DO IT, YOUR HAT HAS HAD ENOUGH ) It's too late anyway, you've rubbed the creases so hard that even if you manage to remove them, the discoloration of the edges will still be visible.

Secondly, when you vigorously rub WET felt, i.e. use you thumb or finger like sandpaper, the felt fibres will flake off......it isn't the fault of the hat.

Thirdly, spidering on a relatively new hat is usally caused by over manipulation, creasing, uncreasing, wetting /steaming re-creasing etc....
Akubra felt isn't the most flexible & the stiffeners aren't the most accommodating & so they don't make good practice hats for trying out multiple creases uness one does it very delicately.

The discoloration after steaming could be the grease from you hands but it could also be that you have 'cooked' the surface felt.......
You can't repair the damage you've already done to this hat but if you settle on the crease you've given it & then leave it alone, it might still be wearable if you can come to terms that it will never look as you want it to.

Click to expand...

Hey Lean n Mean,

Thanks for the input! As I mentioned to Brent above, it is the discolouration that surprises me. I see now that my wording may have been a bit confusing.

The spidering happened the instant I tried to shape it out of the box. Literally the first touch. So I decided to give it some steam to soften it, which it did-but it did not solve the spidering issue. The shedding also happened the first time around when I was trying to gently smooth out the initial creases (anti-clockwise, following the nap) because the spidering was very obvious.

I also have a habit of washing my hands before handling my hats cause I read about the grease/oils affecting the felt. Akubra said that they use over 5 bar of steam pressure (which I presume is a lot?) which is more than customers will ever use so the steam shouldn't be the cause of the discolouration.

I hear what you guys are saying about it not being the same as a higher quality felt, but given I have zero issues with my Akubra Bushman from DM which is supposedly the same Imperial Grade felt, I was expecting it to at least hold up as well as that. I didn't think 25gsm would make such a huge difference all around.

It's definitely still wearable as an everyday beater, I was just curious and a bit disappointed given I have not experienced these issues on any of my other fur felt fedoras.

Either way I appreciate all the feedback and it helps to know what others have and haven't experienced. Love this lounge and the fact that I can finally talk hats with others from all walks of life and backgrounds. What a unique and interesting community!

Cheers,
Gene

Sorry to hear about your experience. Most of my hats eventually get those marks but I have to say, I have no idea how quickly they get there. I have always just bashed my hats and left them. Not till I brush them do I knock them out which is usually a few months later. My lighter coloured hats get them quicker. I have a fantastic light green fedora that has obvious shading on the crown where I handle it. Not bad yet but obvious to me. I usually warn people of this when they are asking about lighter coloured hats. From what I see when it’s bashed you can’t tell, which is good. As for shedding I think I recall my first Federation from 2001ish getting smoother in areas with manhandling. So I ended up pouncing the entire hat with my Swiss Army knife. Gave the hat a smoother finish but I think it lessened it’s life span so I would not recommend pouncing an Akubra.
As I say, I feel bad about your experience but you do have a nice looking hat there. Wear it in good health.
Johnny
Is this a possible quality slip or maybe a sign of the newer felt Akubra is using since outsourcing the felt?

Is that Bluegrass green? Nice bash!

Just to share my experiences with my new CD, I recently purchased the Campdraft Deluxe in SB. My understanding is that you should steam/add moisture first before shaping, to avoid the spidering. I think it was mentioned on an older video of a review of the CD (you'll have to look on the FL site). I did a light press for creasing to be sure of the location and type of crease I wanted to make. There was some spidering, but since the crease was very light, it was not a concern. Then I steamed and full-on added the center crease and side dents. The spidering was minimal, perhaps due to the moisture. Now if I push in the felt at the crown while the hat is dry I can see spidering forming but it does not stay. As for the shedding, I had some too. There was some on my brim, not the crown. Not sure how it got there, as I have left the brim alone. It really bothered me at first. I gently rubbed some of it away, very gently and lightly brushed it away in a circular motion while dry. Not sure if the Heritage felt is thicker and was treated differently in the manufacturing process, but that was my experience just to share. Good luck with the resolution. Am curious as to what the Akubra company says.

Hey there,

I'm glad your CD didn't give you further issues! Thanks for chiming in.

I was very gentle at first to get a feel for the density of the felt and didn't put a proper bash in until I steamed it. The shedding is only getting worse and whether dry or damp, there are certain spots that seem to have a "memory" of the spidering the way cardboard bends.

They told me the discolouration should only be temporary from the moisture and maybe the nap being redirected during the shaping but the blotchiness in mine stayed after fully drying and then giving it a brush.

I got an email from a different sales associate at Everything Australian today who agreed that all these issues were a unusual so they will be sending me a new one. I really appreciate solid customer service and them making it right. Feels rare these day's.

They said they'll continue to follow up with Akubra to see if they figure out what the cause is and keep me in the loop.

From what I've read/heard on here the spidering can occur on both the imperial and heritage grade felts. There seem to be so many factors that could contribute, from the felting process to the dyeing and maybe the stiffener. Who knows.

I'm glad to be getting a new one and hoping it will be as nice as my Bushman is!

Will keep you all posted!
Cheers
Gene

And look at the experience you've gained with the hat that is soon to be replaced! I'm not saying the episode was fun or stress-free, but the knowledge is valuable. And I, for one, am grateful you shared it with us.

new2hats said:

Is that Bluegrass green? Nice bash!

Click to expand...

It is Bluegrass Green. Thanks for the compliment on the bash, it was my first attempt at bashing my own.

Genester said:

Hey there,

I'm glad your CD didn't give you further issues! Thanks for chiming in.

I was very gentle at first to get a feel for the density of the felt and didn't put a proper bash in until I steamed it. The shedding is only getting worse and whether dry or damp, there are certain spots that seem to have a "memory" of the spidering the way cardboard bends.

They told me the discolouration should only be temporary from the moisture and maybe the nap being redirected during the shaping but the blotchiness in mine stayed after fully drying and then giving it a brush.

I got an email from a different sales associate at Everything Australian today who agreed that all these issues were a unusual so they will be sending me a new one. I really appreciate solid customer service and them making it right. Feels rare these day's.

They said they'll continue to follow up with Akubra to see if they figure out what the cause is and keep me in the loop.

From what I've read/heard on here the spidering can occur on both the imperial and heritage grade felts. There seem to be so many factors that could contribute, from the felting process to the dyeing and maybe the stiffener. Who knows.

I'm glad to be getting a new one and hoping it will be as nice as my Bushman is!

Will keep you all posted!
Cheers
Gene

Click to expand...

That sounds like some great customer service. Every industry/product has issues from time to time, so it’s how the companies deal with them that really show you their mettle.

Old Gus said:

...I'm looking to make mine a little more like a Stetson Rancher as worn by John Connelly on a fateful day... but not quite as flipped up on the sides. Comments, suggestions, observations appreciated.

Click to expand...

Hey Gus, I just saw your post & that no one has replied. I just quickly pulled some of my pics from file to support my opinions & give you some options to consider. Welcome to the forum,

In my opinion it's hard to do with a CD for some reason. If you put much more curl than just a pencil roll on a CD with it's 2-3/4" brim it will appear more narrow. The brim will look disproportionate to the 6" OC to me. If you only curl the sides leaving the brim flat front & back it will look like a dimensionally cut brim. You can pencil curl all the way around but that requires the brim to have just a slight cup in the flange. I'm not totally clear if you just don't like that or not.

A Resistol San Antonio with its 3" brim works good for me for what I think you want to do, with just a slight amount of fender.



An OR with the 2-3/4 brim x 5-3/4 OC looks pretty good & in proportion.



The Hemphill style looks good with a 2-5/8 brim x 5-1/2" OC but the fender rolls are generally moved forward & taper to a pencil curl as they run to the back. The brim front is flat.





The little subtitles can make a difference.