Love the Fed 4 Deluxe, mines a little over two years old now and thanks to wearing it in the heat and cold it’s softened up a lot and looks like a dead ringer for the Last Crusade hat. One thing to definitely do is cut the plastic cap off the liner, it’ll make the hat much cooler in the summer.
Great video. Thanks for doing it and sharing. That deluxe sure is heavy duty compared to the imperial. My name is on the list from the Hattery (they’re the best) for when my federation iv deluxe dark brown comes in. I’m a 57 . I’m going to have them shape mine . I can always tweak it when I get it. Playing with the hats is fun and like you say “slow and patient “ you did a nice job on it. I like the slight curl you did on the sides. Their sizing is dead on. My Akubra Stylemaster has the best fit I’ve ever had in a hat. They pre measured it before shipping. Of course I was accurate with measuring my head.
It’s my pleasure! I understand because I was wanting a Heritage Fawn but they were out of stock in my size. Thank you for watching! Stay tuned for more hats and other great stuff!
The Fed IV is much nicer than I anticipated. I'm not much of an Indiana Jones buff but i'll say the "Raider's Bash' looks nice. I put a diamond crease as an ode to 1930's gangster films and It looks even nicer than some of my customs. With the Fed Iv the back of the crown kept irritating me. It definitely needed a lowered "C" or "V" crown in the back IMO. It looked beautiful after I did those steps. I like your idea with the masking tape! I used to wrap it around my yellow welt stitching when polishing my docs as a teen! Thanks for the video!
Thank you for sharing! The Fed IV is really a versatile hat for a few different looks. The price is almost deceiving because it is a quality fedora. Thank you for watching! Kris
Yes! I have a video where I iron flat the sides of one of my hats. Using steam to change your hat’s shape: Akubra Fed IV ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-sPbyhSgXOOg.html Be sure to place a towel over the brim before you iron it and use some good, heavy pressure. Not excessive, just a bit heavy. Let me know how it goes! Thanks for watching and your question! Kris
You've recommended several of these hats. I'll be buying one next month. Can you tell me which maker you prefer? Is the akubra the better deal overall as far as toughness. This will be a steady wear, work and play hat for me. Is there another I should look at before deciding? Who was the young kid hat maker? Is it comparable to akubra in price and quality? Point me in the right direction. No, can't afford a beaver hat. But akubra has always been good to me. But I really liked the hat that kid makes. Help me out! And thanks! Love this info you give
Hey! Yes, I really prefer Akubra for its tough and rugged nature. Durability is fantastic and you really never have to worry about it. I always order a size up to allow for sweatband shrinkage. Kirk Brackmann of Broken Skull Hat Company made my green Indy hat. It is beaver but he also uses rabbit fur, as well. I made an episode about how to contact him: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-OJn32sQhNLY.htmlsi=UOxDpidWjeSZO8ZW His prices were very competitive when I bought mine and I believe that he tries to keep his prices as low as possible. I highly recommend Kirk and Akubra! The Hattery is where you can find the Federation IV: hatsdirect.com/collections/the-akubra-range-1 I really hope this helps and thank you so much for watching and writing! Stay tuned! Kris
Great question! Just like people’s heads, many hats aren’t a precise size: 57, 58, 59 etc. Some are going to be a “tight 58” and some will be a “loose 58.” The folks at The Hattery are excellent at customer service and want to get you exactly what you need. Just shoot them an email with your measurements and inquire about going up a size and they’ll pick out the right hat for you. That’s what they’ve done for countless others many times and for me alone four times. They are aware that there is some shrinkage in their sweatbands and happily accommodate their customers. Thanks for the question and for watching! Kris
The Hattery, also known as Hats Direct, carries the Federation IV. Unfortunately, they are low on stock at this time. hatsdirect.com/collections/the-akubra-range-1
You’ll probably have to go with a custom hatter and see if they have a hat block in your size. I think the Federation IV just goes up to 62. In our Indy Hatter Rundown and Hatter Spotlight series of playlists there are quite a number of hatters that you might want to check out. Indiana Jones Hatter Rundown ru-vid.com/group/PLw5dW-zM_ee06pQhUNdLMNePjNOhTgr8K&si=ngqSE_RptiI_3scf Hatter’s Spotlight ru-vid.com/group/PLw5dW-zM_ee2bgeUtM6Wmj5lF1p5ndazb&si=jHyi2Gq34Jdm0mk5 Thank you for watching! I hope this helps! Kris
Thank you for responding, I actually just found it on that website, and there website says that they can form the hat into the Harrison Ford Indiana Jones hat for 15 dollars so I messaged them to see if that is correct, and then I might order one.
Hey thanks for watching! I’m happy to help! I love Tombstone, especially Doc! I do have another hat shaping episode where I touch on flattening the brim: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-sPbyhSgXOOg.htmlsi=LI6bu6iTQWpNqNJJ I hope my videos are helpful to you and thank you for your kind words! Again, thanks for watching and stay tuned! Kris
Hello there! Thanks for watching! This is an Akubra Federation IV and can be bought from The Hattery in Australia! hatsdirect.com/collections/the-akubra-range-1 I hope that this helps! Kris
It doesn’t take long, at all. Maybe a minute to initially break the hat in. You’ll do it in ‘stages’ and inspect each stage. Stage One: Initial steam to ‘break in’ the hat probably only a minute, maybe a little more. Just don’t soak the hat; go slow, steam for the center crease and crease it. Inspect it to make sure that you approve. Stage Two: steam it for the side dent and make those and inspect. That kind of varies depending on the amount of steam, the thickness of the felt and where you’re happy with the hat. For example, I could have stopped halfway through - just after adjusting the side dents - because at that point I was happy with it. I just wanted to keep going and make sure that I made a thorough video. If I remember correctly, it took me about 30 minutes to shape the hat from start to finish. That’s kind of a long time to shape a hat. Keep in mind that I started checking the hat in the mirror once I started with the side dents and I was trying to make a thorough video. The initial steam to ‘break in’ the hat will take the longest - probably a minute. Have fun with it! Thanks for watching! Kris
Hey, thank you for watching and commenting! Tapering really depends on the thickness and stiffness of the felt and the amount of steam. The Federation is a thick, stiff, strong felt that is really receptive to steaming. A thinner felt might probably be shaped without steam, otherwise known as dry creasing. High quality, pre-bankruptcy Borsalino hats are great examples where steam isn’t necessary. If a hat can be easily manipulated by dry creasing, that is certainly the way to go. Any hat can be over steamed and then it will lean toward a tendency to taper. I could have really stopped steaming halfway through the process on this particular hat but wanted it to have a bit of a ‘lived in’ look. Thanks again for watching and sharing! Kris
@@HatLifeAdventuresTrue! I forgot how thick the federation is! But I have one of those old Borsalinos with the fuzzy finish that really resembles a HJ poet in shape. It bashed like an absolute dream. Thanks!
