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Customizing an Akubra Fed

Old Fogey UK

One of the Regulars
Messages
174
Location
Isle of Wight, United Kingdom
Until I can afford an Adventurebuilt or similar, I'd like to try customizing my Fed to give it an early 30's look. I've got plenty of crown height and brim width to play with but I need some advice on an authentic shape.
I don't want the stingie brim look - what brim width was normal back then ? Was it dimensional cut ?
I'm aiming that it should look something like the one worn by Roscoe Karns (the pesky guy on the bus) in "It Happened One Night".
Any advice/period pics would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
 

Old Fogey UK

One of the Regulars
Messages
174
Location
Isle of Wight, United Kingdom
Someone sent me an email a few minutes ago with a link to a web page about customising an Akubra. I've just permanently deleted the email without noting the web page.
ARRGGHH !!!
Please help ! If you're still out there, please send it again !
 

Not-Bogart13

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,501
Location
NE Pennsylvania
I have a Fed which came with a slight dimentional cut to the brim. I left the brim at it's original size and just did a simple c-crown bash, but I made sure I didn't bash it too low. It looks vintage in shape to me. My only vintage hat has a brim just under 3 inches, and is the same width all around. At any rate, the Fed will stand out among modern hats as having a more vintage look.

As for bashing instructions, I know that hatsdirect.com has some.
 

Old Fogey UK

One of the Regulars
Messages
174
Location
Isle of Wight, United Kingdom
Thanks all of you for the advice.
I've bashed the Fed already - roughly Tom Hanks/Road To Perdition shape - but it just seems to me that the brim, although OK for the Indiana Jones look, is a bit too wide to look proper 1930's. It's the brim I want to reduce. Hence, I need to know the "average" 30's width and whether it was dimensional cut. Also the typical 30's brim shape.
If you look at my Avatar of Paul Muni, you'll see what I'm aiming for.
Any more help will be greatly appreciated.
 

Virgil Ante

New in Town
Messages
12
Location
Star Idaho
What I did to my Federation

I tried a couple of different bashes on mine. The one that is staying involved the use of cardboard & steam. I cut out what looks like a long skinny football out of cardboard. Then I bent a curve into it. Using the Federation's crown height to advantage, I then pushed the "football" down into the crown. This gave it a nice deep bash. The steam helped set the shape, and the cardboard was discarded. I used the same process with an "arrowhead" shape on my Stratoliner, and really like the result. Very much like many of the hats in The Maltese Falcon.
 

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