Akubra Overload

jazzncocktails said:

My standard Fed IV also arrived with a Deluxe sweatband, which was a nice bonus...anyone else have that happen? Is that common?

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That's what I got with my Fed IV std in tawny fawn, but I sure ain't complaining. The felt is now butter soft, and combined with the Deluxe sweatband, it's a *very* comfortable hat.

jazzncocktails said:

Also, I ordered the Tawny Fawn, which I imagined would be much blonder/more tan than it is--a bit of a bummer.

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I think the color's great; maybe it'll grow on you. It reminds me of a camel hair blazer, and goes great with black and navy, and of course brown.

pauljmuk said:

well, i'm trying my damndest, and I've just bought my first akubra (cattleman).... you see, I have one of those addictive personalities that my wife seems to love and hate in equal measure.
As an example, I play guitar - nothing serious, just for fun, and some occasional jams with friends down the local pub. Tell me then, considering that I am NOT a professional musician, why do I own three electric guitars, two acoustics, one banjo, one ukelele, one mandolin and a didgeridoo?

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I have 8 electrics, an electric bass, a mandolin, two drumsets, a vibraphone, piano, and a conga drum. Let's not even talk about the amps (10 at least).

pauljmuk said:

Anyway, as I said, always wanted an Akubra, and now I own one. Then I stumble across this site..... and now I can feel the madness starting again..... she went mad when I bought a guitar rack capable of holding 5 guitars at a time.... now I feel I'm gonna need a hat rack soon!

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I stopped in a hat store on Oct. 3 (2008) and tried on some fedoras. I took delivery of my first Akubras Nov 12 and by mid-January I had five: two Fed IVs (one Deluxe), a CEO, and two from David Morgan, an Adventurer and a Bushman. It doesn't help much that I live less than 8 miles from the David Morgan showroom.

You are not alone. That doesn't mean I'll be of any help if you want to control it.

Thanks!

Daoud said:

This is under the "Links to Important Forum Threads" sticky in Hats-http://www.akubra.com.au/pdf/Akubra%20colour%20swatch%20card.pdf

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Missed that in my earlier explorations--very helpful!

JohnnyB53 said:

I have 8 electrics, an electric bass, a mandolin, two drumsets, a vibraphone, piano, and a conga drum. Let's not even talk about the amps (10 at least).

I stopped in a hat store on Oct. 3 (2008) and tried on some fedoras. I took delivery of my first Akubras Nov 12 and by mid-January I had five: two Fed IVs (one Deluxe), a CEO, and two from David Morgan, an Adventurer and a Bushman. It doesn't help much that I live less than 8 miles from the David Morgan showroom.

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Off topic but, 7 electric guitars, 2 acoustics, 1 electric bass, 2 mandolins, 1 cello, 5 amps, piano, and maybe a dozen chromatic harmonicas, a few customized.

To stay on topic, I rec'd 2 more Akubras...a glen grey CD and a fawn Capricorn. Love them both, the CAP will be my Summer, walking around in the Sun hat.

Squatter

Well, here is my new Akubra Squatter. I'm honestly not sure I like it. It's a fine hat, of course, but I am inept at bashing. Here is what I ended up with after basically giving up.



I was looking for something with a wide brim, so this fits the bill. For the bash, I was going for something with a taper, but low crown and a pinch in front. Not so successful.



So honestly, what do you think? Does it suit me? Should I send it off somewhere to get bashed, or take it somewhere next time I'm in Chicago? Is it passable for now?

Chuck Bobuck said:

Off topic but, 7 electric guitars, 2 acoustics, 1 electric bass, 2 mandolins, 1 cello, 5 amps, piano, and maybe a dozen chromatic harmonicas, a few customized.

To stay on topic, I rec'd 2 more Akubras...a glen grey CD and a fawn Capricorn. Love them both, the CAP will be my Summer, walking around in the Sun hat.

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A cello? Dude we need to chat....

Nice haul on the Akubras. I'm not warming up to the Capricorn, though. I'm leaning more towards Sunhats.

... a cello? :eusa_clap

So honestly, what do you think? Does it suit me? Should I send it off somewhere to get bashed, or take it somewhere next time I'm in Chicago? Is it passable for now?

[/QUOTE]

It looks OK. Does it suit you? Well, obviously you're not comfortable with it yourself. No you should not send it anywhere. Nor should you take it to Chicago, unless you are just determined to pay for something you could easily do yourself. It is passable, it's fine, but it could be better. A good place to start would be by not sabotaging yourself by saying you can't do something. Bashing a hat is easy, and you shouldn't be afraid to just go ahead and do it. I say this because I have done it myself a number of times and I have no special talents. It ain't rocket science, bro.

Everyone seems to have a different method..Here are two which have worked well for me on my Akubras. 1) Steam......just take an ordinary tea kettle and fill it with water and bring it to a boil. What- no tea kettle? A regular pot will do fine. When it comes to a rolling boil hold that hat , crown down, in the steam. Caution: steam is hot. Caution- do not put the hat in the boiling water. When the felt is good and damp from the steam, set the hat on the clean counter and shape it like you want it. Hold the dents, etc. in position as the hat dries and cools off. Only takes a minute. Repeat as necessary.

2) I have come to prefer this method, generally. Use a spray bottle filled with water, preferably distilled. Why? Because tap water may contain dissolved minerals etc, which could leave a stain when it dries on the hat. With dark hats it ain't going to show anyway, but with light hats use distilled. So take your spray bottle full of distilled water and mist the hat thoroughly, until it's pretty damp. Form as you wish. Let the hat dry overnight. Voilà! With this method the hat will shrink a tad- so if it fits well now just wet the portions of the crown and brim you want to shape- don't soak the sweatband or it may dry a little snug. As I said, everybody has some special way they crease or bash a hat, so don't take this as Gospel....but it does work.

Under Wing

Mr_Misanthropy said:

Well, here is my new Akubra Squatter. I'm honestly not sure I like it. It's a fine hat, of course, but I am inept at bashing. Here is what I ended up with after basically giving up.
...

I was looking for something with a wide brim, so this fits the bill. For the bash, I was going for something with a taper, but low crown and a pinch in front. Not so successful.

So honestly, what do you think? Does it suit me? Should I send it off somewhere to get bashed, or take it somewhere next time I'm in Chicago? Is it passable for now?

...

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Slow down there, Mr_Misanthropy. You are not inept, you just need some tips .

I see three things wrong:

1. You are impatient and lack self confidence.

2. The tail is too high.

3. The front brim is not relaxed.

How did this hat arrive, pork pie or open crowned?

Irregardless of that, punch open the crown, lay the hat on a table or counter top and give it a good quick open hand smack to punch it flat :eusa_clap. Now punch it back open. This should help solve item no. 1 once you see that you are not going to hurt this hat.

Now give it a good massage. Roll it, squish it, smash it, bash it - would some water help? This will take care of item no. 2.

Post back and we'll take care of the brim.

That is one cool hat, Dude :cool2: .

Daoud said:

... Why? Because tap water may contain dissolved minerals etc, which could leave a stain when it dries on the hat. With dark hats it ain't going to show anyway, but with light hats use distilled. ...

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Good advice, Daoud.

My hats have always sloughed off Acid Rain with aplomb. Minerals are brushed off along with dander, dust, dry molds, small ULOs, the moral trust of big bankers and CIA nanoprobe modules.

I always line my hats with aluminum foil to keep out the NSA mind-control rays.

Thanks for the advice guys.

Daoud - I personally do like the hat and the way it looks, I just see it needs some work. So, I figured some expert advice would help, and it has. I tried the steaming with a tea kettle, but I think I need to steam it more. As suggested, I just need to be physical with it so it will take shape. I'll try again with the tea kettle and see what happens.

CRH - I am impatient, that's true. I ordered this hat 12/7, so, I'm ready to wear it. lol This is the second hat I've attempted to bash, the first I ended up sending off to get shaped when I had it cleaned and stiffened. I'm going to try again to work on this one though. It came in a pork pie shape, so, one problem is that it keeps wanting to return to that shape. The brim is just really stiff, I figure it'll break in and look better. As I've work this hat for the last few hours I've gotten more comfortable with it, so, I'm not as hopeless as I was. I'll bash it again with more steam and more brute force and keep you all updated.

I have also, in conjunction with the steam, used a small stainless steel mixing bowl to round out the crown of the hat by pushing from the inside while holding the crown in the steam, if you follow me. I've had to do this on a couple of pre-creased hats- talk about stubborn. But sometimes you have to take the crown to its original pushed-out, round state and take it from there....

PS- I LOVE your HST avatar! He was the reason I always wanted an Akubra Slouch.....when I wear mine I wear it with the brim down, like he always did- GONZO LIVES!

FYI

From an email that I got from Sam at Everything Australian today:

I have organized with Akubra to have a special run of Campdraft hats in the
colour bluegrass green. I have ordered 50 hats and they will be available in
approximately 3 months. I will shortly update my website to again include
the colour bluegrass green. Please pass this message on to anyone who you
think might be interested. Thank you very much for your support.

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I'll post this in several threads, because I suspect that it is of some interest to my fellow Lounge members.

Spats McGee said:

From an email that I got from Sam at Everything Australian today:
.

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Oh man ... you're killing me.

CRH said:

A cello? Dude we need to chat....

Nice haul on the Akubras. I'm not warming up to the Capricorn, though. I'm leaning more towards Sunhats.

... a cello? :eusa_clap

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I don't play the cello, I bought it for the wife who never played it. Now the daughter takes lessons and plays in the jr. high orchestra. I get to carry it sometimes though. And if my wife complains about my hats, I can always say...cello.

I had a Bailey Barnett for shading the noggin, so the Capricorn is a step up. I'm going to keep my eyes open for a panama someday.

Daoud said:

I have also, in conjunction with the steam, used a small stainless steel mixing bowl to round out the crown of the hat by pushing from the inside while holding the crown in the steam, if you follow me. I've had to do this on a couple of pre-creased hats- talk about stubborn. But sometimes you have to take the crown to its original pushed-out, round state and take it from there....

PS- I LOVE your HST avatar! He was the reason I always wanted an Akubra Slouch.....when I wear mine I wear it with the brim down, like he always did- GONZO LIVES!

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OK, I gotcha on the bowl. I think that's what I'll do. Even when I push it out into an open crown it has some of the pork pie crease, so, I need to get rid of that first and foremost. I'll give ti a go this afternoon between work shifts.

Thanks for the compliment on my avatar! Thompson was one of the most interesting people of our age, if you ask me. And yeah he wore a hat pretty damn well!

Mr_Misanthropy said:

Well, here is my new Akubra Squatter. I'm honestly not sure I like it. It's a fine hat, of course, but I am inept at bashing. Here is what I ended up with after basically giving up.

So honestly, what do you think? Does it suit me? Should I send it off somewhere to get bashed, or take it somewhere next time I'm in Chicago? Is it passable for now?

Click to expand...

The Squatter seems to have everything you are looking for. Mine won't take a diamond, I think the crown looks too low and the top of my head pushes it back up. I like my Squatter with a centerdent. That is just 1 karate chop to the top and I like the back of the crown lower than the front, so I just push that down with my fingers and shape. easy with a little practice. A little water helps you mold it like clay. YMMV.

Mr_Misanthropy said:

OK, I gotcha on the bowl. I think that's what I'll do. Even when I push it out into an open crown it has some of the pork pie crease, so, I need to get rid of that first and foremost. I'll give ti a go this afternoon between work shifts.

Thanks for the compliment on my avatar! Thompson was one of the most interesting people of our age, if you ask me. And yeah he wore a hat pretty damn well!

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Yeah, you might have to work it for a while before it wants to quit going back into its porkpie mode.

Spats McGee said:

From an email that I got from Sam at Everything Australian today:


I'll post this in several threads, because I suspect that it is of some interest to my fellow Lounge members.

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Got that email from Sam also!...:eusa_clap

Daoud said:

Despite the 76 degree temperature today, it is not quite time for summer hats. When that time comes, though, I will be ready in my new Capricorn. When I opened the box the brim looked very narrow, and I thought, "Uh-oh!" But actually I think it's just right. My only complaint is the ribbon, which is.....ahhhhh.....UGLY, to be blunt- a chocolate brown with a subtle green thread on top and bottom. Does anyone know of someplace where I could get a replacement band with perhaps more than a hint of color about it? A hat like this HAS to have some color in the ribbon!

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Shoot! You got a green thread? Aren't you Mr. Flamboyant?
Mine appears to be solid brown only. I'll have to get my optivisors out and give it an inspection now. I'm looking forward to wearing mine this Summer.